There's this car commercial going around right now...
We don't know much about the woman in the ad. All we know is the type of car she drives, that she has a long commute through obscenely scenic places and teaches P.E.
We don't know her relationship status if she has a family or the type of neighborhood she lives in...and for that I am glad.
Because for once I can see myself in an advertisement.
I'm not being told that if I buy this car I will magically find a husband, 2-3 kids and live in an upper-middle-class home with large windows, an absurdly well-lit dining room and an overabundance of food on the table for my happy laughing family to feast on.
As a single woman, who grew up poor I don't see myself in those ads. Buying a car will not magically make my life fall into the place that society says it should be in. Buying a car will, in fact, put me in debt rather than making a middle-class family appear out of thin air.
Buying a car won't suddenly allow me to pull up into the driveway of my gigantic home. Nope, I will still be pulling into my "suitable for now" apartment. That's ok. I'm in a good place for me right now, especially considering all of the factors that were stacked up against me. I'm doing very well considering my background, that's not the problem.
The problem is that advertisements are clearly set towards nuclear families in the middle class. Those of us who were not, and/or are not middle class cannot see ourselves in those advertisements. Nevermind living a non-nuclear lifestyle. Single adult? nope, not in advertising. Child of divorce? nope, not in advertising.
The best part about this car commercial is that I don't know who this woman is. She could be anyone. Now, her absurdly scenic drive and the fact that she is buying a brand new car rather than a used one would suggest that she is, indeed, middle class. But I don't know for sure. And I don't get the idea that buying the car will magically make me middle class. Let's be honest, in the commercial she is a teacher....and the general consensus throughout the country is that teachers aren't being paid well so maybe the car is affordable? Maybe that's what they're going for? Whatever it is that they're going for I'm grateful for the ad.
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