In recent kill-two-birds-with-one-stone news, a new online service is being developed wherein women (who love shopping!) can go to a virtual mall of men and pick and choose to their hearts’ delight from a sea of faces, all just waiting to be chosen.
I think it’s brilliant, I mean if you’re going to turn men into objects and commodities, why not do it while gender-stereotyping women at the same time? It’s really a time-saver.
However, we should be clear that this idea isn’t new. Remember that indentured servant named Cinderella? The girl who, with the assistance of some mice wearing clothes and a fairy godmother, was so grateful to be given the chance to line up alongside a hundred other girls in ball gowns in the vague hope that the love of her life (whom she didn’t actually know) would choose her based upon her looks alone to love and be faithful to for the rest of his life? Yeah, that girl. Maybe Supermanket is just Cinderella v 2.0.
Oddly, most little girls dreamed of being Cinderella. I think it was the idea of being something so special that someone would see us and just instantly know how special we were. In truth, it’s one of the most jacked-up scenarios one can imagine. And here it is played out again, but this time with men as the commodities being traded…
Mashable offers us some insight into what site’s creators are envisioning:
“We found out that 87% of things that are bought in the world, are bought by women. So we thought that if shopping was fun for them, shopping men was the best idea ever,” Supermanket co-founder Tadashi Takaoka told Mashable.
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I can see the line of thought here, despite the problems. It’s true that women are the majority consumers in our society, but I think there’s a big assumption here that that means we like it more or think it’s fun. Beyond that, what guy thinks it’s a great idea to be shopped for?
But I am a woman, what do I know? I do hear a lot in the comments here at GMP about guys wishing women would make the first move and approach them more often. Maybe this is actually a good thing, giving guys the chance to be the pursued.
What do you think of Supermanket? Would you subscribe to be an online product? How about the notion of only women being the pursuers?
Image of cute woman at supermarket courtesy of Shutterstock
I find this concept kind of exciting, men would love to be pursued by an attractive women. Though it sound great, their are the common pitfalls. You don’t know what your getting, he may sound great, but what kind of baggage does he come with. But, hey, sign me up, I am into the intrigue.
In the versions of Cinderella I had as a child, the prince wasn’t supposed to pick a woman out of a line based on her looks, he was supposed to meet a suitable bride by going dancing (which is a pretty common way to meet someone if you think about it). At any rate, it’s a hopelessly romantic plot given that historical marriages, especially of royals, tended to be arranged, with the bride and groom having little choice in the matter. “I can see the line of thought here, despite the problems. It’s true that women are the majority consumers… Read more »
It probably ends up being less beneficial to women in the long run. The most desirable men will probably get the bulk of the initial requests. If it takes awhile for the other guys to get offers, they may not stick around. The alphas may also expect more either sexually or materialistically as they have several women to choose from. Some women at college campuses where the gender imbalance was especially skewed reported exceeding their sexual comfort zone in order to compete with other women for the few datable men. “it’s purely optional and I’m assuming that men who sign… Read more »
Unless they’re actually buying the men, how is it different from a dating site or a site for mail order brides? It’s probably just the presentation. As for the women I know, they do love to shop. The men do also, but we love to shop for things that we like such as video games. It seems to me that women want to “try things on” more so than men. It probably depends on how it’s marketed. People thought that bottled water and cable TV were stupid ideas because we got them for free. It’s funny how some people have… Read more »
Fair enough.
I wasn’t implying you do, Archy –
Everyone likes to be truly loved.
*tries not to let this devolve into flame war*
It’s all good, I’m in a humorous mood anyway. All my fuel has been burned up for the week with real life issues:P
@Archy, nope, it doesn’t.
And yes, it is.
I’m personally glad it caused this discussion tho.
Why, are you paying?
Was being sarcastic to point out the sillnyess of it. I don’t buy anyone, I want to be loved, not pay to be fake loved.
Now, if they start talking about new and used, that would probably cross the line. 🙂
Buying men, what could go wrong?
So after all the times I’ve seen women show distaste at being a commodity to men, do you think this will really help? Isn’t it basically just a silly way to make a dating site?
How much to buy a woman these days?
I hear they’ve gotten somewhat more expensive since I bought mine. I was thinking of trading up, but now they have an entirely different feature set. “Has own opinions” and “makes own money” now come more or less standard, whereas those were optional back when I was in the market. Some people say the new models even insist on being treated as a person. and the standard voice commands of “bring me a sandwich” and “get me a beer” are no longer recognized. I haven’t checked, but I’ve heard rumors that the “sex on command” feature is similarly non-functional. If… Read more »
I got offered quotes on a few, tried one but she had a domestic violence program running so I had to send her back. Saving up now for one with a new shiney paintjob, flared guards in all the right places and complete lubrication. The maintenance though is going to hurt the pocket badly. Those new features look dangerous, they actually expect to be treated the same?! That’s terrible! We should complain to head office about that.
If you find one with a warranty or 30 day money back guaranty, let me know..
Hi Joanna,
That’s a little different for two reasons.
1. women started out commodified, while men (and others) acted as commodifiers. so while reversing roles in itself isn’t great, there isn’t the painful history to contend with.
I forget the second reason (tgif..)
I don’t know if such a site exists…
I kind of think it’s an interesting concept.
What it does is make explicit one of the dynamics of really any dating site, cf meat market.
At least in that aspect it’s honest …
And it’s an idea that was bound to come up sooner or later.
I know I won’t be a member, though.
For context, I *am* on a dating site or 2. 🙂
I honestly meant it that it’s sort of interesting that in this scenario, just who want to be pursued really have no other choice than that arrangement, which is actually sort of cool.
The rest… IDK. Imagine if it were women who were the items.
Though actually, and maybe you know this, CJ, but does that exist already?
What do you think of bachelor charity auctions?
Honestly, I’d kind of like it. That is, of course, assuming anyone actually showed any interest. If they didn’t I’d probably feel a bit depressed. On a side note, men can enjoy shopping too. I LOVE shopping. I’m actually far worse than any woman I know. Maybe this is one of the reasons every woman thinks I’m gay? =P