Kleenex ads: getting “mommed” according to racial stereotypes

by Brenda Jin

Check out Kleenex’s “great” advertisement campaign, “Get Mommed,” whose website lets you click on a variety of stereotypical “moms.” So, out of curiosity, I clicked on some.

Their characterization of “mothers” is particularly interesting. They obviously tried to get a diverse ethnic sample and age range (with one young mom), but through their “sample” they’ve actually reinforced some racial and gender stereotypes.

The “Hispanic” mom says “Hola!” as you run your cursor over her. The “Black” woman sings her hips and says “Hey there! I’m Lisa.”, and the most infuriating one to me personally, the “Asian” woman says, “Hiiiiiii…but you’re late!” Transcript:

“Hiiii! I’m Sue. I don’t believe in babying anyone. I call it as I see it. My motto is: There’s no excuse for an excuse. I don’t sugarcoat things. If someone’s working my last nerve, I let them know it. Being a good friend, a good mom, is about being honest. I exercise for at least an hour each day. The harder you work in life, the more you get. And, if you have a cold that day, keep going! and bring Kleenex tissues! If I were your mom, I’d make sure you got things done. I don’t put up with procrastination, excuses, or being a baby…not even from babies!”

There are a number of harmful stereotypes at work here within the entire advertisement, but can I just say that I’m tired of this characterization of the Asian woman as a militant disciplinarian? This is the woman I’m supposed to relate to? First off, although this character may represent some women in America, not all Asian American women are Koreans who wear Burberry. My mom and I certainly aren’t.

Secondly, this image reinforces the racist idea that Asian women are unsympathetic hard workers. This stereotype places the Asian woman in opposition to other “races” of women. For example, after watching this advertisement, I am inclined to compare and contrast the Asian woman with the White woman. People are unsympathetic, hard-working, or disciplined for their own reasons. Some of these characteristics may be a result of how an individual person navigates his or her identity in a given culture and are not direct functions of race or ethnicity. In fact, personality traits are characteristic of the human experience.

But of course, according to Kleenex, White women have a range of personalities (albeit limited), who by the way are also hard-working in their own ways. And, according to Kleenex, no moms (or at least, no good moms) are working mothers or career women. Good moms are “nurturing” women who take care of other people, go shopping, and cook!

Image from Sabrina Tang‘s flickr.