And I thought the Burger King Burger Shots ad was offensive in its objectification of women! The new Hardees Western Bacon Thickburger campaign, created for the US market by Mendelsohn Zien Advertising, LLC, goes over the top with its raunchy scene of model/actress/author Padma Lakshmi seductively eating said product. The fact that she is Indian/Hindu seems like adding insult to injury, given the dietary practices and sacred stature of the cow in that religion. And, just in case you weren’t already grimacing, the ad ends with the tagline, and I’m not making this up, “More than Just a Piece of Meat.” Can you say “Ewww!”?
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Eh, assuming someone of Indian descent (even Hindu descent) doesn’t eat beef is sort of like assuming someone with a Jewish last name doesn’t eat pork. It’s not even against the religion for a Hindu to eat beef – my husband does.
Ahh–thank you for calling me on that! I love that I can write about how important it is to embrace individuality and avoid group stereotypes/assumptions, and then see them slip into my work!
That said, do you know any good sources for cultural insights? I did research before I wrote that association, although in my haste I probably just chose the sources that supported what I already believed, rather than digging deeper (ooh–that sounds like a good theme for a later post…)
Thanks, GoriGirl, for keeping me honest.
No worries – just thought I’d point it out.
As far as good sources for cultural insights – do you mean for all cultures, or just Hindu/Indian? Not that it matters much, since I’m not sure if I know of a good site for either, tho it sure would be nice to have one on hand! Best I can do is caution you to be particularly leery about believing anyone or any site that says that *blank* is something all Hindus believe – the tradition is too long, and, to a large extent, does not have a set of “core” beliefs. You can be an atheistic Hindu, a polytheistic Hindu, and everything in between. Most practicing Hindus are unaware of the multitude of variations in their own religion – and many haven’t even read the Vedas (the closest thing to a set of key scriptures) in full, so they’re also not always great spokespeople for their own religion.
I could point you towards some texts recommended by my religious studies professor if you’re interested. And I’ll ask Aditya if he knows of any websites that are accurate.