Just call yourself a feminist and get it over with.

Thank you for that very intelligent and thought provoking comment. Though I am not sure what you expected me to take from that.

“when some strange man walks up to you, smacks
you on the ass, and calls you toots- don’t get upset because that’s
what stuff like this- stuff you call funny and not a big deal- trains
men to do.”

As a guy, myself - I think you need to be around normal people, rather than uneducated idiots like this. (Providing this actually happened)

Shocking isn’t it?

I hate to say it, but I’ve been caught off guard more than once by the rudeness/stupidity of some people.

People need to learn self control =p

“trains men to do.”

huh? Are you going to qualify that or explain it at all?

What kind of men do you hang around with? I tend to avoid men that would take a glossy ad as “training” or “permission.”

Many people posting are discussing how they just avoid men, or people, who are influenced by ads like these. Thats not possible.

We are ALL affected by advertising, everyday. And like it or not it does affects our perception of what is acceptable and what is not. Women are over sexualized in the media and this is having a negative effect on how men treat women and how women see their own bodies.

I don’t think men are trained to do something by an ad they see
People who objectify people instead of realizing no one is what you see in an ad are the ones who need to rethink what thet have been taught by their people

The fact that both of these signs probably got approved by Durex, their marketing company, and the company who agreed to put them up- people who helped to promote the message behind these ads, including the person who started the project- believed that these signs would sell condoms…..is probably the saddest thing.

Of course when we see images like this the probability of immediately acting out in such ways is slim. That’s not the point.

It’s the *exposure and the *impact of the message=both things that contribute to success rates in advertising. I’m willing to bet A LOT of people were confronted with sexism when seeing these disrespectful, crude and negative ads.

We all grow up with beliefs about men and women-whether good or bad. As we age the beliefs become instinctual. You don’t think about it, it’s become a habit and each person who sees those signs confirm those beliefs.

Considering that the messages of these ads are aimed towards the people who probably did not grow up with positive beliefs about gender assignments….I wonder how many people reacted negatively to this sign?

We may not always act on our beliefs, but they do contribute to the general quality of life.

Its more than sexualizing women in advertising. Ever notice that its a woman who’s in the commericals for housecleaning products? You never see a guy with a vacuum cleaner, mop or laundry detergent.

hah you must not be home during the day scott, I see PLENTY of men cleaning on tv and LOVE it.

Wow, those ads are over the top! I am lenient when it comes to condom ads - many of them make sex funny and also an equal experience for the partners, but these clearly alienate men from women. By making their potential partners into nothing but an object to “smack”, sex is made less pleasureable for everyone. There are MUCH better condom ads than this - I encourage everyone to seek them out!

I find the ads a little distasteful, but I don’t believe they actually “train” most men to think they can grab women.

If you *do* happen to run across someone that is dumb enough to take such advertising to heart and thinks your body is fair game, I find an elbow to the face works wonders in terms of re-education…

I’ll have you know that some advert that is clearly meant as a joke will not “train” me to do anything. How stupid do you think men are? There is feminism, (wanting women to have an equal place in society) which i’m all for, but what your “train” comment implies is that men are no better than animals, if this is how you really think you have a serious female superiority and that makes you no better than the men you are complaining about, you get me “toots”?

P.S no mention of the many advertisments nowadays that either insult men to sell products to women, or the adverts that objectify men, diet coca cola had a big succession of them a year or so ago.

Those ads are really disturbing!

Isn’t the first one a fake? I mean, it was from a Burger King campaign I think. Someone photoshoped the durex box.

So, do you think it’s still offensive if you’re talking about eating a big hamburguer?

[…] In response to anyone who took offense to the post on Ads that Objectify Women. […]

[…] I thought Durex had won the award for the most objectifying ads. […]

I’m not posting comments that address the “trains” statement I made because if you read the full post, you’ll see that I wrote a follow up that discusses what I meant by that.

Just another one of the self-centered feminists. You only think about yourselves. There are just as many adverts out there that objectify men. Personally I think feminists like you simply suffer from low self esteem. You’d rather women wear sweaters and pant suits, or anything that doesn’t show a figure. Get over yourself, you’re nothing special.

Thank you for what I assume is a well thought out argument, short sighted and narrow minded yes, but thank you for keeping it discussion-worthy. While you are entitled to your opinion on the matter, I’ve always thought it was prudent to stay on topic. This site is about women, hence the post. If you want to read about ads that objectify men and the effect it has on society then feel free to do a little research and respond with a post of your own.

Check these out too:

http://sociologicalimages.blogspot.com/2008/03/products-shaped-like-female-bodies.html

http://sociologicalimages.blogspot.com/2008/03/this-is-called-bitchcruiser-you-can.html

Zund, “As a guy, myself - I think you need to be around normal people, rather than uneducated idiots like this. (Providing this actually happened)”.

As a guy myself, I think you are mssing the point. These aren’t always men women know doing this; most of the time it is strangers, in a public place.

Er, I’m quite sure that the top picture you displayed is infact a burger king advert that was doctored, but otherwise I support your point

Here it is….. http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/4933/burgerking19kq.jpg

Does that make it any less objectifying in either case?

I agree it’s in bad taste, but the “training” remark is pretty insulting

I’ve already said that train= the subconscious. For further information please read this rather snotty clarification I wrote. It didn’t seem snotty at the time but since it’s already out there.

http://www.alldivamedia.com/blog/2007/09/02/say-what-you-want-its-still-objectification/

[…] to be in on the deal. There are so many sexist and degrading condom ads floating around (see here, here, and here for examples, but don’t say I didn’t warn you–they’re not […]