On my way home last night with another bottle of drain opener to pour down our once again clogged pipes, my mind wandered and, one thing leading to another, I got to remembering those old Comet ads from way back featuring Josephine the Plumber and I wondered.
I suspect there was a sexist joke behind those ads, although probably the creators of the ad just thought they were giving stay at home wives and mothers who routinely had to do emergency home maintenance while their husbands were at work a comic but competent and reliable imaginary friend to identify with. Of course Josephine was really selling housework not home repair, but still, how many kids like me saw those ads and thought, Hey, a woman can be a plumber just like a man! And then made the leap, Does that means girls can grow up to be whatever they want to be? Does that mean anybody can grow up to be whatever they want to be?
By the way, yep, that’s Louise Lasser playing the type of housewife she’d soon be satirizing as Mary Hartman, and, yep, that’s Jane Withers as Josephine.
My Dad, Jack Doern was an advertising copywriter and worked on Madison Avenue. He was the creator of Josephine the Plumber. I don't think there was any sexist joke behind it and I don't he ever really knew just how much influence that icon feminist character had. He passed away 3 and a half years ago and when writing his obituary, I started thinking the same thing you are thinking and so tonight it is nice see confirmation on this and to know that the things we do -- sometimes can have farther reaching influence on our society and culture ---- than we could ever imagine. :)
Posted by: Amy Doern | Thursday, May 26, 2016 at 05:01 AM