In A Parallel Universe Eli Rezkalah Summary

Some may believe that a world where men and women have switched positions in society would be absurd, based on the belief that both should stick to their “designated” roles. These positions either being the strong head of the house or merely being the figure present to support the family. But imagine a world where these roles were changed, if men experienced these expectations that they place on women and experienced their sexism. A body of work featuring a series of parody advertisements titled “In a Parallel Universe” by Eli Rezkallah depicts a “world” where the traditional roles of women and men are reversed. The images showcase stereotypical situations where women are expected to perform a specific job. However, the author creates a twist,

The word choice present throughout the body of work conveys the absurdity of sexism that impacts women every day. The patriarchy is heavily implemented in the older advertisements, painting women as fragile figures that need men, the most important people in their lives. In the moving image placed before the ads, the original illustration is of a woman holding a ketchup bottle, a sarcastic question with a surprising tone asking how women “can” actually open the container (Rezkallah). This question characterizes women as individuals who, without the help of men, would be helpless as it indirectly comments on the lack of strength they have. Many believe that women are incapable of doing simple tasks as such. In the author’s parody, a man is displayed to highlight the absurdity of these expectations now that they are enforced among a gender other than women. Rezkallah further illustrates a man dressed up as a woman in place of the female figure from the original image, now making the woman the more ‘masculine’ individual. Furthermore, in the second advertisement, there is bolded black text above the characters which is catered towards women to show men that it is their “world”, as this specific word is associated with power and ownership (Rezkallah). While one singular person can't own the entire planet, the author implements this to convey the

In society, specific colors are often connected to one gender, the most common being blue and pink. In Rezkallah’s parody of the fifth advertisement, they paint the kitchen where the man is standing in a light baby pink (Rezkallah). In real-life context, baby showers utilize the colors of blue which is most often assigned to a boy, and pink which is assigned to a girl. These two specific colors hold meaning in society, representing the concepts of masculinity and femininity. The author has painted the kitchen to be a color most often associated with women, however, instead of a woman standing inside, a man is there. This depiction contrasts with certain sexist traditions which state that women are the only ones who belong in the kitchen. Men are now placed within the world they created themselves, experiencing their own biases they implement against women. Furthermore, throughout the body of work, the author utilizes the same saturated colors to create similarities between the two advertisements while still pointing toward conflicting ideas. The first image is presented with the same neutral, black, and white colors, almost identical to the original (Rezkallah). This draws the viewers to the familiarity of the pictures while still acknowledging the clear difference between them. This makes it seem plausible that the second image could