Remember the commercial with a woman in business suit swinging a frying pan around, claiming she could bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan, and never, ever let you forget you're a man? Do you remember the product? Or how the ad made you feel?
Some time ago I read a column on misogyny in advertising. I thought it was here but I didn't hotlist it and can't bring it up on a search. It was excellent and despite my awareness of the problem, further shocked me. As I recall, the writer was a professional - possibly in women's issues. I am going to hope there is a Kossack here who remembers and can link in the comments.
Meanwhile, my .02.
We are all very aware advertising has used women and implied sex to sell just about everything - except baby products. Guys, the girls are there for YOU. Girls, you should be doing everything possible to please guys.
Let's start here. The Five Most Sexist/Misogynistic Print Ads From The Last Five Years (BuzzFeed) The only discussion is in the comments. Do go down to # 4, which was in the column I had read before. BMW also had one in that earlier diary. Picture of a couple in bed, guy on top, both exposed upper bodies with her in a black bra. Well, you couldn't see her face because he had a magazine opened over it. He was checking out a BMW commercial.
Much better, or worse, is 2013: Misogyny in Advertising Still There at brandchannel. The article starts with a 3:40 video on "How the Media Failed Women in 2013" with link to Time article: ""How Far We Haven’t Come: All of the Terrible Ways the Media Treated Women in 2013 in One Video".
The other good links include another video. 5 Minutes Of What The Media Actually Does To Women includes the kind of hard information about what this practice does to women, girls and our culture.
Their link to The Representation Project is no good. (That link works)
The Representation Project is a movement that uses film and media content to expose injustices created by gender stereotypes and to shift people's consciousness towards change.
This is a small start on a big problem.
“I pledge to use my voice to challenge society’s limiting representations of gender.”
Over 100,000 have already taken The Representation Project’s pledge, and thousands more are joining the campaign on Twitter and Facebook.
The project's mission is to
Rewrite the Story, especially on gender, in America. What I like about this is there is more than just citing and carping about the problem. Positive action is included.
I know we all have lots of time in our lives for getting active. It just strikes me that so much of what has been reported and discussed in the recent diaries is easily traced to advertising and, as the woman in the information video pointed out, we've been talking about this for 40 years.
Feel free to talk some more. Other organizations or actions you know, have thought of or done?
Update, right off, the link to that diary Objectifying Women Not a Progressive Value by Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse, from Tara the Antisocial Social Worker