pop culture misogyny so bad, even men notice it...

That ad is just ghastly.

"I will carry your lip balm for you." Seriously? You poor baby.

By contrast, here is a commercial with gender-based humor which my male and female friends both find hilarious and neither find offensive.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owGykVbfgUE

I've been seeing this ad in front of movies lately, but apparently it was too good for the Superbowl.

That old spice add is awesome. My wife about spit her food out when she saw it. I'm lucky in that my wife can't stand women that do what the Charger adds implies, and she hates the men who put up with it even more. Something about "nag", "gutless", "spineless" or something like that.

See, when it comes to friends, my wife has this thing about how people are as good as the company they keep. I share that viewpoint.

Women, if you start dating a guy who has a long stream of idiots as friends, there is the ever so remote possibility that he too is an idiot. That's a free dating tip for ya.

I don't have to carry her lip balm, she has a backpack so full of shit that I am pretty sure she has her Anvils Of The World collection in there. The lip balm will fit. Along with the food we sneak into the theater.

Dudes, you shave, clean your crap out the sink and stow your funky drawers. That's just nasty, you shouldn't need a woman to tell you not to be nasty. That is supposed to end with Adulthood. Your wife is your wife, not your mama.

Toilet seat? Yeah, I put that down for her. She may be a 100% independent college educated strong woman, but even she can fall victim to a half asleep nocturnal ass-first plunge into the cool watery hell that is a left up toilet seat. I figure that's a fair trade for the horrific gaseous anomalies I am known to emit on occasion...

I do like Dodge Chargers though...

It was interesting reading your comments regarding the female characters in Percy Jackson, because I've just finished reading Garth Nix's Sabriel and now I'm wondering when films will catch up to books? Sabriel is technically young adult fiction, but I enjoyed it anyway. The whole premise is that Sabriel (aged 19) is on a quest to rescue her father. Along the way, she also rescues a prince who she ends up marrying (he does the odd bit of return rescuing but generally she's pretty able to take care of herself). Then, despite being a queen and having children she continues her career, and her daughter is first in line to the throne despite her also having a son.

I wonder how much of that would be changed if Hollywood turned Sabriel into a film?

Isobel: Garth Nix's Sabriel rocks. It's been a while since I've read them, but I recall really liking the sequels--Lirael and Abhorsen--as well.

And I agree, there are a lot of strong, compelling female characters in fiction--particularly young adult fiction. Hollywood would do well to adapt these stories while keeping the characters' strength and agency intact.

Or they can do what they did with Coraline, and force a male character to be added, just to keep the girl cooties off.

@Jason: I am rather surprised at what some men will put up with for regular sex. I'll be sitting there in a cafe with my friends and a girlfriend will make a really cutting remark about her boyfriend and I'll be thinking, damn, I'd dump her for that. Today. Of course, I only came to that realization after my divorce.

And for some odd reason, in my family there was my mom, my dad, my brother, and I, and despite the 3 to 1 ratio, we all put the toliet seat down. I never knew some men didn't until high school.

@Bluejay: That's why I hear the Wonder Woman movie keeps being delayed. DC won't let Hollywood cut her down to their comfort zone. She's the 3rd member of the DC trinity (with Batman and Superman) and they won't have her messed with.