In case you’re wondering, I did not find this picture in a magazine stuffed under a mattress, I didn’t find it in an area marked “Adults Only”, and it is not an ad for a new XXX-rated movie. The photo is actually part of an ad campaign by Dolce&Gabbana to help sell their clothing line… apparently those in charge of the marketing strategy must have felt that women would be compelled to buy once they realized the clothes would make them so desirable they’d be gang-raped by men with six-pack abs.
And this is progress???
Ethel
And this is progress???
Ethel
26 Comments:
Agreed. It's a bad message. Maybe some letter writing to those people (whoever they are, never heard of them) might wake 'em up?
That is disgusting. Where is the outrage?
The same place the outrage is for the Bosnian rape camps. We've become imune to the violence done against our fellow sisters. Date rapes increase as our sons learn how to treat women from images such as this. A drug dealer gets more time in prison than a pedophile or rapist. A president weilds his power over a cigar and an impressionable young lady and comes out just fine. Where is the outrage...hidden in our hearts as we are overpowered by the agenda of a more aggressive male dominated world as entire villages of women including grandmothers, mothers and daughters are raped in Somalia. There's no oil there...
Now if people would boycott D&G until they produce more appropriate advertising... I, personally, can't afford them anyway, but if I could I'd boycott.
Lucy
All--
It appears that D&G have pulled this ad from their campaign due to protests from some European countries. However, I find this to be cold comfort... the very fact that someone thought this was a "good" idea and that it got as far as it did ( the photo actually did make it into some March issues of select American magazines ) is incredibly disturbing.
The mixed messages this type of photo sends are equally disturbing. Mother Marlene makes an excellent point that young men see this and believe the mythology that "women want it", but what about our girls? They are also being taught a lesson... they are objects to be seen only as recipients of male desire... their wants and feelings don't matter.
Will our young people understand that rape is not about sex, but about power? Will our daughters know to expect better for themselves when they are bombarded by images like this one?
Ethel
As a male reader, but more importantly as a father, this advertisement is not something I'd want my kids to see. I'm uncomfortable with the implication that just because a woman dresses up that every man should see it as an invitation to take what he wants. Ask most men in front of their peers and they'll deny being uncomfortable by pictures like this, but deep down most are uncomfortable by these images. We see photos like this and think of our wives, daughters, and sisters. We're not all bad guys.
I don't believe in adverts anymore. I spent a fortune on Impulse body spray and not once did a handsome stud chase after me to give me flowers!!!
Exciting news here; House starts up again on our UK TV....yippee!
Corporations are amoral. If they think an idea will make money, they go for it. I have long believed that corporations should have the same rights as people, let alone more, as they do now. This demeaning ad exemplifies my position.
Short and sweet - outraged!
Deb
Fer sure being gang-raped by a group of young men half my age is high on my list of priorities.
However my Canadian friends have taught me that showing up naked save for woolly socks is the correct way to make it happen so I'll pass on the Dolce&Gabbana stuff.
Oh, and advertising directors should not smoke crack. Crack is bad, m'kay?
ruth- Don't let Mick hear you say that ;-)
anon-
I know that the majority are not bad guys... thankfully! It'll be those like you who will help to make sure that this type of caveman thinking goes the way of the dinosaur.
tomcat-
They certainly do seem willing to do whatever it takes, and damn the consequences. They forget, their children are being exposed to this garbage too...
deb-
Exactly!!
mama--
But... isn't that every woman's fantasy???
Truthfully, I have a hard time looking at the "Sexiest Bachelor" photos in the zines at the hairdresser. I look at them and want to ask why they're not in school... anyone under 35 looks like a kid to me...
I have my wool socks on this very minute... hmmm ... I wonder where my husband is?? ;-)
Ethel
It absolutely reeks of violence and forced exploitation.
dog-
Agreed. And unfortunately, images like this will only continue to spark violence against women...
E
how these people can think a pic of a woman being raped can sell clothes is beyond me.
and to wish to visit this tripe on their own children?
[some of the folks involved in creating it and getting into the magazines MUST HAVE kids, right? apparently, though, they don't have brains.]
When I saw this ad, I had the same reaction as you. Along with the obvious, it's the other males passively staring that I find sooooooo f'n offensive. I even intended to post about it. Now I don't have to...you've done a great one. But it's disturbing that of all the zillion blogs I read, the ad has not been mentioned.
Kudos!
Good for you for posting this. It is disgusting to depict women this way and the ads of many companies are going way too far...I don't buy magazines anymore because they're full of nothing but ads. My mum in law passes some along and I'm often shocked by the advertising.
(I still don't understand how there are two "debs"...I thought usernames were only issued once?)
This is horrid taste on the sexual front, but that is just one segment of life that is being cheapened in mass media. In the midst of all the hurry up and motion there seems to be little time for thoughtfulness, consideration, and courtesy.
two crows-
couldn't agree more... it's bad enough subjecting other people's children, but what kind of person participates in promoting this garbage knowing their own children will be exposed to it as well???
deb-
I was beginning to wonder if it was just that I was getting older that the ads seemed to be "edgier"... guess that's not it :-(
I don't know about the user name.. it does seem strange though...
mirth-
Welcome and thank you for the kind comment!
There are so many things that I find offensive in the pic... the "looking" of the others that emphasizes "woman as object", the submissive position the woman is in-- including the fact that she is looking away - another submissive posture, the fact that her hands are being held over her head by a man in a very dominant position, looming over her... even her expression, or rather lack thereof, is disturbing to me...there's more, but I'll try to control myself. I'm concerned by the fact that there hasn't been more fuss about this as well. I'm afraid it might mean we've become so desensitized we're beyond being outraged by images like this... I sincerely hope I'm wrong.
Jamie-
Hi and welcome! Thank you for your comment... I think you're right about our society not taking the time for thoughtful consideration... we're so programmed for instant gratification and "taking care of #1" that I'm afraid we're losing an essential part of ourselves. We're losing our ability to think critically, to defer gratification, to know "right" from "wrong"... look no further than our own government for confirmation.
Ethel
I had not seen this ad before. No wonder why we are not winning the fight against violence against women. I think advertisers underestimate the damage that they do with this kind of ad.
Then there's the ugly head of irony rearing itself again—those men are gay. That does little to disspell the message.
Outrage is most effective at the cash register.
tocatta-
Agreed!!
w son-
Thanks for the comment!
Yep... hurting them in their wallets works best.
E
I am liberal to most folks standars and this even gives a creepy feeling. Is way over the top and not sexy. And I usually know sexy!
The crippling high heels bug me too.
c stiletto and flimsy--
I'm definitely in the "hard to offend" category myself, but this was on the repulsive end of the scale for me... and flimsy, I actually did a paper in college on the meaning of high heels and long fingernails from a structuralist's perspective for a class in literary theory... I believe I stated they they were perceived as "sexy" by a large number of males because they contributed to making women effectively "helpless"... think about the girl in the monster movie who can't run cause she's been hobbled by a pair of "killer pumps"... the pumps and nails can contribute to "woman as object".
Just for the record... I'm NOT saying I think women shouldn't wear high heels or have nice nails
:-)
E
...and from Australia, I find this ad absolutely deplorable, disgusting and what were they thinking?! Get a little controversy going? any publicity is good publicity?
Thanks for bringing it to my attention, I will be sending them my thoughts on their so-unclever advertising, whether it was even shown here or not the fact that some twit or twits thought this up AND went along with this is a disgrace.
How low can you go.
Thanks for making a stand.
Pam
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