This is, without a doubt, very offensive to women. It is, however, even more offensive to men. The advertisement clearly suggests that men can only get sexual ardor in exchange for very expensive pieces of jewelry.
So my question is: if this kind of rhetoric is equally offensive to men and women, then who promotes it? And why? There must have been a group of people somewhere who got together and decided that this billboard was a good idea. What could they have been thinking? Or have they lived the lifestyle of buying sex for money and calling it "love" and "relationship" for so long that they can't see it for what it is any more?
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12 comments:
The whole jewelry industry exists only because majority of population agrees to believe in high value of crystalline carbon, chromium-doped aluminum oxide, and other similar things. :) :)
Yes, they are beautiful and fascinating and sometimes stones or the metal around them or both are real works of art... But how large percentage of the people are investing as much into the works of art as they invest into jewelry? :) Therefore, for the industry to exist and to prosper, the population needs to believe these things are a must for everybody. And the task for advertisement becomes to perpetuate the existing traditions, as well as to create new mental links between jewelry and other things considered positive, for instance sex, love, family, relationships, etc.
The particular advertisement you observed is actually a cross between the age-old "diamonds as a symbol of love" theme, and "sex sells".
V.
I understand all about wanting to sell junk to people. I'm never upset with advertisement strategies because I firmly believe that people only buy what they want to buy. Advertisement only legitimizes their desire.
But this billboard... I could see this being put on in the 50ies. But today??
My boyfriend asked me why the feminist organizations aren't doing anything about this. I had to say that they concentrate on fighting for a woman's right to give birth without medical help and breastfeed until retirement.
In Spain, however, even after decades of a fascist dictatorship, feminist groups would not be silent about this.
I completely agree that it would be appropriate for some feminist organization to protest. However, I suspect this will be the issue on which they get the smallest support base.
I also insist that advertisement and selling junk to people is not that isolated from the feminist issues as it seems (from your text) you believe. Advertisement managed to partially hijack feminism and turn it into consumer issue, reducing "power of women" to power to buy. If I am not mistaken, you complained recently about Cosmopolitan brand of "feminism"...
And it is not just about legitimizing desires people already have. Creating market for a new kind of product (especially not very necessary one) often involves creating new desires in people, not just legitimizing those they already have.
V.
The power to buy is almost the only kind of power women have. I read a survey recently proving that 80% of purchasing decisions in the US are made by women.
"Selling feminism" is actually a very interesting topic. Especially, since many people seem to think that Sex and the City with its blatant consumerist propaganda is feminist.
"80% of purchasing decisions in the US are made by women"
-According to the billboard in question, with the money their husbands give them for sex. :-)
No, the husbands give them diamonds for sex, not money. :) And they buy those diamonds themselves. As a result, the following correction needs to be made to statistics: 80% of purchasing decisions are made by women, 10% are made by men about diamonds, and 10% are made by men about everything else... :)
V.
Must be some pretty good sex to merit a diamond. It must also be kind of rare. :-) Unless the guy is a billionaire. Not many people are rich enough to give out a couple of diamonds every day. :-)
It is wholesale...
V.
"It is wholesale..."
-Thank you for this! I just burst out laughing so loud that people here in Starbucks now look scared of me. :-) :-)
You are welcome... With you it is sometimes difficult to predict what you'd find amusing, and what chauvinistic...
By the way, why did you decide it was about sex in the first place... :) Maybe it was about vacuuming...
V.
Ha ha ha! I just scared the people here again. Soon they won't let me coome in. :-)
"Give her a diamond, gentlemen, and maybe then she will finally do some vacuuming." It's too funny.
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