The other day, I was catching up on my weekly shows. Usually, I just speed right over the commercials but for some reason, I left them on. Little did I know I would be discovering one of the most insulting ads I've seen in quite a while.
For those who have not seen it yet, here is the offending video in question:
In the video, two construction
workers call out to an unsuspecting woman walking on the street below.
Expecting a crass cat call, the woman is surprised when they began yelling out
supportive and progressive compliments such as “I appreciate your appearance is
just one aspect of who you are” and “You know
what I’d like to see? A society in which the objectification of women makes way
for gender neutral interaction free from assumptions and expectations”. When I
heard this, I was pleased. It’s very refreshing to watch a commercial that
doesn’t objectify women’s bodies as sexual objects and this commercial even
recognized gendered implications in society. But soon my enjoyment turned into
anger. At the end of the commercial, a sign with the words “you are not you
when you’re hungry” pops up on the screen.
I
find this particularly offensive because it manages to be sexist to both men
and women. It mocks men who do actually believe in gender equality and do not
sexualize random women, and it mocks women as if they can only be objectified
by men. It shows that women should expect to be sexually harassed by regular
men. This ad is essentially a big fuck you to the feminist cause and belittles
legitimate issues with sexual objectification and misogyny. This article for
Time Magazine also argues that the ad makes it seem like blue-collar workers
such as construction workers are only capable of being blubbering sexist jerks.
This
ad is wrong on so many levels. I imagine that Snickers did in fact meet their
intent by creating attention around this controversial commercial, but one
thing is for sure: I will not support a company that openly mocks men who
support feminist issues and upholds the sexual objectification of women.
As a feminist, I was definitely offended by this video. I especially don't like that it tricks you into think that it is a pro-woman commercial. I agree with you that it is both sexist for men and women. This is a horrible representation of how a man should act. "You are not you when you're hungry" is trying to depict men that support women as weak. Also the word "hungry" in itself, put with this commercial of women walking by makes me take it in two different ways, that they are hungry for a snickers, and a woman, which makes this whole thing worse.
ReplyDeleteWe need more women directors in our lives.
I really couldn't believe what I was seeing the first time I saw the ad. I agree with you, it's upsetting not only for women but also for men as well. The way the commercial portrays the men's sensitivity to important issues definitely implies that men who think that way are weak, which is certainly not the case. What irked me about the commercial is it made it seem like men MUST EAT ALL THE TIME or be perceived as a wuss.
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