h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Surely men are more likely to know what a U-bend is, given that plumbing is generally seen as a male occupation? Heck, if you've got to be sexist, might as well get it right...

They don't often clean them though, do they?

Thanks. Just what I would have said. Every time I mention the fact to a man that a U-bend doesn't clean itself, I just get that glazed expression in answer.....
Perhaps, all you inventive men out there, you could invent a self-cleaning u-bend? (I notice that in the Mr. Muscle ads it is a man with sink plunger in hand, and not a woman... which is a bit odd to look at, but I suppose the ad agency didn't want to be accused of using sexual stereotyping)

Have you considered that the blank expression is just an automatic anti-nag response? In any case, I guess we'll have to agree that our experiences are different...

Aside: On the contrary - the Mr. Muscle ad is stereotyping heavily - it's saying that Mr. Muscle is *so* easy to use that even a man can use it... like the Flash wipe adverts ("Let's see that again in slow-motion")... Or maybe I'm just randomly taking offence...

I have to say that my other half does more than his share of the cleaning. (But not the loo) And I do more than my fair share of the breadwinning. So we're pretty much evens there.

As to modern ads: I don't know what makes me more angry. Women/girls doing stereotypical things (washing, shopping etc) or the men doing them whilst the women are off bungy jumping and being superexecutives. If you look closely these days, most nappy ads have the dads doing the work. Likewise cooking, shopping and cleaning........ I'm oversensitive I know.

I'm old enough to remember _real_ stereotyping in soap ads, but if I were a man, I think I'd be a bit offended by always being portrayed as a useless wimp.