Yes, This 'MasterChef Australia' Teaser Is Super Sexist

Post-gender society? Don't make us laugh. This MasterChef Australia teaser for 2013 is so sexist (and not in a funny way) it makes us gag.

Everything from the color-coding to the stereotypical personalities of these characters seems like it's from the 1950s, as women wear pink and oven mitts and men walk around in blue aprons carrying big baguettes (ahem, phallic imagery much?).

The show, which seems to pit men cooks against women cooks, has each side stating why they're better. And while the women's side does get some jabs in ("women are better at presentation.. [because] we're used to grooming ourselves," or "the average woman cooks 1,000 meals a year, men can't compete with that."), most of the time they just end up belittling men. ("Men should really stick to barbecues, you know, the simple stuff." Hardly a burn).

The men's arguments? "When a man puts his mind to a job it always turns out better," one says. Really? Always? "Men are better focused, [have] better knife skills... physically, we're better in the kitchen." Not to mention "Men are more experimental," and of course, "If you look at all the top chefs in the world, they have one thing in common. They're men." Trust us, societal gender constructs and institutional sexism are not proof of men's superiority in the kitchen.

Naturally, the production company is defending the ad, as a spokesperson told AdNews, "We don't regard it as sexist at all. The show is a celebration of food and amateur cooks competing. It's presented in the promo, which is just one of many to come before the show lands, in a humorous and entertaining way." Uh huh. And it also happens to perpetuate traditional gender roles. We might as well drop The Feminine Mystique in their offices.

Watch the ad below, and note how women obviously get the shopping carts, cupcakes, and sugar, as men get the burgers, cocktails, and grills. And honestly, we know quite a few female chefs out there who would school all these wannabe MasterChefs, regardless of gender.