Female Representation in Advertising

dedicated to posting examples of advertising that reinforce negative stereotypes and female gender roles, and the search for advertising that attempts to dispel these myths.

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Abercrombie and Fitch Offers to Pay ‘The Situation’ To Stop Wearing Its Clothes

amphitrit:

I love the irony of this “situation.”  As low-down and sleazy as Mike the Situation has shown himself to be season after season on that stereotype-ridden reality show Jersey Shore (as well as taking misogyny to a new level via his trashy book), he’s a perfect match for A&F, a retailer known for its disgusting, racist, sexist, classist ads.  I hope he wears even more A&F.  In fact, I hope the entire cast wears nothing but A&F. A perfect match made in Hell that will, no doubt, serve up irony and reversal of fortune to new levels for A&F—they deserve every bite of that dish.  Meanwhile, check out Dwight McBride’s fascinating book provocatively titled Why I Hate Abercrombie and Fitch: Essays on Race and Sexuality.

All of this is brilliant. Go and read up on this right now!

tumblinfeminist: A Roger David ad starring a teenage girl who has been ‘gagged’ with a union flag covered disc in her mouth, has a bar-code with the word ‘slave’ tattooed on her and is made to look sexualized despite looking incredibly young has been banned by the Australian standards watchdog for depicting her as a sexual object. One of the complaints listed said: “The girl looks underage, dishevelled and is inappropriately posing with something in her open mouth and her bare shoulder with slave written on it with a “barcode” as if she is somehow for sale or belongs to someone. It is offensive due to its representation of young girls as vulnerable and slaves and lacks sensitivity to the growing child exploitation and sexist depiction of girls and women.” But Roger David defended the ad, telling the ASB that the woman was 18 when the photo was taken and that she ”is a student of history, Spanish and English and is also a model in the United Kingdom” But Roger David defended the ad, telling the ASB that the woman was 18 when the photo was taken and that she ”is a student of history, Spanish and English and is also a model in the United Kingdom. Roger David also said the woman was fully clothed and that the ad did not portray sex, sexuality or nudity- completely missing the point.I know where I won’t be shopping this Fathers Day! 

tumblinfeminist:

A Roger David ad starring a teenage girl who has been ‘gagged’ with a union flag covered disc in her mouth, has a bar-code with the word ‘slave’ tattooed on her and is made to look sexualized despite looking incredibly young has been banned by the Australian standards watchdog for depicting her as a sexual object.

One of the complaints listed said: “The girl looks underage, dishevelled and is inappropriately posing with something in her open mouth and her bare shoulder with slave written on it with a “barcode” as if she is somehow for sale or belongs to someone. It is offensive due to its representation of young girls as vulnerable and slaves and lacks sensitivity to the growing child exploitation and sexist depiction of girls and women.”

But Roger David defended the ad, telling the ASB that the woman was 18 when the photo was taken and that she ”is a student of history, Spanish and English and is also a model in the United Kingdom” But Roger David defended the ad, telling the ASB that the woman was 18 when the photo was taken and that she ”is a student of history, Spanish and English and is also a model in the United Kingdom. Roger David also said the woman was fully clothed and that the ad did not portray sex, sexuality or nudity- completely missing the point.

I know where I won’t be shopping this Fathers Day! 

Breast Cancer Marketing has a Pink Problem

Stefano Puntoni and his colleagues found that when women were exposed to gender cues, like the color pink, they were less likely than women who had not been primed with a gender cue to think that they might someday get breast cancer and to say that they’d be willing to donate to the cause.  Pink, in other words, decreased both their willingness to fund research and the seriousness with which women took the disease.

The article doesn’t come right out and say so but I’ve read other pieces in the past (anyone have any good links?) that reflect my biggest problem with most breast cancer campaigns - that the focus on breasts as sexual (i.e. the whole “Save The Ta-Tas” thing) trivializes the seriousness of breast cancer, and that breasts are only worth saving when they are reduced to sexual objects.

Kate Moss-Inspired 'Nothing Tastes as Good as Skinny Feels' Ads Banned in U.K.

Adverts for a ‘pro-anorexia’ T-shirt for young girls carrying the slogan ‘Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels!’ have been banned. The statement, controversially promoted by model Kate Moss, has been condemned for fuelling eating disorders. Now the Advertising Standards Authority has banned adverts for the children’s T-shirts which appeared on the Zazzle website.

  Controversial: The stick thin model's slogan has been emblazoned across the T-shirts, which have now been slammed for fuelling eating disorders



10 Sexist Ads Made by Total Pigs

OH GOD DON’T READ THE COMMENTS. Some of these people are working in the same industry I will be working in? Wow, I guess now I know what I’m up against.

Also, disliking the assumption that maybe those milk ads aren’t sexist, maybe women are overreacting! lol no.

What Does Tide Have Against Tomboys?

Tide’s “Hoodies & Cargo Shorts” commercial is drawing fire around the Web. Some see it as a conformist piece of intolerance backing traditional gender norms for kids; some even call it homophobic. Others claim that those taking offense are just looking for stuff to be bothered about. I think Jezebel gets it right, noting that the spot “presents a troubling cocktail of gender stereotypes, and it’s a bit hard to decipher.” Indeed, Tide fails by making the humor too thin to allow the satire (if that’s what was intended) to shine through. The brand wants it both ways—edgy and safe—and ends up with content that’s awkward and confusing. Sweater-swathed Mom does seem Stepford-Wife-ish in her over-art-directed house, and she’s big-time into girls-should-wear-pink gender norms. Still, there’s wiggle room, and it’s unclear (on first viewing, at least) if she is indeed meant to be the butt of the joke. Just as troubling, maybe more so, is another recent Tide spot showing a middle-aged dad snatching his teenage daughter’s short skirt from a clothesline and “soiling” it. There’s even a phallic oil can. (Paging Dr. Freud!) While it’s true that Tide hasn’t abstained from freaky material in the past, even that talking smudge managed to keep its act clean.