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October 10, 1997
Dana Perfumes To Whom It Concerns: This letter, written by educators, members of Eating Disorders Awareness and Prevention, and parents, aunts, uncles, and sisters of adolescent women, is sent in response to a recent magazine ad for "Fetish" cologne. This ad was published in a magazine insert in the Oregonian newspaper. In this ad, an adolescent woman wearing an orange bikini top and heavy, pink eye make-up has a vial of "Fetish" hanging from the center of her bikini top, and text written across her chest reads "Fetish #16: Apply generously to your neck so he can smell the scent as you shake your head 'no.'" We are extremely displeased at this advertisement, and request that you remove it immediately from magazines, newspaper inserts, and your web-page. This ad perpetuates the dangerous myth that girls and women mean "yes" when they say "no." The ad also suggests that it is acceptable, even socially desirable for women to send this type of mixed message. The text of your ad is replete with unhealthy messages for young women and men. The text communicates that a woman's voice should be ignored, that a woman who wears certain clothing or uses certain cosmetics has given her permission to be violated sexually, that women want to and may enjoy being violated sexually; the ad also suggests that a woman who claims she was violated sexually could be lying about the experience-- after all, she could have enticed her attacker by saying "no" but wearing perfume that said "yes!" The model in your ad is a thin, 13 or 14 year old who has been dressed and made up to look like an adult. The model's red-rimmed eyes may be the result of make-up, but they could just as easily be the result of drug use (i.e., "heroin sheik"), starvation, or physical assault. Together, the photograph and the text of this ad present an extremely harmful message that undoes what countless citizens (like us) and organizations (like those we represent) are trying to accomplish--to raise young women who accept and appreciate themselves because of who they are what they do, not because of how they look and how capable they are of attracting men. How ironic that this destructive, misogynist ad appeared in the same magazine that contained a poignant cover story on bulimia--a serious eating disorder that is characterized by self-destructive binge eating and purging in response to an all-encompassing obsession with weight and appearance. Another irony is that researchers find that many women who develop eating disorders have a history of being sexually abused. I wonder how many of these young women said "no" but were interpreted to mean "yes?" We request that you discontinue this advertisement and others like it. We will not buy any of your products while it is running, and we will discourage our colleagues, relatives and friends from doing so. If you and/or your staff would like to discuss this issue with the principal author of this letter (Lori M. Irving), she may be reached at (xxx) xxx-xxxx, or via electronic mail at.... Sincerely,
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