V is NOT for Victory: Summer's Eve Update
So Summer's Eve has pulled some of their offensive ads and we've seen a lot of people praising them for this decision. We've even seen it called a "victory" or a "success". Sorry, but no. This is not a victory and there is still a lot more that needs to be done before Summer's Eve earns the right to give themselves a big pat on the back.
We are asking that people still continue to sign the petition to end the entire campaign and don't give Summer's Eve any more credit than they actually deserve...
The ad agency that created these ads still doesn't believe that they were racist.
The ads that were removed were the "talking-hand-vagina" videos, because many complained that they perpetuated racist stereotypes about black and Latina women. Only a week before the ads were pulled, the Richards Group (the ad agency that designed the campaign) defended the videos, claiming that they weren't racist. Stan Richards, the agency's founder, called the ads "relatable" and gave the excuse that their "in house multi-cultural experts confirmed the approach". (So then it must be okay!).................
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8 comments:
Just curious: what do you think of Slut Walks?
How are those ads not racist? I couldn't believe those ads when I saw them on Colbert, they look like something Saturday Night Live would produce if they weren't so comitted to being painfully unfunny. Even if they hadn't been racist, they were just weird and a little disturbing.
makropoulos, while i love the sentiment and agree with it a million percent, i HATE the name. that's just how i feel. i HATE it. i know people say let's say the 'n' word to desensitize peeps to it, but i don't agree and i don't agree with SLUT either. i get it, i really do, i just DO NOT like it
prof, yeah, not much more i can add. you've crystalized my thoughts
And I agree with you. I recently heard the term, and saw pictures of some of the "walks" and it just rubbed me the wrong way. Maybe it's a generational thing, but I just don't think women serve themselves very well to allow the word "slut" with its negative connotations to be perpetuated. I think it also enforces upon the women participating a certain type of activity that was transcribed by men, to begin with. Like you, though, I agree with the sentiment. But there are better ways to do it! It just takes a little more imagination to find them.
The point of reclaiming the word 'slut' is that we're not accepting the negative connotations. It's not the word that's bad, it's the usage. We've decided to use it in a different way. Basically, if you think I'm a slut because of the way I act/dress/have sex/whatever, then fine. I'd rather be a slut in YOUR eyes than a fraud in my own. So call me whatever you want, you can't hurt me with that word because WORDS are only fueled with what you put into them and I put pride in myself and my rights and my choice into the word "slut".
As far as the SlutWalks... it's not even a reclamation of the word, but rather a poke at the police officer who told women that to avoid being raped they should avoid dressing like a slut. His view says that if you are a slut (or if you dress like a slut) then it's your own fault if you're raped. This is unacceptable. The point of SlutWalk is not to say "yay! let's all be sluts!" it's to say that rape is rape, no matter who it is done to... and rape is the fault of the rapist, no matter what we were wearing. Sluts can be raped too and we're walking for all women, sluts, women who "dress like sluts" and every one else's right to NOT be raped.
PS: Glad you like the blog and hope you signed the petition!
lilith, i get it i really do. truly i understand. i know we are ALWAYS asking for it because of the way we dress or the things we say or the glass of wine we have. i know how SOME police see us. i know how SOME medical staff see us. (i know because i not only lived it, i volunteered for many a year at a sexual abuse crisis hotline. i was a go between the victim* and the police and the hospital staff). i won't ever shut my mouth about it. i won't ever stop doing what i can about it
i just don't like the words that were chosen.
yes, i signed the petition (and i write from time to time about my feelings in general on feminine 'hygiene' products).
love love love evil slutopia
*i use the term victim because at that point that is indeed what they are
Lilith, & Rose: what provacative thoughts! This is an excellent use of the internet as a public forum. I too understand the political statement behind the slutwalk -- I recall a time when there was a similar movement to reclaim and redefine the word "cunt." I absolutely agree with the concept that words are as good as the person who interprets (and uses) them, and that we should try to empty them of negative connotations. But sometimes that takes a very long time --
I have been a victim of domestic violence; I have worked very hard to redefine myself, so I am not considered a victim, neither by myself nor by those who encounter me. When I think of the construction of the "slut" I see it as very complex -- yes, the word has negative connotations because SOME members of society have given it those. Notably, SOME aspects of society have determined that if a woman dresses/acts/talks a certain way, she must be a "slut." Especially when it comes to dress (but also some actions), I am prone to think -- ok (for instance) I am very comfortable and feel like myself when braless and barelegged (hairy legged, much of the time!) -- If I go to the store and buy clothes that allow me to be comfortable, I am wearing what some designer defined as "comfortable" for women, and that is often, these days, the dress that has commonly been associated with sluttiness. I'd rather make my own clothes, quite frankly, or wear my brother's old t-shirt, or whatever is REALLY the most comfortable thing for me to wear (I love wearing cool, loose cotton dresses in the summer!), and not what the current fashion market place offers to me, because, quite frankly, it appears to me to be perpetuating the concepts attached to the concept of "slut", even as it pretends to be offering us comfortable clothes. Hope that makes sense; I'm writing kind of fast! -- love the discussion.
makropoulos-LOVE your input! i'm not going to talk too much about dress or makeup other than to say, i have never and will never look like the grrrl next door. i will never blend. i like how i look and how i dress. and comfort is #1 with me as well
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