Self-study activity:
Watch this video about Ikea's latest idea in their stores and answer the questions below.
1 Is shopping one of the most testing things a couple can do?
2 What does Ikea's niffty idea consist of?
3 How long is a man's retail attention span?
4 Who do girlfriends and wives do while their partners hang out in Manland?
5 How many men pretend to enjoy the shopping experience?
6 What are women given when they leave their partners in Manland?
7 How long can the men stay in Manland?
8 Where did Ikea get the idea about Manland?
9 What happens if men stay in Manland longer than allowed?
10 Who benefits more from Manland, wives or husbands?
You can read a The Star online article about Ikea's idea here.
Discussion:
After watching the video you can discuss these questions with an English-speaking friend or relative:
Do you like the idea?
Do you think other big department stores should follow Ikea's example?
Is the distinction between men and women conveyed by the video stereotypical?
Do you identify with it?
Key:
1 Yes, according to the report 2 Manland is an area in Ikea's stores (in Australia) for men to stay and entertain themselves with games like the Xbox and watching the footy (TV) while their partners are doing the shopping 3 very short 4 they go shopping 5 some 6 a buzzer which warns them about their partners staying in Manland 7 We don't really know. They say that the buzzer goes off after half an hour 8 Ikea first created Smalland, a kind of creche where parents can leave their children while doing the shopping 9 the authorities are called 10 wives
