thanks for the tip, wesleying!
Why American Media Grosses Me Out
Interesting, no? Betcha didn't think an advertisement could cram 10 pounds of disgusting into a 5 pound bag.
No, but seriously. What IS the story with Axe? Their ads are impeccably produced, and often really funny. Even my superfeminist self thinks it's funny to watch a geeky guy spray himself with Axe and then get tackled by 20 women. Or spray himself with Axe and get hit on by his girlfriend's mother. And I suppose the implication of that earlier, much tamer, ad campaign is exactly the same as this one: Using Axe will make otherwise reasonable women throw themselves at you. As is the implication of, I would venture to say, the ad campaign of every single scent product ever made in the history of the world. Perfumes, body sprays, deodorant, soap, cologne. . . the message is "Put this on and you WILL have sex." And what's so wrong about that, anyway?
Consent. That's what's wrong. Replace the product in the commercial with. . .I don't know. . . Bacardi. Ecstasy. Roofies. Suddenly, you've got a major lawsuit on your hands. The ad normalizes gender roles that I wish like hell had died out about a century ago. It's a woman's role to remain virginal, and a man's role to bring out her inner slut. A woman cannot consent to sex, on her own, independently from booze or body sprays. It's in her nature to refuse sex, and it's in her partner's nature to force it.
Much as I hate the way that the teen world is oversexualized by the media, I can almost get in line with feminist burlesque, feminist porn, etc, etc - which bases its entire existence on the premise of adult consent: I take off my clothes because I *want* to, I enjoy it - and if you enjoy it by proxy then all the better. BUT, that culture opens the door to ads like this one. Actually, in some ways, the ad is a spot-on commentary on what's happening right now in teen media. One female group takes their tops off, the next has to take their tops off and throw water around, the next has to take their tops off, throw water around, and mudwrestle. When I think back on female superstars of the mid-nineties (say, Jewel or Shania Twain), the closest we got a was a little bit of belly. That "sexy" schoolgirl outfit Britney wore in "Hit Me Baby" seems prudish. Even Fiona Apple's "Criminal" video - once considered controversial (she was pretty young and lounging in her underwear in a bathtub with older men), would now seem pretty dull. And I remember that the Fiona Apple controversy was all about consent. She said in interviews that she felt pressured by producers to pose in ways that made her uncomfortable. But Britney fought like hell to proclaim herself totally comfortable with her body - remember the stunt on SNL where she made fun of the breast implant rumors by wearing electronic boobs? It was funny, yes, but it also said "Go on, stare at my breasts, they're my paycheck for the next 30 years."
It just bugs me that women's bodies can be treated like commodities in that way. And it wouldn't make me feel any better if it happened to men, too. Or if the women weren't all of the same 6'1" leggy type. Or if they all signed documents stating that they *really* like their roles in this ad. Because I prefer a world in which we all get to make our own choices, and in which nobody defines sexy for anybody else, and nobody uses chemicals (scented or otherwise) to force the issue.
And, as bluearisbe points out, it just lets straight guys believe that they don't need to be interesting or funny to get women. Nope, all they need to do is club her over the head and take her back to the cave. Hot damn, those were the days. . .
Interesting, no? Betcha didn't think an advertisement could cram 10 pounds of disgusting into a 5 pound bag.
No, but seriously. What IS the story with Axe? Their ads are impeccably produced, and often really funny. Even my superfeminist self thinks it's funny to watch a geeky guy spray himself with Axe and then get tackled by 20 women. Or spray himself with Axe and get hit on by his girlfriend's mother. And I suppose the implication of that earlier, much tamer, ad campaign is exactly the same as this one: Using Axe will make otherwise reasonable women throw themselves at you. As is the implication of, I would venture to say, the ad campaign of every single scent product ever made in the history of the world. Perfumes, body sprays, deodorant, soap, cologne. . . the message is "Put this on and you WILL have sex." And what's so wrong about that, anyway?
Consent. That's what's wrong. Replace the product in the commercial with. . .I don't know. . . Bacardi. Ecstasy. Roofies. Suddenly, you've got a major lawsuit on your hands. The ad normalizes gender roles that I wish like hell had died out about a century ago. It's a woman's role to remain virginal, and a man's role to bring out her inner slut. A woman cannot consent to sex, on her own, independently from booze or body sprays. It's in her nature to refuse sex, and it's in her partner's nature to force it.
Much as I hate the way that the teen world is oversexualized by the media, I can almost get in line with feminist burlesque, feminist porn, etc, etc - which bases its entire existence on the premise of adult consent: I take off my clothes because I *want* to, I enjoy it - and if you enjoy it by proxy then all the better. BUT, that culture opens the door to ads like this one. Actually, in some ways, the ad is a spot-on commentary on what's happening right now in teen media. One female group takes their tops off, the next has to take their tops off and throw water around, the next has to take their tops off, throw water around, and mudwrestle. When I think back on female superstars of the mid-nineties (say, Jewel or Shania Twain), the closest we got a was a little bit of belly. That "sexy" schoolgirl outfit Britney wore in "Hit Me Baby" seems prudish. Even Fiona Apple's "Criminal" video - once considered controversial (she was pretty young and lounging in her underwear in a bathtub with older men), would now seem pretty dull. And I remember that the Fiona Apple controversy was all about consent. She said in interviews that she felt pressured by producers to pose in ways that made her uncomfortable. But Britney fought like hell to proclaim herself totally comfortable with her body - remember the stunt on SNL where she made fun of the breast implant rumors by wearing electronic boobs? It was funny, yes, but it also said "Go on, stare at my breasts, they're my paycheck for the next 30 years."
It just bugs me that women's bodies can be treated like commodities in that way. And it wouldn't make me feel any better if it happened to men, too. Or if the women weren't all of the same 6'1" leggy type. Or if they all signed documents stating that they *really* like their roles in this ad. Because I prefer a world in which we all get to make our own choices, and in which nobody defines sexy for anybody else, and nobody uses chemicals (scented or otherwise) to force the issue.
And, as bluearisbe points out, it just lets straight guys believe that they don't need to be interesting or funny to get women. Nope, all they need to do is club her over the head and take her back to the cave. Hot damn, those were the days. . .