be a woman. be a fan.

the doorbell rings, and woman 1 opens the door, sporting a trendy giants tank top. woman 2 enters, wearing a similar (but distinct) shirt, and they engage in a "secret handshake" style greeting. woman 3 enters wearing a giants track jacket, and a similar greeting ensues. woman 4 enters, wearing a similar trendy tank top, only in green with the jets logo prominently displayed across her chest. she's met with "hello," and a cold stare.

it was clearly marketed exactly to me.

the commercial ends with the postscript: "be a woman. be a fan."

so, of course i immediately went to http://www.reebok.com/ to check out the collection. i was pleased to see that in addition to the skimpy tank tops, there were jerseys, yoga pants, jackets, hoodies, even sandals (though they only came in pink and gray). so, i'm left pondering, what exactly does this mean?

clearly it parallels (or parodies) male interaction. but i'm a little put off by it. certainly the recognition that women do watch nfl, and are a key demographic/money-holding consumers, is overdue. but the portrayal on the commercial was offputting. and in theory, i do like the slogan. yes, one can be a woman (not chick, not girl, not lady, but strong confident, but at times feminine, if that suits you) and enjoy watching football. i'm all for that. but the visuals of the commercial indicate something far different. its ok to watch football as long as you're still cute, still feminine, sexualized, and maintaining what are considered female relationships. while on one hand i would be equally as critical if woman 1 had accepted the jets fan similarly to women 2 and 3, it also seems to reinfoce the cultural notion that women, are petty, catty, and don't get along (as exemplified in oh, so many seasons of the apprentice and many other reality shows as of late).

so, in short, i'm glad reebok finally wisened up and started marketing to women, even if i don't agree with the way they're continuing to relegate women's fandom to a purely "female" realm (and objectify/sexualize in the meantime). but don't fret. you won't catch me wearing this next sunday.