Being a narcissistic nerd, I check the stats on my Flickr photos on a near-daily basis; the referring URLs, of course, are of particular interest. I must know who is discussing me, dammit.

My Animals & Women and Misogyny sets have proven especially popular. Usually, people - by which I mean fellow feminists and/or veg*ns - agree with the ways in which I’ve tagged, filed and otherwise categorized the photos.

Few people seem to concur with my assessment of these ads from Harley Davidson, however. Browsers of the interwebs do not like that I filed these in the Misogyny set.

So I ask you, dear readers - Harley Davidson’s Bikes for Women ads: Sexist/homophobic or empowerful?

My initial reaction when spotting this series at Ads of the World was laughter. The thought of some biker dood, stuck at home doing the cooking, cleaning and childcare, while his “old lady” was out cruising the town on her “hog,” struck my fancy. “Damn skippy!,” I giggled with glee.

And then I considered what Harley Davidson’s core demographic - biker doodz - might think of the ads. I realized that they, too, would get a good guffaw at the thought of one of their own stuck at home doing womanly chores…but probably not for the same reasons I do.

Being one of those hairy-legged feminists, naturally I read the ad through a feminist lens: Harley Davidson is celebrating independent, rebellious women, while hinting at their menfolk that they ought to do their fair share of the housework. Yay Harley!

When Mr. Biker Dood reads this ad, his interpretation is probably more along the lines of: Teehee, look at that [insert gay slur here]! He let his [insert misogynist slur here] take off and leave him with all the [insert misogynist slur here] work. I wonder if he buys the family tampons, too? Hell, I bet he and his feminazi wife bleed on the same cycle. What a [insert gay and/or misogynist slur here]!

Given that Mr. Biker Dood is what you might call Harley’s “base,” I’m inclined to think that Mr. Biker Dood’s reading of these ads speaks to the deeper meaning Harley was trying to convey through the scenarios they presented. Namely, that what’s “humorous” about the prospect of a man doing “woman’s work” isn’t that the woman finally got hers, and isn’t that swell, but that the thought of a man doing laundry, cooking dinner and caring for kids is just so outrageously abnormal that you can’t help but laugh. After all, these aren’t feminized homos we’re talking about - they’re big, burly, dirty, course manly-men. Reduced to women through the power of Harley hogs, and isn’t that funny?

Of course, I could be wrong. Feel free to tell me as much in the comments.

But at least do me the favor of trashing me over here. A girl deserves the chance to defend herself, no?

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Tagged: harley harley davidson women misogyny sexism homophobia housework glbt masculinity photos flickr