The Doghouse

Whenever men have done something throughout history to upset their girlfriends or wives, we sometimes refer to him as being in the doghouse. Ladies, if you are in a relationship you can relate. If an average person were to hear the saying, “he’s in the doghouse” they know what that means. That guy obviously did something bad enough to be sleeping on the couch. This video plays on the idea of “the doghouse” and displays strong gender stereotypes. The men are sent to the doghouse while women are the one who determine when they are released.


What happens when women do something wrong in the relationship? Nothing, because women are never wrong. JUST KIDDING… But seriously, men are often stereotyped as the wrong do-er in the relationship. When one of your girl friends starts crying, you might ask, “what did he do this time?” I understand this is not always the case, but from past experience, we tend to blame the boyfriend. As you can see if you watch the entire video, the doghouse is compararble to men’s hell. The men are forced to fold laundry and listen to a voice on repeat listing do’s and dont’s.

Laundry is known as a women’s chore. As is vacuuming, which the first guy assumed his girl would want a duel bag vacuum for their anniversary. He must think that she enjoys vacuuming. I know for a fact that the idea that women vacuum is false, because in my household, my dad is obsessed with vacuuming. He would actually be thrilled with a duel bag vacuum for his anniversary. Another humorous but outrageous gift was the abserciser. This guy in the red sweater is the worst offender out of all of the men. No guy would actually give that as a gift to his wife and say those nasty things he said. That scene is so unrealistic.

Truth is, some women would be happy to receive some of those gifts. The best gift is intimate and personal, so if that means your man saw a handmade doll that reminded him of you, at least he is thinking about you. I have a boyfriend and I have never been dissapointed by his gifts, big or small. It’s the thought that counts, not how many diamonds it has. This video was done through JC Penny during the holidays, and their point in the video is that to get out of the doghouse, you have to buy your girlfriend or wife diamond jewelry. JC Penny is implying that women only want nice gifts. Does JC Penny think people are going to want to shop there after watching this video? This is a great example of how the media portrays a false image to society.


About gabrielleherion

I am a senior at Old Dominion.
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4 Responses to The Doghouse

  1. This commercial is CRAZY!!

    I think this commercial is borderline offensive and it does not make me want to shop at JC Penny. You can tell from its long running time that it’s part of an online ad campaign where, in general, you can get away with more than in a conventional TV commercial. Still I’m surprised it got made.

    The issue here is how the commercial portrays women. The man is just a doofus who makes a simple mistake but now must be punished by being put through this Kafka-esque hell. The punishments are all gender reversals: doing women’s work (laundry) and repeated exposure to effeminate things (quiche and chai tea). The woman is permanently angry and bent on revenge that is out of proportion to the “crime”. In one scene the women are literally passing judgement on the man, putting him through a guilt trip. The man’s only hope is to buy her some corny jewelry because everybody knows women can be manipulated like that.


  2. jsmar002 says:

    Being that this video has a specific target group, I’m sure it was effective in getting some men to buy jewelry for their wives. I agree in the thought that counts, but widespread, this is going off of stereotypes. How often on sitcoms does the husband do the same thing? I don’t think the commercial was meant to be offensive to women but to appeal to easily influenced men. Instead of taking a risk and buying something stupid, buy the most expensive thing possible. Rather than an issue of gender I find that the commercial highlights the issues of values we as Americans hold

  3. gabrielleherion says:

    I’m glad you both found this video as crazy as I did. Stereotypes are defidently portrayed in this commercial. I mostly focused on how the men were stereotyped, but Professor Thompson, you bring up a good point by pointing out how the women are behaving as well. I am also surprised this video was made.

  4. gabrielleherion says:

    Jsmar002, I am sure it probably was effective to some extent in the sense that men were more likely to buy jewelry for their wives after seeing this video. I also think you made a good point when you said that you don’t think that the commercial was meant to be offensive. I also do not think it was meant to be offensive. It seems more like a parody to me.

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