Obviously, we talk primarily about women here at TD. As we are women, this might be expected.

However, because of what we talk about – fashion for women, advertising directed at women, women’s bodies… – it could be interpreted as a grossly one-sided argument, embodied by a blog and written by victimized women.

Well, all that stops here.

I come from a family of men. And when I say “men”, I mean smokin’, drinkin’, cussin’, ex-Virginia-farm-boys men. When asked what my greatest inspiration is, I cite them directly, and quickly. A passionate conversation with my uncle Bill a few nights ago supports my selection.

I was telling him about The Demoiselles, Jennifer Nicole, and our amazing community of readers/contributers, and, specifically, the Article Outrage column – one of my favorites. I told him “advertising preys on women, convincing them they’ve got a problem, then immediately offering an answer. Women are, by far, the most targeted gender.”

“Ahhhh”, he said. “Men are targeted just as much.” Knowing that I couldn’t really speak on behalf of men (and certainly don’t know what the world looks like through a man’s eyes), I was incredibly intrigued. “The pressure that is put on women through beauty advertising and marketing… Well, let’s just say that men are told they’re ‘not good enough’, too… Just… through a different avenue.”

He went on to make an extremely good point that I will now illustrate for you.

We all know this guy, right? Enzyte Bob, the public face of erectile dysfunction medication, Enzyte, was a huge player in my decision to get rid of cable television in my home, and just seeing his face again makes me happy I did. In case you’re unfamiliar, his other-worldly smile is the product of getting laid. Why? Because he’s all of maybe 40 years old, and had erectile dysfunction, and thusly wasn’t able to have sex – the death knell to end all death knells. Fortunately, he got his hands on some Enzyte, and now he plays 18 holes of golf with his friends! He got a promotion at work! His wife is cooking him a gigantic turkey when he gets home and, yes, this is all depicted in the commercials.

This is a classic case of “If you build it, they will come”, except – in this case – if you take this pill, you’ll receive this scenario: deeply in love, taking romantic vacations together… She looks longingly over to you as the sun hits your face and gently strokes your cheek… Ahhh, l’amour! Oh, but not if you can’t do it later, so be sure to take Cialis.

Lest we not forget the commercials for Viagra, Levitra, and ExtenZe. While it’s second nature for me to ignore or switch away from these advertisements (mostly because they can’t possibly affect me directly), if I were a man – particularly a young man – and the idea was presented to me that there was something out there able to prevent me from having sex… I would likely be listening. Men are taught that their sexuality is their manhood. These commercials essentially threaten their claim to their gender while simultaneously scaring the hell out of them by insinuating that they could possibly be affected.

The men’s market of pharmaceuticals is akin to the women’s market for beauty products: attacking your self-worth, -esteem, and -confidence then shoving a “Fix It All!” product in your face when you’re good and low. The pharmaceutical industry would prefer you bypass all that unnecessary thinking about stuff (“why exactly am I impotent?”) and jump to the obvious conclusion that erectile dysfunction is bad because you can’t have sex, so you should immediately consume a pill to fix it.

It’s an icky world of advertisement out there, and no one is spared. This point was a refreshing reminder that women are not victims – how can we be victims when men are just as targeted? – we are all simply being treated like children, while the pharmaceutical, beauty and fashion industry are busy telling us about the bogeyman.