What would happen if men replaced women in these popular, sexist ads?

Imagine men cleaning the house and women relaxing with a bottle of beer.

Sarwat Fatima
जनवरी 19, 2018

Unfortunately, ads such as these have existed for a long, long time now. Photo Courtesy: Eli Rezkalla

Just a couple of days ago, I was flipping through channels when I came across a particular advertisement. The ad was of a chocolate bar. Interestingly, a woman dressed in bikini was licking a piece seductively. That made me wonder: why does a chocolate bar need a woman dressed proactively to sell it. Or for that matter any other product. Advertisements for years have played on sexism, perpetuating the stereotype that a woman's place is in the kitchen and she is first and foremost a sexual object.

Unfortunately, ads such as these have existed for a long, long time now. However, have you ever wondered how things would be if the gender roles were reversed? For instance, companies used men in their advertisements to clean floors and wash utensils whereas women went off to work?

Inspired by this idea, photographer and video editor from Beirut, Lebanon, Eli Rezkallah created a series called 'In A Parallel Universe' where he switched up the gender roles portrayed in those ads to reveal the absurdity of such stereotypes with humor, reports Bored Panda.

"Last Thanksgiving, I overheard my uncles talk about how women are better off cooking, taking care of the kitchen, and fulfilling "their womanly duties," Rezkallah writes on his website. "Although I know that not all men are like my uncles and think that way, I was surprised to learn that some still do, so I went on to imagine a parallel universe, where roles are inverted and men are given a taste of their own sexist poison," he concludes.

Interested to know how those ads would look like? Here you go:

Photo Courtesy: Eli Rezkalla