Photographer recreates outrageously sexist 1950s adverts

A photographer has recreated a series of vintage adverts to highlight their outrageously sexist messages.

Eli Rezkallah, 31, from Lebanon, re-shot the images from the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s but swapped the roles of the male and female characters.

The adverts, promoting brands like Hoover and Van Heusen, depict women as subservient and downtrodden while men are intelligent and domineering. 

The striking results of Eli’s project draw attention to the derogatory and abusive meanings behind the advertisements.

Eli Rezkallah, 31, from Lebanon, inspired to create the photo series after hearing his uncle making a sexist remark

According to this advert, a Hoover would obviously be on the top of the lists for women at Christmas time

According to this advert, a Hoover would obviously be on the top of the lists for women at Christmas time

Flipping age old gender roles of women being in the kitchen and cleaning the home and men going to work 

Flipping age old gender roles of women being in the kitchen and cleaning the home and men going to work 

Speaking to FEMAIL Mr Rezkallah said: ‘Last Thanksgiving I was visiting my family i 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 like my uncles do, but I was surprised to learn that some still do. 

‘It’s also true that those ads were in the Fifties and obviously they are seen as vintage, but it really felt at that moment that there is still an element of that sexism in today’s society.

‘So I went on to imagine a parallel universe, where roles are inverted and men are given a taste of their own sexist poison.’ 

In this photo he has taken inspiration from the original advert that shows a woman being buried in the sand for being 'too affectionate' 

In this photo he has taken inspiration from the original advert that shows a woman being buried in the sand for being ‘too affectionate’ 

Eli has felt that there was still a level of this deep rooted sexism in today's modern society 

Eli has felt that there was still a level of this deep rooted sexism in today’s modern society 

Luckily, these days an advert showing a half naked woman in leggings with a man touching her bottom would not pass

Luckily, these days an advert showing a half naked woman in leggings with a man touching her bottom would not pass

Mr Rezkallah recreated the advertisements in painstaking detail, recreating the costume, set and even the font used in each one. 

In one of tie advert, taken from a 1940s magazine, a wife is seen kneeling down as she presents her husband with a tray as he lies in bed wearing a suit and tie.

The condescending tagline reads: ‘Show her it’s a man’s world’.  

Eli Rezkallah, a photographer from Lebanon has reversed the gender roles from the adverts during the 1950s

Eli Rezkallah, a photographer from Lebanon has reversed the gender roles from the adverts during the 1950s

This clever swap shows a man standing in front of a pile of clean dishes, inspired by the original American 1950s advert for washing up liquid

This clever swap shows a man standing in front of a pile of clean dishes, inspired by the original American 1950s advert for washing up liquid

The re-shot version replaces the subservient woman with a man dressed in a silk dressing gown, while a woman lies in the bed. 

The most distressing advert is one showing a woman bent over her husband’s lap as he spanks her for not ‘store-testing coffee. 

Mr Rezkallah said his images have been well received after he shared them on social media.  

He added: ‘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.’ 

He decided to take the photographs as a way of creating his own parallel universe of that era, where women were the breadwinners and men stayed at home

He decided to take the photographs as a way of creating his own parallel universe of that era, where women were the breadwinners and men stayed at home



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