Blog post 3

One of the readings we had to look through this week was about Zlatan Ibrahimovic. It talked about his multifaceted aspects of his image, and how they all piece together a very different looking Zlatan. 

I want to focus on one such example, as it puzzled me. The example in question being the commercial he did with Volvo. According to the text, what is shown in the ad is something that is not often shown in Swedish media. The image of a man, hunter gatherer, battling the cold, coupled with him being a caring father and a loving husband. I found this surprising when reading this, as I always thought Sweden was ahead of the times in regards to gender norms. Take maternity leave, where it is usually split 50/50 with the father and the mother, and 90 days must be reserved to the father if he so chooses to take them. This is far and away more progressive than anything we have in Canada, so the author saying these contrasting images of Zlatan are rare seem quite odd to me. Perhaps these things are something that are just understood, but not often shown? 

Whatever is the case, I think more media should focus and push these narratives. If it is true that this commercial stood out for the reasons outlined in the text, that is a problem. It shouldn't come as a surprise that men can do both stereotypical "manly" things and also be at home with their family. It is especially important to be able to showcase these issues with an influential figure such as Zlatan, as it shows people that this is a normal thing, even when you're as big as him. All in all, this is the type of content that should be more commonplace in our society, and I hope that we see more of it in the years to come.