Several stories have been making waves in the UK this week. One was about an advertisement for a protein supplement. The ad featured a bikini-clad woman and a headline ‘Is your body beach ready?’ This sparked a bit of a protest, with a lot of people banging on about unrealistic expectations of what constitutes a well formed body. I was a bit confused by this, since the woman in question, while certainly slim, is far short of skinny. You can’t count her ribs or anything like that. We also have the fact that the Daily Mail and other papers will trot out the ‘Get ready for the beach’ diet plans as they do every year, and nobody bats an eyelid. Plus I don’t see a lot of feminists getting too aerated about the unhealthy body image aspirations of men when faced with advertising images of David Beckham with a perfect six pack and a pair of socks stuffed down his Calvin Kleins.
There’s something else too. The model, an Aussie called Renee Summerfield, claims to be a dyed in the wool vegan. Protein World products are all based on whey protein. How does that work?
We also had Poppy Smart, who called in the coppers because she was fed up of being wolf whistled by a bunch of builders. I can see that it would be extremely irritating to have some hairy arsed brickies whistling and leching at you, and even threatening in some circumstances. There’s even talk of making wolf whistling a specific crime, but I think that’s over-reacting a bit. Police have quite enough to do. They clearly thought so too, since they took no action, sensibly leaving the site foreman to sort it out. However, one of the limited-intelligence workforce said, ‘If she comes past again, I’ll whistle again if she’s lucky. I’ve snogged loads of birds by whistling at them.’ Perhaps a baseball bat can knock some sense into his thick skull. Or a simple, ‘Get lost, cockless,’ might work.
Odd bit of controversy that I simply don’t get. Quite a lot of comment about The Avengers film. Lots of women harrumphing about the fact that Scarlet Johannson’s character is referred to as a ‘slut.’ Hang on, she’s called the Black Widow. That’s all right but slut is not? Oh and by the way you idiot zealots, the character isn’t real. It’s fiction. You can say what you like about fictional characters. Look at my character Charlie if you want to see abuse of fictional characters. She’s bloody brilliant at it.
Lastly, my personal heroine of the week. Instead of faffing about on the fringes, Ione Wells struck a blow for women in general, and for her community and others. She was sexually assaulted at a Tube station, and bravely forwent her automatic right to anonymity and wrote an open letter to her attacker. It’s a masterpiece of sense and courage, a refusal to back down. You can find it here. http://www.cherwell.org/lifestyle/features/2015/04/24/not-guilty-a-letter-to-my-assaulter
If that doesn’t lift your spirits, I don’t know what will.
The most infamous thing about the diet advert is that to be allowed on the beach I should fit into somebody else’s narrow view of beauty. I am beach ready when I go to the beach, have a bikini body when I put on a bikini (something I did not even like when 9 years old, don’t worry, I will never show up in a bikini at a beach near you) and refuse to feel bad just because I am not the wet dream of somebody else who makes his money by diet products. But I am 46. How many younger women do not have this kind of personality to show up a finger (I am German, I only give ONE finger) to the expectation that a woman should try to look desirable?
She’s a pretty normal looking woman, no catwalk Skeletor. And know what? Women make things worse for themselves. They are the chief culprits.
https://nobodysreadingme.wordpress.com/2013/06/20/how-to-annoy-lots-of-people/
I did not put any blame on the model, mind you. But she does not look “normal” – she is a model after all! She looks fit and slim – and I would venture to say her BMI might rather be 17,5 than 21 …
Ione Wells is incredibly courageous – kudos. Excellent letter she penned.
Top marks to her. Everybody I know, women and men, is applauding her
I find it mildly odd, but not too surprising, no woman has responded to the Beckham comment. Plus we had women salivating all over the place about that guy in ‘Poldark’ getting his kit off. Some double standards here.
LOL – well, I could say something about “Becks,” but American adverts are still fairly tame compared to those in the UK, France, or the Scandinavian nations. Over here, all we see are scantily-clad women…meanwhile, any ad featuring a male shows said male looking more like the late Chris Farley and less like the late Patrick Swayze.
Is “Becks” hot? Of course he is – to deny it would be a lie. But I also think that Conan O’Brien, Craig Ferguson, and Nick Offerman are “doable,” to put it bluntly.
A person who can laugh at themselves is very attractive to me because I’m the same way. I laugh at myself the most.
Looks fade…the mind can last a lifetime, barring Alzheimer’s or ‘Mad Cow’ disease…and the mind is the most erogenous zone of all.
😉
No arguments here. But does that mean that you think it’s OK for women to find men hot, but not OK for men to find women hot?
I could ask it the same way in reverse – it’s OK for men to find women hot, but not OK for women to find men hot? That’s a moot point, IMHO – you might as well ask why sex is enjoyable! 😀
It seems that there are deeper questions here – hotness of men or women isn’t the main issue. For me, I see women of all shapes and sizes (but not necessarily any hue other than “Ivory”) shoved into lingerie to advertise everything from car batteries to DISH Network. Meanwhile, the only men in advertisements that I see regularly are those with a Galafinakin-esque physique – and yes, I have his name spelled wrong but you get the gist.
Why is it that most adverts have scantily-clad women of unachievable proportions, but will only feature fat sloppy men in BVDs? I just want some equivalent exchange, personally. If I have to see upthrust breasts everytime I turn on the telly, then at least give me a fine arse, strong legs, or broad shoulders to drool over every now and then.
It’s really as simple as that…and feminists don’t know what they want, so I’ve never paid attention to their ramblings.
*drags her soapbox back to her fortress of solitude*
😉
The internet is full of images of idealised men wearing little more than a cowboy hat and a smile. If I raise the issue, the posters simply say, ‘It’s only a bit of fun, isn’t it?’ Many of those selfsame posters would organise a lynch mob if I posted similarly salacious pictures of women. I find else to be more objectionable than images of scantily clad women. It’s the ‘TTIAK advertising on television. That industryspeak for ‘Two tars in a kitchen,’ when you get two women discussing the merits of, for example, different floor cleaning products. Women don’t do that, but the sexist myth persists.
The marketing and advertising industry is definitely shite – I think we can agree on that. I’ve worked in various parts of said industry in my younger years, and it destroys you from the inside out…which is why I quit it. My mindset got much healthier and my self-esteem is intact – I don’t think the same can be said for the likes of Donatella Versace, et al.
The other sexist myth I see is the man who just can’t do anything right in the home, and is all thumbs attempting to change a dirty nappy – in swoops mother hen to rescue baby’s bottom from dear, doltish Da.
Men work in and out of the home, just like women do…some are great at it, and some are horrid – gender notwithstanding.
🙂
Also – I wouldn’t be offended if you post salacious pics – just give everyone something nice to look at. Equal opportunity titillation! 😀
I worked in advertising for a good long time. But this was in the pharma industry. I was a stickler for going, ‘We can’t claim that. No evidence at all.’
Do not get me started on the current crop of ‘All men are completely useless at whatever they try to do’ adverts. Just don’t get me started.
Good points all. I did not get to read the letter just because it took me to a blank page.. But I will. Did D.Beckham really stuff his Calvin Klein’s with socks.. Damn that’s just wrong and so terrible an image for men.. Why aren’t they complaining? 😉
Let’s put it this way. I’m pretty sure there was some enhancement. Why don’t men complain? We’re pretty good at laughing at ourselves.
Good for men.. Wish women would lighten up a little. I’m not a die hard feminist.. In fact I think the feminist movement of the.. 70’s ..80″s just screwed it up for everyone.. That’s a whole other story..but I wouldn’t sue a guy.. Or call the cops.. For holding the door open or a little catcall now and then. Just sayin
I’ve always disapproved of catcalling/wolf whistling. As for simple courtesy, such a opening doors…
https://nobodysreadingme.wordpress.com/2015/03/14/how-to-deal-with-bad-news/
And I was being a little cheeky asking about men 😉