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Feminism: Sex & gender discussions

How to respond to an poster advert in a local shop

92 replies

GandalfsHat · 24/04/2013 07:18

Hi,

I'm think I can take a joke and are not usually offended, but I have seen a poster in a window of a local car showroom that has left me uncomfortable. I would like to write an e-mail to the company to take it down, but I'm not really sure what to write! I don't want a man to read it, roll their eyes and take it down just because someone complained, I'd like them to really think about it, if that makes sense? Can anyone that is more seasoned in feminist arguments help me with this please?

The showroom sells second hand Aston Martins. It is just down the road from my home and I walk past it almost daily. The poster is a a beautifully taken photograph of a woman in a modern high gloss obviously very expensive kitchen. Her back is to the camera. she wears a white shirt and sheer tights, the shirt is pulled up so you can see her bottom. She wears high heels and has loose long hair. One knee is on the kitchen counter as if she is climbing up onto the counter. The caption then goes on to say 'Just because you're not the first, doesn't mean you don't want to'. It all attempts to look very classy.

It just leaves me uneasy. The implication is clear. But how do I formulate a good argument against it from a feminist perspective?
-it is blatantly sexist, it clearly uses sex to sell a second hand car
-do they think women cannot buy/drive/afford aston martins? as it is clearly aimed at men.
-the stereotype of the women in the kitchen ready to please just does my head in.
-I think it is a bit suggestive considering it is on the way to a local park/near the co-op and families walk past it every day, I'm don't my sons to grow up with these myths about women (they're only little though, toddlers)
-why is it an issue how many men a woman has slept with. Why do a man have to be the first, or think he is the first, to want to have sex with a woman, because that seems to be the implication.
I had a look on the AM website, the same ad is not there.

Sorry for this mammoth post, if you made it this far!

OP posts:
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GandalfsHat · 24/04/2013 07:22

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

TiredyCustards · 24/04/2013 07:23

Sounds horrendous, for all the reasons you mention.

I'd email and get other locals to do the same.

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JonHammsTrouserSnake · 24/04/2013 07:23

I think your arguments in your OP are very coherent. I would add also that the advert suggests that a woman can be bought or owned like a car.

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GandalfsHat · 24/04/2013 07:24

And I got the caption wrong. Sorry. But you can see it for yourself. I'll stop posting now :) and double check my facts next time!

OP posts:
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TiredyCustards · 24/04/2013 07:25

So it's actually an official Aston Martin ad? Words fail me.

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LeeCoakley · 24/04/2013 07:25

That is revolting.

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JumpingJackSprat · 24/04/2013 07:26

Awful advert id definitely complain for all the reasons listed.

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deXavia · 24/04/2013 07:26

That is beyond awful. Yes I would email and also suggest others do - frankly I would also complain to the ASA

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Chubfuddler · 24/04/2013 07:26

It's actually dreadful. Really really dreadful.

You know they won't give a shiny shit about your opinion and will just think "dried up old lesbian" if you complain though.

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LeeCoakley · 24/04/2013 07:28

I would complain to the advertising board and bypass Aston Martin.

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Chubfuddler · 24/04/2013 07:30

Yes complain to the ASA

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UnexpectedItemInShaggingArea · 24/04/2013 07:30

Fucking horrible. I will complain to the ASA.

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LeeCoakley · 24/04/2013 07:30

Just googled and AM are saying it's a fake Confused

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JonHammsTrouserSnake · 24/04/2013 07:31

The picture is worse than I imagined from your OP.

I suspect they won't give a shit about complaints though.
Maybe they've deliberately been provocative in order to stir up a media storm and get publicity.
Yes, I know women buy cars too, but they've probably identified their key target market as saddo men going through a mid life crisis, for whom such a woman is unattainable. However, they pretend to assert their masculinity by buying a penis replacement second hand car.

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SageBush · 24/04/2013 07:32

That is definitely one for the ASA. Completely discriminatory and objectifying. Yuck.

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Chubfuddler · 24/04/2013 07:32

Have you actually seen this in a showroom? I've seen online posts saying it is a fake.

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deXavia · 24/04/2013 07:33

So if its a fake I'd complain to AM HQ's as I'm sure they'd take a pretty dim view of it as a representation of their brand.

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Chubfuddler · 24/04/2013 07:33

Which means if you have actually seen it in a showroom the idiots in that branch have decided to use it. In which case I would contact Aston Martin head office.

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Chubfuddler · 24/04/2013 07:33

X posted

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BranchingOut · 24/04/2013 07:34

Oh my god.

Well, if it was me I would be waiting until I was without my children one day, taking a picture of the poster, then walking in and, with a lovely smile and my best manners, asking if the manager could 'explain' this poster to me. All the while looking like someone who might want to by a second hand Aston Martin....

I would continue with increasingly persistent questions until I would have hopefully embarrassed the hell out of them.

But then I sometimes enjoy this kind of thing....I did once tackle a petrol station about their display of Zoo magazine right by the till point.

On the other hand, I think that going to the media or the Advertising Standards body might be more effective in the long run.

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GandalfsHat · 24/04/2013 07:34

Thank goodness you don't think I'n over-reacting.

Definitely in the showroom window. I took a photo of it.

OP posts:
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Smudging · 24/04/2013 07:35

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Message withdrawn at poster's request.

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JonHammsTrouserSnake · 24/04/2013 07:35

There's something about the way her knee is on the counter which is a bi distasteful -almost like "she wants to be taken from behind". Who climbs on a counter in their skimpies ffs?

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Chubfuddler · 24/04/2013 07:35

Then I think some twat in that showroom has decided it would be a good idea to use it having seen the mock up online. I would contact Aston Martin HQ - send them the photo.

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BranchingOut · 24/04/2013 07:36

Oh, just seen it is a fake. Hmmm.

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