Serena Williams takes a swing at victim-blaming!

In an interview Rolling Stone, she blames the Stubenville rape victim for being raped. She also characterizes the rapists’ punishment as too harsh. Her comments:

“Do you think it was fair, what they got? They did something stupid, but I don’t know. I’m not blaming the girl, but if you’re a 16-year-old and you’re drunk like that, your parents should teach you: Don’t take drinks from other people,” Williams said to Rodrick of Rolling Stone. “She’s 16, why was she that drunk where she doesn’t remember? It could have been much worse. She’s lucky. Obviously, I don’t know, maybe she wasn’t a virgin, but she shouldn’t have put herself in that position, unless they slipped her something, then that’s different.”

Where to begin…

Positing that the CONVICTED RAPISTS have too harsh of a punishment (1 year each in prison)? NOT COOL

Characterizing rape as “something stupid.” Serena, “something stupid” is when you lock yourself out of your apartment. Or eat one too many slices of pizza. Not when you force yourself upon another person. Not when you rape. NOT COOL.

“I’m not blaming the girl, but….” To quote the fabulous tweet by Jamil Smith:

THERE IS NO BUT.

Now back to Serena:

Blaming the victim because she was drunk? NOT COOL.

Shaming the victim because she was 16 and drunk? Funny, neither of those things make it okay to rape her. (And by funny, I mean my god why does this still need explaining to people?!) NOT COOL.

Thinking there is some sort of a difference in the rape if she were a virgin or not? Seems like someone’s previous sexual experience makes their rape meaningful to you or not. NOT COOL.

Professing that if the rapists “slipped her something” then everything is “different” …. Somehow I am doubtful that after a paragraph of blaming a rape victim and lamenting for the rapists’ punishment, you are going to blame the victim much less. Whether drugged by the rapists, or if the victim drank herself and then she was raped, IT IS STILL RAPE. So we find your final bizarre conclusion NOT COOL.

Back to the middle of her victim-blaming tirade, Serena had this to say: “It could have been much worse. She’s lucky.”

Serena, you clearly don’t understand what happened in the first place. You do not understand rape. 

Please think before you utilize your national platform to victim-blame and slut-shame.

lacigreen:

ad-busting:

I refuse to obsess about my age, and I refuse to accept the idea that looking younger is better.

ugh can’t even get old without getting shit on

Age-shaming, still not cool.

ad-busting:

OMG you’re getting old. You’re turning 40! You better not get fat as well, or you’re done for.

Fat-shaming, age-shaming, all of the above - NOT COOL

Making light of sexual harassment to sell tiny cars? Not cool.

Fixing the ad with “If this lady was a car she’d run you down?” Marginally cooler.

ad-busting:

Ad-busting submission

Here’s an ad for Veet (a hair removal product). 

Ok, so let’s just break down everything that’s wrong with this stupid ad.

This isn’t the view you signed up for? Oh, sorry that you don’t like the view of my legs. I don’t groom (or not groom) my body hair for your fucking viewing pleasure.

Are her hairy legs so goddamn hideous that The Seven Dwarfs and all the forest creatures have to cover their eyes, gasp and back away in fear?

FYI Veet, there are ways to sell hair removal products without making body hair seem like some horrible disease. 

WORST FAIRY-TALE EVER.

And they all lived NOT COOL ever after.

leanin:

Happy 50th Anniversary of the Equal Pay Act! (sort of). Here are some sobering visuals: For every dollar earned by a white man in America, a white woman earns, on average, 77 cents, a black woman earns 69 cents, and a Latina woman earns 57 cents. (Infographic by the lovely Emily Nemens for LeanIn.Org.)

Swiffer’s appropriation of a feminist icon and their quick backtrack is the latest reminder of how sexism is still alive and well in advertising. Famously prevalent in car commercials and video game marketing, sexist advertising takes a character of its own in the gun industry’s marketing, feeding off exploitative images of women and starkly violent […]

Kumar Ramanathan and Think Progress have compiled the Seven Most Sexist Gun Ads for your viewing displeasure:

1. EAA Corp’s serial sexist ads

“The European American Armory (EAA) Corporation’s advertising frequently uses exploitative imagery of scantily-clad women to promote its guns, using sexualized female bodies to both draw attention and generalizing the idea that gun ownership and usage is sexy”

2. Glock’s “Wrong Girl” Ad

“This four-minute ad follows a young woman as she returns to her home, where she is alone (and scantily-clad, of course). As her door rattles, she is left looking vulnerable and scared – until she picks up her gun and disposes of the grisly predator with sheer force of fear. Glock’s message promotes the age-old argument that guns stop rape, painting women as helpless victims until they have firearms at their side. Smaller outfits than Glock have used the same concept in their advertising.”

3. “Which would protect her health best?”

“Beyond being another example of the guns-stop-rape meme, this ad implores parents to make sure their daughters are armed. A cell phone and a pink-wrapped condom sit beside the gun, pitting contraception as weak. It also perpetuates the idea that all rape is committed by masked strangers in alleyways, ignoring the prevalence of acquaintance rape.”

4. Open Range Sports targets bachelor parties

“In another example of exploitative imagery, Open Range Sports uses a pregnant woman dressed in lingerie in a bridal veil to remind men that they should get their shooting out of the way before their weddings. This bizarre ad is part of a larger “Shotgun Wedding” campaign advertising bachelor and bachelorette parties hosted at gun ranges.”

5. POF-USA tell us assault rifles are sexy

“The Patriot Ordinance Factory’s ad uses the iconically sexist mudflap girl silhouette, with the company’s flagship assault rifle emerging from her breasts. The imagery crudely sexualizes assault weapons, perpetuating the concept of a violent, bigoted masculinity.”

6. Bushmaster wants to reissue your “man card”

“Sexism in gun ads doesn’t just emerge from misappropriating sexual violence or using exploitative imagery of women. Bushmaster’sextensive “man card” campaign is an example of how gun advertising casually taps into a conception of violent masculinity. The campaign, which used to have an entire section of the Bushmaster website devoted to it, allows you to test your manliness and revoke others’ man cards. It tops off with a poster of an assault rifle, the possession of which allows you to “consider your man card reissued.””

7. Daisy Rifles will help with your son’s manliness

“This Daisy Air Rifles ad is targeted primarily at mothers, and promises that “millions of clean-cut, alert American boys” grew up on their product, developing “character and manliness.” By attaching a concept of gun ownership to “manliness” and hammering home the idea that boys develop “strength” through shooting, ads like this one perpetuate the social norm that guns and violence are integral to masculinity.”

Needless to say, these ads are NOT COOL.

camelsareboss:

think-progress:

think-progress:

Doing it wrong Swiffer: They use a feminist icon to promote women mopping the kitchen. 

UPDATE: Swiffer agreed to remove Rosie from mop ads.

SWIFFER. WHAT. WHO TOLD YOU THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA.

On Monday afternoon, news outlets highlighted images showing that the company had taken the face of a feminist icon from the World War II era to promote its new line of mopping products. Many felt this symbolic appropriation was akin to moving Rosie from the production line back to the kitchen.

But on Tuesday, Swiffer told the Washington Post, “we are working to remove [the Rosie image] from where it’s being used as soon as possible.” The company is also responding to Twitter users complaining about the image, apologizing to anyone who was offended.

Thanks to everyone who reached out to Swiffer to tell them their ad was NOT COOL!

Keep holding advertisers accountable!

Throwback to Doctor Pepper flavored misogyny 

(Source: lilleen)

forgiveness-and-permission:

OBJECTIFICATION ALERT.

like, why is this necessary? Advertising a sandwich. Really? Really?

ARG!

Not cool, Burger King.

NOT COOL.

Save women, not your sexual idealization of them.

Not-cool costume marketing, now cool. Or at least cooler.

camelsareboss:

ghastlymcmay:

Fixed it. x

Reversing sexist Halloween costumes. Left, watermelon costume marketed towards men. Right, watermelon costume marketed towards women.

(Source: packeymcmay)

ad-busting:

Here’s another example of an ad I busted that makes stereotypes about the kind of things women are interested in.

Not cool, Biore.

The latest commercials for men’s Axe hair products feature perfectly coiffed men seducing women in unusual meet-cutes. This one is particularly unrealistic: during a home invasion, a woman is charmed by her burglar’s slicked-back hair. Creepy on many levels.

Watch the clip here.

Faced with a teen pregnancy rate that’s reported to be one and a half times higher than the national average, the Chicago Department of Health decided that they needed to do something drastic. So they took to the subways with an ad they knew would be controversial, because that’s what cities are doing about teen pregnancy these days.

Citywide advertising focuses on scare tactics and shame to prevent teen pregnancy - and in doing so, insults women, men, and transgender individuals.