In my opinion, we blew it ladies! We had the chance to set the tone and we took the easy path, the approach that said “Well you did it this way so why can’t we!” I’m talking about the opportunity to show men that we would not simply follow, we would lead; showing them how it should and could be done, by women. Differently. Sadly, every time I open a magazine, watch the television or see a poster, I discover we blew it!
I remember seeing the very first “Hello Boys” poster go up in our area when I was in my teens. It was one of the most successful adverts of it’s time because it got people talking about it. There was a fairly even (and obvious) division on how people felt about this advert for Wonder Bra (an image of a woman’s cleavage in a bra) and I remember ranting about it with friends, how yet again we felt like women’s bodies were used to sell things in a way that was degrading.
Now, however, I see images everywhere of men, not in bras of course, but in their underpants and in various stages of undress. Often the women in the adverts are portrayed as watching or even spying on these men, gathering in groups and whispering about them, while winking at the man and, presumably, slipping him their mobile number if they get the chance.
I’m no prude; far from it! Yet I struggle to enjoy these images. I find myself feeling so disappointed because we failed to take the opportunity to do it a different way. How has getting large images of men in degrading positions made us equal? Have we all really settled for that?
Frankly, if this is equality – you can keep it thanks!
Dinah
I’d love to hear your thoughts…..