A few on-the-subway observations

Advertisements do their best to be inclusive (it makes good business sense to not alienate potential customers), and in general it's hard to find mass-market advertising images as blatantly racist as the sort of images in American print 75 years ago. 

But there are points where, looking at several ads together, interesting patterns emerge.  And there really isn't a better place for looking at the juxtaposition of ads than in the subway.  For example:

Minorities (women of African, Asian, and Latino heritage) are encouraged to finish their GED...

...go to trade school...

...maybe even take night classes.

Even with the broad spectrum of races on display here, there isn't a "white" (read: Western European) person in any of the ads.  Where are the white people?

Ah, here's one - she's so busy with her career (notice her work outfit) that she doesn't have time to cook, so she's going to order food from her office phone!

Another ad that's confused me for a long time for is a liability-and-accident law firm (Fitzgerald and Fitzgerald).  It basically lists the amounts of money that were awarded to various clients they've had, then puts this at the bottom of the ad:

Irish lawyers identifying themselves as such by showing a leprechaun with his dukes up.  You can't make this stuff up.  

The standard leprechaun image itself is a pretty remarkable stereotype - a short, miserly, violence-prone redhead.  That some Irish people hold onto it amazes me.

And finally, a point that I can't really post images for (maybe I could show it with a sound clip?):

The automated voices on the new subway trains use a female voice to tell riders where they are ("This is...Brooklyn Bridge,City Hall...transfer here for the...4,5,6 train") and a male voice to tell riders what to do ("STAND CLEAR OF THE CLOSING DOORS, PLEASE!").