There are some things in life that I really wish I had done.
(in other news: does anybody know why the links in my sidebar have repeated themselves? WordPress – stop being an ass)
There are some things in life that I really wish I had done.
(in other news: does anybody know why the links in my sidebar have repeated themselves? WordPress – stop being an ass)
April 19, 2006 at 4:37 pm
What a great message on that billboard! If only I could think of think of things to spray on sexist ads. Maybe if I get a spray can, inspiration will come to me…
(I did notice your duplicate comments, can you not remove them? How annoying.
April 20, 2006 at 1:17 am
I think both the billboard and the message are *kinda* funny, but the message was a bit overboard maybe.
How old is that billboard anyway, that car looks like a body style not used since the 70’s!
April 20, 2006 at 8:19 am
The billboard is rather old, not sure when though.
But I don’t feel that the message was “overboard”. I think that the advert making fun of sexual abuse (which is what it is, I’m afraid) is what is overboard here. It perpetuated the myth that women are passive objects that, if attractive, are just asking to get touched whether they want it or not. And, whether the advert is being ‘ironic’ or not, is – as always – beside the point. It’s not allowed to be ironic when stupid street harrassment like this still goes on and still very much upsets the women who recieve it.
The message “If this lady was a car she’d run you down” is there to point out that women are not passive objects, but very much active human beings.
And, if I had seen the message on that billboard after experiencing wolf whistles, innappropriate remarks and sexual insults in the street (as – yes, women still do) then I know it would have made me feel a hell of a lot better.
April 20, 2006 at 5:17 pm
I think ‘pinching a butt’ isn’t sexual abuse. If it’s done in an unwanted manner, then yes, but the act in and of itself is not. I pinch my wife’s butt frequently, and she enjoys it. She pinches my butt, and I like it. It’s affectionate. She is not an object, she’s my love, my partner, the second me. I think you’re going a tad overboard with this, reading too far into it, and showing misandry…
April 20, 2006 at 5:21 pm
"Pinching a butt" as you call it, Mr. Anon, is considered sexual abuse if it has not been asked for – and that is what this poster implies. That something looking that good is ASKING to be touched. I don't think I'm going too far. And I'm sure the person who originally spray-painted the message on the advert didn't feel she was 'going too far' either.
April 20, 2006 at 5:22 pm
I think it’s genius.
April 20, 2006 at 7:33 pm
The above indignant responses from two men have encouraged me to go out and get a spray can!
April 21, 2006 at 3:17 am
that was awesome.
April 21, 2006 at 8:46 pm
That pic is from the 70’s…feminist grafitti on sexist billboards was pretty common and effective. Maybe we should resurrect the practice…
Typical anon male commenters eh? Only seeing things from their own very limited standpoint, relating things to their own little lives and hardly considering the reality of the lives of others before throwing around accusations of ‘going overboard’ and misandry.
How would anon male know if anyone is ‘reading too far into it’ if he only considers the world from his position of privilege? His wife doesn’t mind him pinching her bottom so the whole message of the grafitti is irrelevant.
Gah! Blinkered, or what….
April 23, 2006 at 6:01 pm
Looks like this will make 3 guys posting here. I have to admit I’m a bit shocked. After reading this post and a couple others on this blog, I see that I’ve been a bit naive. I agree that this billboard could be taken as offensive. Maybe if you find sexist billboards/advertisements/whatever, then you should take action. BUT, it goes the other way too – or haven’t you noticed the increase in anti-male ads that are gaining popularity? Most ads I see nowdays show the female in a good light, and the male as a dunce. In the role of anti-sexist, you should be messing with those ads too, right?
April 24, 2006 at 12:41 pm
typical-male, I agree with you that there certainly has been an increase in advertisments which use the offensive stereotype of the stupid male who is incapable of getting things right (especially housework, etc). Whatever gender you yourself are, gender stereotyping affects us all and I – along with many other feminists, I am sure – do highlight sexism againts men also. But I don’t agree with you that females in adverts are shown in a “good light” at all. Women’s bodies and sexuality are increasingly being used to sell products – I don’t feel that that shows females in a ‘good light’ in the slightest. Although, I have seen one or two adverts lately (mcvities biscuits being one of them… I forget the other) in which ordinary looking women are allowed to use humour to sell products, as opposed to their bodies. Seeing these adverts is certainly refreshing, but I sadly doubt they will start at new trend…
Also, just to clarify – the person who messed with the original ad was not me. It’s just something I found and stuck in my mind. But yes – as the role of the anti-sexist it is my responsibilty to highlight anything I find offends, objectifies or stereotypes anyone of any gender, but it is also YOUR responsibilty. Things like this shouldn’t be left to the radfems, or whoever – as human beings it is up to ALL OF US to make our voices known.
April 24, 2006 at 8:10 pm
Enter the men… and the discussion is steered towards what feminists should be doing about eradicating ’sexism against men.’* As a feminist (not the nice kind!), I don’t waste my breath on indulging men in their delusions of equality. Rather, I resist, revolt and rebel. I deny men access to my body, my space, my thoughts, and my energy. I’ve fallen into the ‘it happens to men too’ argument in the past, but never again, because…
This idea that advertising sometimes is anti-male is nonsensical. More than anything, the adverts in question only reinforce existing stereotypes. The ridicule of a male character in an advert serves one of two purposes. Either the advertising world’s emasculated failure of a man reassures the male viewer of his masculinity by non-identification with a caricatured wimp, or the on-screen whipped and pathetic excuse of a man signals the dangers of equality to the male viewer, who again, feels justified in his upholding of male privilege: ‘this is what the future would look like if women took over and you’re sure doing a hell of a good job not letting it happen’.
The advert above may be from the 70s, but nothing has changed in that the audience is always presumed male. Even adverts aimed at the female consumer presume a ‘male gaze’ in that the codes and values conveyed are male. As women, we intercept these exchanges between men and take notes on how to please. As women, we walk past this poster and think to ourselves: ‘how can I make myself desirable enough to get my bottom pinched’. Alternatively, and preferably, we can get our spray can out and leave a message for other women, making ourselves the speaker and the listener and any man intercepting this message better think to himself ‘how can I renounce my power quickly enough that I don’t get run over’.
Bea
* I will not deny that men on occasion are subjected to verbal or physical abuse that is directed at them because of their sex, but this is not to say that sexism against men exists. To say that sexism ‘goes both ways’ is to deny men’s privilege over women and deny the institution of male supremacy. Sexism, as does any system of oppression, requires a power differentiation. Women, as a class, don’t have power. Sexism is the aggravation of women’s powerless and the reverse, by definition, can never apply to men.
April 25, 2006 at 9:22 pm
Bea – You rock!
typical-male – may I suggest that you take an extended wander around the radical feminist bologoshpere to discover the broader effects of patriarchial media misrepresentations of women? I think you may find yourself even more shocked and, if that’s the case, I’d echo Ms Violet and urge you to make your feelings known.
April 29, 2006 at 9:10 am
I have that hanging on my wall. It’s wonderful.
May 20, 2006 at 5:36 am
Bea, do you not think there is something deeper wrong with society than male supremacy? Is it not everyone’s brokenness – both male and female alike – that permits us to abuse each other? I have seen men almost destroyed because they could not live up to standards this (ever lying) society holds them to. Perhaps I’m thinking of too personal an example to fall under your absolutist use of the word ‘never’ but when I think of my dear (male) friend who thought that if he could not get his sexuality sorted out by the time he was 21, he’d kill himself, I wonder where he fits into the sweeping generalisation where you implied that men always have the power. Because of his gender (I am now differentiating between who he is and his body), he was made powerless.
Perhaps the world would be a better place if we pinched the butts of those we loved and not of those we objectified, eh?
If we recognised the needs of others – including men – and met them, I don’t think we’d find as many people so desperate for affection that they turn to billboards to tell them how to get it.
Ms. Violet, if you are interested, the objectification of women and the power of the object (slavery to the object) is an interesting philosophical/post-modern subject discussed by Baudrillard. I think you might like some of his works. google his name and you’ll find his website, Baudrillard on the Web…
Great site, btw. I’ve ‘blogrolled’ it
May 21, 2006 at 6:56 am
One posts a comment criticising the usual ‘it happens to men too’ argument and waddayaknow: someone comes along and says ‘but it happens to men tooooo’.
June 7, 2006 at 7:44 pm
I love it.
December 17, 2006 at 3:40 pm
I found your blog because I googled the phrase on this billboard. I used to have a postcard of this image that I bought in England in 1984 (when I was 19 years old), so it’s at least that old. I, too, would file it under things I wish I’d done.