In an era where defining what a "woman" is has become a supposedly impossible task, Mars candy is declaring that they can tell the difference between men and women by releasing limited-edition packs of their M&M's that are "all-female."
While chocolate candy biology is not a subject matter we wish to delve too deeply into, M&M's claims that its green, brown, and purple candies are, in fact, women and as such will be the only colors that appear in their new "flip the status quo" promotion.
We're celebrating women across the country who are flipping the status quo! Help us shine the spotlight by nominating a woman in your life who is breaking barriers and paving a new path. Head to https://t.co/fgwVEG4joI to learn more! pic.twitter.com/YRxOXvPhXb
— M&M'S (@mmschocolate) January 5, 2023
Those who follow the politics of anthropomorphic candy might recall that, back in 2015, Mars created another controversy with a tweet featuring the brown and green female M&M's that led to questions about the sexual orientation of two-thirds of the new flip the status quo campaign's stars. "UM DID YOU JUST QUEER YOUR CANDY?" wrote one Twitter user in response to the 2015 tweet.
It’s rare Ms. Brown and I get to spend time together without some colorful characters barging in. – Ms. Green pic.twitter.com/hnoktsAgAW
— M&M'S (@mmschocolate) June 28, 2015
With its latest product offering, Mars says the campaign is about "celebrating women" who are "transforming the world around them to make it a more colorful and welcoming place for all." These new all-female packs will see $1 for each gender-specific sale between now and the end of April get donated to She Is the Music or We are Moving the Needle organizations, up to $500,000 total.
SITM, according to the M&M's campaign site, seeks to fix what it says is "underrepresentation of women in the music industry." Apparently, according to studies conducted by institutions at bastions of leftism such as the University of Southern California, just some 14 percent of songwriters are female, supposed proof of marginalization. But the success of female songwriters — looking at you, Carole King, Adele, Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Stevie Nicks, et al. — suggests that it's more about choice and and less about systemic sexism.
We are Moving the Needle says its goal is to create "a more diverse and equitable music industry by empowering women and gender-expansive creators," which sounds like more than just women. So where's the "gender-expansive" M&M? And what color would said diverse chocolate candy be? But I digress.
To be clear, there's nothing wrong with celebrating women, M&M's stated goal. But gendering M&M's and doing a woke PR campaign to signal virtuousness is more of what Americans have come to expect from the same companies that change their logos to the pride flag for June while doing business in and profiting from countries where gay citizens are persecuted.
As it turns out, according to statistics published by career research site Zippia, women are underrepresented in the Mars workforce that is responsible for making M&M's. Zippia states that 57 percent of Mars' workforce is male while a smaller 43 percent is female. According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, however, women make up more than 46 percent of the American workforce. That means women are underrepresented at Mars. That is — yet again — a company trying to make others get woke has failed to hold itself to the same standard.