Are you a man? Do you love candles? Are you deeply and appropriately ashamed of your love of candles because everyone knows candles are feminine (and there is nothing worse than being feminine)? Well today is your lucky day! Yankee Candles has released a line of candles that’s masculine enough to fit any manly man’s… Continue Reading →
Sexualized Svedka fembot, go away!
Ok, so – I know that the last post I wrote was about an alcohol commercial promising to make you manly, and I can’t say that I was exactly expecting to be hit with another wave of sexist advertisements for an alcohol brand – but then again, given what we’ve seen thus far, we can’t… Continue Reading →
JC Penney and Gap lead the way in gay/lesbian advertising – but have we reached true inclusivity?
My friends, there’s no denying it: the political and social landscape of 21st century America is changing rapidly. On May 9, President Barack Obama publicly endorsed gay marriage, becoming the first American President to do so. On Saturday the 19th, the NAACP followed suit. These drastic endorsements in the political realm are significant milestones for… Continue Reading →
VisitPhilly city campaign sanctions street harassment
As a city girl and proud former Philadelphian, I was deeply disturbed to learn that the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation’s (GPTMC) latest campaign includes citywide billboards that outwardly encourage street harassment. Unsolicited commentary in public spaces has always sparked a special brand of rage in me. Long before I identified as a feminist, I… Continue Reading →
Tequila 1800 will make you a man!
Did you know that alcohol has a gender? Well, in case any of the other examples written by myself and other fellow About-Face writers hadn’t convinced you, 1800 Tequila is here to really drive that message home. In a series of ads meant to emphasize the supposed purity of this brand, two specifically stand out… Continue Reading →
Facial recognition ad targets women to raise awareness
A new facial recognition powered ad has been installed at a billboard bus stop in London as part of an innovative advertising initiative. The best part? It’s for an amazing cause! Plan UK, a non-profit that brings educational opportunities to children in developing countries, has decided to invest their advertising dollars in facial recognition technology… Continue Reading →
PETA strikes again in San Francisco: Women stand in as literal pieces of meat
Women in the media are relentlessly treated like nothing more than pieces of meat, presented as objects for the mindless consumption of the viewers, and for the financial gain of the industries behind sexist marketing tactics. Who would have expected that an organization could take the “women treated as pieces of meat” route so literally? Are… Continue Reading →
Skinnygirl Cocktails: Because we all want to be a skinny girl
Skinnygirl cocktails sounds like a great idea at first (to some) but I’m not buying it (figuratively and literally). The existence of these low-cal beverages, always marketed toward women, contribute to the larger cultures of reinforcing gender binaries, body shaming, and the diet industry. This type of gendered marketing is frequently based on false stereotypes that… Continue Reading →
Yves Saint Laurent sells hope in a jar with Forever Young Liberator
Women don’t really fall for the outrageous claims of beauty products… do they? You know that saying “There’s truth in humor”? Well, it’s never been more accurate than in the hilarious send-up that positions Adobe Photoshop’s technology as a fancy, Euro (“by Adobé”) beauty product. What’s so great about the spoof (as further detailed in this… Continue Reading →