Yesterday was a football watching day in the Dixon house.

For the record, we were pulling for San Diego and Green Bay. #mixedresults

But of course watching football games means watching the commercials that attend the broadcast. And, unfortunately, this too often means enduring gender bias and sexism. I’ve made this observation before (here and here), but this time, the Tertullian Award for Inappropriateness in Commercial Advertising goes to (drumroll please):

Old Spice.

And specifically to its “Momsong” commercial, part of its “Spray Goodbye to Boyhood” campaign.

If you dare, the commercial is here.

When this ad came on, my first response was to head out to the living room, where our 11-year old son was watching the game on a different TV. As has become our practice when he and I debrief these kinds of things, I asked him this question:

“Josh, what do you think that commercial trying to tell you?”

He thinks then says, “What it means to be a man.”

I reply, “And what does Old Spice say is involved in being a man?”

Pause. Uncomfortable look. “Ummm. Kissing girls?”

Kissing girls.

Or, more to the point, according to the commercial, “when our sons have fun with women and misbehave.”

Needless to say, we won’t be buying Old Spice any time soon. Heck, maybe we need to avoid any of the 50 or so Proctor & Gamble brands.

Because here’s the thing:

There’s more to being a man than chasing (or having fun with) women. 

Say it again. There’s more to being a man than chasing women.

Reducing “manhood” down to merely the carnal instinct to chase women, especially with the connotation of inappropriateness, doesn’t serve anyone, male or female. Not only does it neglect every other aspect of what it means to be a man, it also perpetuates the man as hunter/woman as quarry narrative, one that too easily and often becomes toxic.

It’s the last thing I want my son to see!

Yesterday, I tweeted at Proctor & Gamble and Old Spice three times to no avail. I’ll keep trying. When the game was over, I breathed a sign of relief, glad that we wouldn’t have to worry about that commercial any longer, and then it dawned on me.

There are more games next week.

On Sunday, I came across this story, which featured Duck Dynasty Founder and star Phil Robertson saying some pretty brutal and sexist things about women.

You’ve probably heard about Phil and his Duck Dynasty crew. In the last couple of weeks, they have come under fire for Phil’s comments in GQ about homosexuals and African-Americans. If your Facebook wall is anything like mine, you’ve seen a lot of Duck Dynasty stories flying back and forth lately, many throwing Phil under the bus and others defending either his right to free speech or his views on faith.

To be honest, at first I was reluctant to write this post this morning. Why? Well, first because I am a complete Duck Dynasty rookie. I’ve never watched an episode. Next, because lots of people I know, respect and love really enjoy Duck Dynasty. And last because, come on, after reading what Phil said in GQ was there really any question what his views were or are about women?!?

But I thought I would post here because the Duck people are popular, because Phil’s quote in that article needs to be addressed and because the Duck Dynasty crew of perhaps the most visible professing Christians on TV right now.

And Christians seem to be overwhelmingly pro-Phil. One faith-based petition to reinstate a suspended Phil to his show garnered 250,000 signatures. And thousands of people liked a Facebook page entitled “Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty-Christians Boycott A&E.” When Phil was reinstated to the show last week, the status read:

Wow.

To be clear, here’s what Phil is quoted as saying about women:

“Make sure that she can cook a meal, you need to eat some meals that she cooks, check that out,” he said. “Make sure she carries her Bible. That’ll save you a lot of trouble down the road. And if she picks your ducks, now, that’s a woman.”

“They got to where they’re getting hard to find,” Robertson remarked. “Mainly because these boys are waiting until they get to be about 20 years old before they marry ‘em. Look, you wait until they get to be 20 years old, the only picking that’s going to take place is your pocket.”

The Duck Commander company founder added: “You got to marry these girls when they are about 15 or 16, they’ll pick your ducks. You need to check with mom and dad about that of course.”

Disturbing, right? Of course.

To his followers and maybe to himself, Phil represents Christianity and Christians in the public arena. Increasingly, he’s the (bearded) face and voice that culture associates with Jesus.

But here’s the thing:

At least in this area, Phil does not represent me.

I’ve blogged about these kinds of things before. When it comes to faith I’m sure I share plenty in common with Phil. But not everything. And, if what he says in this video clip accurately represents his perspective, we certainly don’t agree on this.

In fact, when it comes to women, I strenuously oppose his view. I think it’s narrow, short-sighted and, yes, sexist.  It’s wrong, demeaning and, I believe, un-Biblical. It’s the modern day voice of Tertullian.

So when it comes to issues of faith and women, Phil Robertson may well speak for lots of Christians.

Just not this one.