Women as Closet Furniture(sexist ad).

[ccharles000]

http://www.feministing.com/archives/014688.html


We all know it has always been the females dream to be a piece of furniture!


:puke:

[Liberal_in_LA]

1. ugh. And folks wonder why there is so much violence against women

[The Doctor.]

52. I can honestly say that this ad in NO way makes me want to be violent towards anyone.

I am finding myself just a little jealous of leather accoutrements, however.

[denem]

64. OK. BDSM fetish themes are violence against women.

You might start with a few gay leather gatherings.

[Canuckistanian]

2. Reminds me of Spinal Tap's "Smell the Glove"

"What's wrong with being sexy?"

"It's sex-IST, not sexy"

"Too much fucking perspective if you ask me."

[nomorenomore08]

18. "You should've seen the cover they *wanted* to do! It wasn't a glove, believe me."

:evilgrin:

[Name removed]

55. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[nomorenomore08]

74. Damn! I wish I could view that deleted comment!

Somebody either flamed the hell out of me for no good reason, or said something really obscene... :rofl:

[WorseBeforeBetter]

3. Enh. I find the Hardee's ad with Padma what's-her-name...

slopping and slurping more offensive. But then, all Hardee's commercials make me cringe.

[Historic NY]

4. Looks pretty fancy to me &I don't have a leather fetish..yet.

[The Doctor.]

53. Those Jedi ad-meisters will surely fix that.

"You DO want leather... very much."

[aikoaiko]

5. Well, um, I'm not thinking "furniture" when I see that add.

:spank:

[northofdenali]

6. Hell, there are ads in Vanity Fair worse than that.

If you think for a minute that using women sexually as objects has even begun to slow down, look who are in the movies and on television - Tyra Banks, for example.

Barbie still exists - in advertising.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

65. Or better.

[MADem]

7. Jesus, that takes the cake.

I find the peeved ladies (and men) incredibly stupid in the fashion ads--you know, the ones who are staring angrily, or looking off in the distance pouting. They all look like they've missed breakfast and lunch.

What is it that makes a naked lady twisted in an impossible position (or, as I have seen, staring blankly while holding up some stupid product like a hat or shoes to cover the 'fiddly bits') a Sales Plus? Who hates themselves so much that they say "Gee, a woman being humiliated, she's lower than dirt and lower than ME--that makes me want to buy that thing!"

[ccharles000]

8. you are 100% right

[Dinger]

48. Nice How The Shoes Are Walking On Her, Like A Doormat

That does take the cake.

[The Doctor.]

67. The most hateful, sexist shoes ever!

You've nailed it.

[TankLV]

9. It's about a LEATHER FETISH, not "females as furniture"...

might also include a little allusion to S&M and submission/dominance thingy...

and she is ENJOYING it...

but go ahead, dictate what OTHERS can or want to do sexually...

[ccharles000]

11. I respectfully disagree.

I think this ad demeans women.

[Control-Z]

23. Ya really think?

She may enjoy the paycheck that comes with it, but do you honestly believe she is enjoying it? Or, for that matter, that any sane woman would?

[NorthernSpy]

38. She's not "expressing her sexuality". She's just working.

There's a reason why they have to pay models like her. The work is just plain tedious. Really -- there's no fun or liberation involved.

[CoffeeCat]

10. Just for a minute...let's imagine...

Brad Pitt doing that same ad, in that same position with those accessories all over him.

We'd laugh our asses off because he would look ridiculous.

Advertising puts women in ridiculous positions that are stupid and demeaning. It's sexy (to some) to put a woman in
a ridiculous, vulnerable and dehumanizing position. It's absurd.

We only see how absurd it is when we imagine a man posing like that.

[leftstreet]

13. You're saying David Beckham couldn't tempt you to buy Armani underwear?

[CoffeeCat]

14. Yes, but that's not a degrading, submissive position...

...that he's in. He's dominant. Poised to strike. He's in control. Look at his facial
expression. He'll take you down!

Now, compare that to the tart on the ground with the sunglasses wrapped around her legs.

[leftstreet]

15. Oh, I know

I get the point you're making

(although I don't think the lady in the ad is necessarily a 'tart.')

[CoffeeCat]

21. Me either...she's not a tart...

...but they're making her act like one.

[TorchTheWitch]

27. No, they're making her act like a THING

A "tart" is at least recognized as a human being.

[wickerwoman]

41. I don't wear men's Armani underwear.

That's kind of the point. Beckham is a man advertising a men's product to men. They wear Armani underwear and they get to look ripped and predatory like him.

The ad in the OP has a woman in a submissive position advertising a men's product to men. They buy the product and the woman comes along with it, kind of like "buy beer and the red sports car and smoking hot model won't be far behind."

It's straightforward objectification while the Beckham ad is based on identification.

[seabeyond]

42. ya

wink...

[wickerwoman]

46. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

}(

[NashVegas]

44. See Post #33

[EmilyAnne]

12. The men's shoes on a nude female, literally walking on her, is pretty demeaning.

If they were women's shoes and bags, I would feel differently because it could be seen more as something that the female herself was indulging in.
This is really ugly.

[ccharles000]

26. I agree

[Dinger]

49. That's The First Thing I Thought When I Saw It

Very clear message there.

[shanti]

73. absolutely

it's a "woman, know your place" kind of message and it's sick.

[ismnotwasm]

16. God

Yuk. Looks like a painful pose for the model, but I suppose that's the idea. On top of everything else that is just sad.

I saw an ad in Muscle and Fitness magazine. It had a beautiful, kind of a overlay photo of a perfect breast with a cute baby attached--advertising some sort of muscle-building supplement. Not Muscle Milk, something like. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

[nomorenomore08]

17. That's just bizarre... Scratching my head here, honestly.

Though I do agree with the comparison to 'Smell the Glove' upthread - it seems to come from a similar kind of risible cluelessness. Generally I don't have a problem with sexual imagery in advertising, but this ad is simply idiotic, and viewed through a certain lens, quite offensive.

[-..__...]

19. I' wouldn't mind getting into their drawers...

[The Doctor.]

71. That's furnishing some really demeaning and sexist attitudes!

Now if I can just find my old copy of "Feng Sutra"; The master guide.

[Warren DeMontague]

20. Only a crazy person would put the sunglasses UNDER the shoes.

That's just wrong!

[TorchTheWitch]

22. Here's the casual wear "furniture" pic...

I hate this one even more.

[Control-Z]

24. OMG

This one may be the most degrading ad I've ever seen. I'd have to think about it. There are so many to choose from. Imagine the humiliation this model must have felt posing for this POS ad.

[ccharles000]

25. I don't know if I should cry or yell.

Disgusting

[Berry Cool]

28. That's just sick.

Throws the concept of "flinging your shoes at someone = highest possible insult" into fresh relief.

[ccharles000]

29. yes it is

[Quantess]

39. Okay, now THAT is degrading.

The one in the OP honestly didn't bother me, because it looked more like a leather fetish, as stated by another poster. But this one is very degrading.

[The Straight Story]

30. If that is the monster in my closet I am a little less scared

:)

Now if I can just finds pics of the ones under the bed...

[mitchum]

31. Wow, "edgy" photographers are still ripping off Helmut Newton after all of these years

[NashVegas]

32. You Don't Know It's the Photographer

These decisions are often made by art directors; the photogs are just the hired help most of the time.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

37. What difference does it make?

[NashVegas]

43. Great Tune

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5DE8UQnM5Y

[The Doctor.]

59. Loved "Meat is Murder".

Good stuff.

What was the OP about again?

[NashVegas]

33. As a Woman, This Sucks. But This Is What They Did With A-Rod

No doubt they think of themselves as "edgy."

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

34. Attractive women posing to sell products?

My god, what have we come to?

[Bucky]

35. Ugh, her boobs look fake. Wait, that's not the point you're trying to make, is it?

Anyway, I wouldn't have room for a woman that size in my closet. I'd have to get rid of my shoe tree.

[NorthernSpy]

36. Nobody enjoys balancing pairs of wingtips on their boobs...

It's just not that much fun.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

62. They're fake... and look pretty sturdy. (n/t)

[county worker]

40. They sure got our attention didn't they?

[mudesi]

45. Looks Like She's Got A Gun To Her Head!

:eyes:

[dustbunnie]

47. You people are f*cked.

I looked at the ad and thought, I wanted all those shoes and the briefcases. I'm confoosed. The products looked like shoes and things I would want for working, plus the sexuality I like, plus the flexibility of being in shape... I liked that too. I wear flats every day that look as good as those in the ad. I really had to read Emily someone's post to realize that it was all about men and I should be outraged. I did think it was an ad for women. I also like ads that focus on the male body's unattainable six pack. I like to look.

I saw it more as, if you are rich, you are sexy. And this has changed somehow, from year nothing?

[omega minimo]

51. women are not props

[The Doctor.]

58. I don't know... have you ever seen a movie with Jessica Simpson in it?

Hell, Tom Cruise only barely transcended the role of 'prop' himself.

[omega minimo]

60. you know the thing about her is: she can REALLY sing!

[The Doctor.]

66. Y'know... I'll certainly give her credit for that. Sadly, I'm not a good judge of singing talent.

That's by court order, y'know.

[omega minimo]

68. saw her on Letterman, truly impressed, wish they'd let her off her sappy leash.

:thumbsup:

[Brooklyns_Finest]

50. What's wrong with this pic?

I think it is pretty cool. Makes me want to go buy some black leather shoes and shades. Can't a guy admire the female body anymore?

[The Doctor.]

57. If you can't see how truly disgusting this is, then all I have to say is...

Oooo! Are those Italian Leather boots?

I'm guessing the Puritans never wore those.

[shanti]

69. frankly

i'm shocked at some of the attitudes being posted on DU...what happened?

[Deja Q]

54. Well, if she didn't choose to pose, somebody else would have.

I'm sure she has a family to feed too. :shrug:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42E2fAWM6rA
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=5421722&mesg_id=5421722

Sorry for sounding apathetic. Even my favorite aunt, who is the ultimate Liberal, says everybody always has a choice. So did the model posing for that ad. The model didn't think it was sexist.


Incidentally, I too think it's devolved. Not much I can do except write in, complain, and buy some other brand until they realize sex sells and pulls the same stunt.

[slackmaster]

56. National Lampoon thought of that in the '70s

Kelly Girls Temporary Office Furniture.

[omega minimo]

61. For all the enthusiasts here slobbering over it, where is the male model equivalent of this shite?

[denem]

63. That's fetish - If you want to say BDSM themes are sexist, be my guest

and be sure to add LGBT people in the circle.

[ccharles000]

72. Being LGBT is not a fetish

[Stevenmarc]

70. .

[The Doctor.]

75. That, my friends, is Art.

Those that choose to see a limited expression of 'subservience' may do so.

I see the following;

Freedom.
Exploration of sensuality.
The exquisite female form.
Expert composition.
Expression through juxtaposition.
A professional who is highly adept at her work.

If anyone wishes to see a finite message, they are more than welcome to do so. That does not mean that those of us who are not limited to perceiving the same limited message fit in the boxes or wear the labels you may wish to apply.

It's a bigger world than deciding whether something is sexism in black and white terms. That's why I'm here instead of on FR.