Now that I’ve stopped laughing and can breathe again, I can share this website that I came across through a Sociological Images article.
Sexcereal: The first gender-based wholefood.
Seriously though, I first thought this was a joke, because saying that men need testosterone and women need “balanced hormones” is the most ridiculous oversimplification of our biology, ever.
And then I remembered: ridiculous oversimplification of biology is the standard conception of gender in our cultures.
Feminist Philosophers 
Wow!! Really? That’s real??
Yeah, I almost just spit coffee all over my keyboard when I saw this. Too hard not to laugh!
My name is Peter Ehrlich and I am the founder of SEXCEREAL. I’m afraid you are misquoting the brand. Nowhere on the packaging does it say you “need” anything. We simply say, the cereal’s ingredients are shown to support testosterone and hormonal balance. Also, the full list of ingredients are listed on the website with an explanation as to its raison d’etre in regards to the cereal. But thank you for helping us promote SEXCEREAL. Very appreciated. Sincerely, Peter
Ridiculous oversimplification of biology is standard in food/nutritional marketing, regardless of whether the conception of a given product is based on a naive or a sophisticated understanding of biology.
At any rate, marketing aside, there is at least a theoretically sound biological basis for sex-differentiated nutrition. Whether this particular product is an example of that, I have no idea.
That’s the funny things about ads. They can say stuff without ever “saying” it.
Hi Peter. The site (on the “story” page) does say, though, “I also knew that because men and women have different biologically and nutritional needs, there had to be one formula for men, and one for women.” The natural inference is there even if the implication wasn’t intended. But there are a few errors on that page (e.g., “I looked around and I noticed something – not one product had to do with sexual health, nor was anything branded in anything color other than brown and green,” should read “…any color other than…”) so perhaps it just hasn’t been proofread yet.
Also, question:
Which kind of SEXCEREAL should people buy if they’re intersex? Should they get both kinds and mix them together?
Shouldn’t be girl-scouts and boy-scouts together? Isn’t it the same differentiation (popcorn vs. cookies)? I am not from the USA, so I may not know the whole concept of US scouts.
Dear Nemo,
Health Canada does not allow anything but oversimplification of biology when it comes to the marketing of food.
As I said, our website lists all the ingredients and their effect on human biology. SEXCEREAL was put together by a team of professional nutritionists and quality control people.
Just because it’s called SEXCEREAL, doesn’t mean we’re trying to pull the wool over any one’s eyes or that it’s a novelty/joke product. I do understand how some Canadians are somewhat fearful of the word “sex”.
Sincerely,
Peter Ehrlich
p.s. My first girlfriend was an editor of Fireweed. I learned a lot that year!
I’d REALLY like to do some clinical trials of this stuff. Get some groups of males and females, have them eat the cereals as directed, have others eat the opposite-sex cereals as direct, and other still avoid the product altogether, strictly control their diet, exercise, etc., and see how things turn out. I’d actually really like to subject this product to rigorous scientific testing. I can’t imagine the results NOT being interesting, no matter what they turn out to be.
HAHAHA. I wonder if the makers are friends with the the makers of these guys:
Oversimplification is indeed the operative term. Followed thereafter by desperation. Sad.
Todd – 50 years ago, if you asked someone for medicine, they didn’t buy Nyquil or medicine from a pharmacy, No, instead they put together groups of foods, herbs and spices to help. Even today, 90% of people use food as medicine. All we did with SEXCEREALwas collect a number of natural ingredients, based on a lot of work by a professional nutritionists and put those natural food ingredients in a pouch. That’s all SEXCEREAL is. I have no idea why posters like Todd feel so compelled to call me team desperate and sad. It’s so easy to insult other people on any blog sites. That’s what is desperate and sad. I suppose some folks either don’t believe in sexual health or are too prudish to accept the word SEX in a food product.
Peter Ehrlich:
I’ve been around for more than 50 years and I can assure you that 50 years ago, at least in the United States, Western Europe and much of Latin America, most people did buy medicines in pharmacies.
In any case, good luck with your new product.