We here at Sociological Images have been less-than-positive about efforts by companies to co-opt activism by linking the purchase of their products to (tiny) donations (see here, here, here, and here). For an alternative to the typical strategy, see this really awesome South African commercial announcing a collaboration between Samsung and POWA (People Opposing Woman Abuse). It might make a nice illustration of how such collaborations could be different.
Thanks to Marinus for sending this along!
Showing posts with label rape. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rape. Show all posts
Take Their Money And Run
"No" Doesn't Really Mean "No"
Here we have a young woman (possibly a teenager) with a vial of Fetish perfume hanging between her breasts. The text of the ad, which ran in magazines targeting young women, says:
Fetish #16: Apply generously to your neck so he can smell the scent as you
shake your head 'no.'
I assume I don't have to explain the implication of that one. I found it here.
.
Bumper Stickers
I found all these stickers for sale at ChopperStickers. All the misspellings are theirs.
"I'm all for gay marriage as long as both bitches are hot!"
"Women are like guns...you keep one around long enough and your gonna want to shoot it."
"Great Legs!! What time do they open?"
"It is customary to pay for motorcycle rides with oral sex." This one was posted in both the "for the guys" and "for the ladies" section.
"My nipples get harder than most men's dicks!"
"No matter how good lookin' she is somewhere some guy is sick of her shit!"
"Girls wanted. All positions, will train!"
"I may not have the cherry but I still have the box it came in" (From the women's section.)
"You remind me of my wife except you're not buried in the back yard."
"Don't ask to ride my bike and I won't ask to ride your bitch!"
"The quickest way to a woman's heart is thru her fuckin' rib cage!"
I don't even understand that one.
"9 out of ten women are battered. I'm still eatin' mine plain!"
Femdefence Anti-Rape Device
One of my students pointed me to the Femdefence site, based in Sweden. According to the site,
The project Femdefence is an attempt to contribute to the debate on men’s sexual violence against women in society, using the esthetics of design, and the semiotics of marketing.
Here is a schematic of their hypothetical "rape prevention device," found here:
Here is a video made as a part of this project. The second half is probably not safe for work.
It's sort of along the lines of the whole pseudo-Freudian "vagina dentata" idea. The video really freaks me out.
Just to clarify, this isn't an actual product, it's an art/commentary project. I assume this is too.
Thanks, Velanie W.!
Passion or Attack? UPDATE
I posted this first image back in October:
This ad is disturbing because you can't really tell if it's consensual or an attack. And the perfume is called "Unforgivable."
UPDATE: One of my students recently pointed out the ad for Unforgivable for Men:
Could provide a really interesting discussion of differing images of masculine and feminine sexuality and power.
And here's a video of another ad for Unforgivable for Men, clearly linking sex and power:
"Sex with a Child is a Crime" HIV Awareness Poster
Christine M. sent in this photo of a poster she "took in Zambia in May 2006 while I was visiting the compound of a child sponsoring organization called Children International. It speaks for itself in a country that has a high rate of HIV infection. The very fact that such a poster is needed is chilling."
Is the child at the top supposed to be Asian? I can't tell.
Thanks, Chris!
'Cause Rape Is Funny
This bit appears on the Maxim magazine website. It uses rape, and women's apparent attraction to men who look like rapists, in order to be humorous. I think it's particularly interesting that it includes a jab at a Republican (or is it just "the establishment"?). If they are obviously leftist/anti-establishment, are we to believe that they must be good guys, therefore this use of rape for comedic value is okay? Or is this just another manifestation of the equal opportunity insult comedy found in products like South Park and Knocked Up? There is a lot going on here and I'm pretty sure I have yet to fully grasp it. Any thoughts?
Insult Comedy
This comic, Lisa Lampanelli, is a very successful comic whose entire act involves aggressively offending every possible group and congratulating herself on getting us to lighten up. The audience thinks it's great. Gwen and I saw her on Comedy Central tonight doing her own special, so this is mainstream comedy.
So how do we analyze this sociologically? Gwen and I are too demoralized to formulate a coherent response at this time. But at least we now know that it's not rape if he's good lookin'.
Hypersexualizing Little Girls So As To Discourage Hypersexualizing Little Girls
These anti-statutory rape PSAs were made by advertising agency Serve for the United Way of Milwaukee. They created enough of a controversy that they were pulled (see an article at Salon).
In response to the controversy, the advertising agency put a little over 2 minutes of focus group footage on youtube:
Equal Opportunity Gun Ownership
Anti-gun control propaganda (found here) aimed at EVERYBODY.
What you might expect from the pro-gun lobby:
For kids!
Pro-gun feminism?
Guns are for fags:
Gun control is racist:
Also see this post.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
