The XX Factor: What women really think.

Scary Hard Water Stains

Has anyone seen this strangely unsettling Lime-A-Way commercial? I caught it last night during a disappointing episode of Saturday Night Live. (Much could be written about that cougars sketch; luckily, Jezebel already did.)

A young mother is walking through the supermarket with her arm in a sling. She tells the first person who expresses concern that she fell while rollerblading; the second that she had a mountain biking accident; the third that she hurt herself while hang gliding. Then she runs into another woman with a broken arm who gives her a knowing look and says, "Hard water stains, huh?" To which the first mother ruefully shrugs and smiles.

Now, first of all, this commercial suddenly makes me very self-conscious about the state of my own shower fixtures. But does anyone else see an awkward similarity between this perky hausfrau and a battered wife, lying about the source of her injuries? I can't imagine why Lime-A-Way would want potential customers to make that mental connection (unless they're truly sick, patriarchal little puppies), but the more I think about it, the more I'm convinced this ad goes in the Woefully Misguided category.