Cross-posted at Ms.
Tara C. sent us a great excuse to revive an old post featuring public resistance to marketing that is believed to sexually objectify women. As I wrote back then, this resistance shows us how…
…adding commentary to the ubiquitous images that surround us [can help] us to notice, even if just temporarily, that our environment is toxic to our ability to think of all people as full and complete humans.
I’ll put Tara’s submission first, but do enjoy the whole collection.
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Commentary on a Special K. ad in Dublin, sent in by Tara C. (Broadsheet):
Text:
Hey there Special-K Lady.
I know you think I should diet
So I can be slim just like you.
thing is, I think I look pretty fabulous
Just the way I am
Also, Special-K tastes like cardboardso piss off
Toban B. (a prolific SocImages contributor, by the way) sent us a set of photographs. These were snapped in Seattle, Washington by Jonathan McIntosh:
This one was written on by a teenage girl in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. It reads: “I’m sick of sexually tinted images.”
Tricia V. sent us an example of this kind of resistance in Haiti. The billboard below is in for a brand of beer called Prestige. Tricia writes: “The writing [along the bottom of] the billboard says “Ko O+ pa machandiz” which translates as ‘Women’s bodies are not merchandise.’” She was impressed at the effort exerted to climb up and write across a full-sized billboard.
NEW (May ’10)! Ang B. snapped this photo in Madison, Wisconsin:
See also: my mom has a phd in math. For a classic example, see “If it were a lady, it’d get its bottom pinched.” For an example of backlash to public anti-sexist messages, see this post on defending privilege (trigger warning).
(The pictures are from here, here, and here.)
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Lisa Wade is a professor of sociology at Occidental College. You can follow her on Twitter and Facebook.
