Journalism of Courage
Back in the 1900s, an ideal woman was someone who took care of every minute detail at home, managed the daily chores flawlessly and cooked delicious food for her hardworking husband. This imagery was reflected in several advertisements as the companies knew who their target audience were and what would sell their products. Cut back to 2018, visual artist and photographer Eli Rezkallah has created a series called 'In A Parallel Universe' wherein he switched the gender roles portrayed in those ads to reveal the absurdity of such stereotypes with a blend of humour. (Source: Eli Rezkallah/Facebook/Instagram)
While talking to the indianexpress.com, the 31-year-old artist shared what inspired him to create the photo series. (Source: Eli Rezkallah/Facebook/Instagram)
“Last Thanksgiving, I visited my family in New Jersey and I overheard my uncles talk about how women are better off cooking, taking care of the kitchen, and fulfilling 'their womanly duties'. Although I know that not all men think that way, I was surprised to learn that some still do. It's also true that those ads were in the '50s and some people perceive them as vintage but it felt at that moment that the essence is still present in the folds of today's modern social fabric, so I went on to imagine a parallel universe, where the roles are inverted," he said (Source: Eli Rezkallah/Facebook/Instagram)
His pictures perfectly depict the patriarchal society and its mindset. (Source: Eli Rezkallah/Facebook/Instagram)
Swapping the roles, Rezkallah created a parallel universe in which he assigned the same role to men that was previously expected out of women. (Source: Eli Rezkallah/Facebook/Instagram)
When asked how people around him responded to his series, he said, "I'm extremely happy that the message was very well received online and understood by a vast audience. My close family and friends are proud and supportive as they share the same values as mine and strongly believe in the message behind the campaign." (Source: Eli Rezkallah/Facebook/Instagram)
In this picture, the artist changed it from a "man's world" to a "woman's world". (Source: Eli Rezkallah/Facebook/Instagram)
Why is dish washing said to be a woman's job? (Source: Eli Rezkallah/Facebook/Instagram)
"I hope that people who are stuck in stereotypical gender roles imposed by patriarchal societies would be able to visually see the cracks in the limitation that those roles carry through this project," he said. (Source: Eli Rezkallah/Facebook/Instagram)
These old-school ads are funny but partially sad as they give us a glimpse into the terrible social norms that women of that time had to face. (Source: Eli Rezkallah/Facebook/Instagram)
