Empowering:
For years, women have been told what they need to do to prevent rape, to stop street harassment, to rise up against sexual harassment. We have been instructed what to wear, what not to wear, what attitudes to have, what attitudes not to have, what to say, what not to say, how to protect ourselves and what the right self-defense moves are. We been instructed in all sorts of precautionary measures.
While I’m all in favor of both men and women taking reasonable crime prevention measures, it has always seemed a bit like preaching to the choir to tell women how to stop rape. Women are, obviously, a group highly motivated to want to prevent rape.
So, I was thrilled when, at long last, a campaign aimed at men was recently unveiled by Men Can Stop Rape, a national organization that works to mobilize men and boys to prevent violence against women. The ad campaign, “Where Do You Stand?” is aimed at college-age men and urges them to speak up and prevent sexual violence in campus settings. The campaign does a great job balancing responsibility and concern with respect. The ads do not urge men to rescue women or to come to the aid of damsels in distress; rather, they urge men to step up, to call out other men about threatening behavior and to not blithely take part in a culture of “getting some” at any cost. This is particularly important in light of a recent survey conducted by Liz Claiborne which shows that nearly half of all dating college women report having experienced violent or abusive dating behaviors.
The ads feature couples in social situations – a terrific reminder that most rapes occur in this environment, not in the proverbial “stranger in a dark alley” setting. The ads are multi-cultural and bilingual and inclusive of same-sex relationships, offering an important reminder that men can also be victims of sexual violence.
Congratulations to Men Can Stop Rape for working hard – and effectively – to make anti-rape culture the new culture and for helping to empower the many men who are eager to play a part in putting an end to sexual violence.
Embarrassing:
It’s time to break up with Go Daddy. The huge Internet domain registrar and web hosting company offers, arguably, the most blatantly sexist advertising of any major company that is not selling porn — and that includes Hooters. (If you know of a more sexist ad campaign, please let me know.) The ads seem to appeal to the lowest common denominator and are positively base. The company uses scantily clad women as the cornerstone of its advertising — women who make the women on the old-fashioned motor oil calendars seem positively Amish by comparison.
In the aggressive emails they send to subscribers, former subscribers and potential subscribers, they use women in halter tops and short shorts (at most) to hold signs foisting the company’s promotional offers. And, sometimes, the women are just there. They don’t even hold a sign! They just look hot and luscious and wanton. That’s a good enough reason to use a company, now, isn’t it? UGH.
The company has become somewhat notorious for its Super Bowl ads, producing ads that are bound to be banned and then capitalizing on the banned ads. This year, “Go Daddy is doing its usual porny, corny, stupid kind of thing,” says Barbara Lippert, former Adweek ad critic and now curator of popular culture at ad agency Goodby, Silverstein & Partners. Go Daddy has released part of an ad called “Body Paint,” in which Danica Patrick and Jillian Michaels are painting the naked body of model Natalia Velez. The spot drives viewers to the company’s website, where they’ll see more flesh. Instead of taking the bait, a better site to visit might be this one: http://breakupwithgodaddy.com/ a website organized to draw attention to the sexism of Go Daddy.
Go Daddy isn’t cheaper or better than its competitors, so there is absolutely no reason to support their sexist advertising. Host Gator, Blue Host, Hub, Fat Cow are all excellent alternatives well-ranked by consumer groups – and none of them feature half-dressed women looking vacant in any of their ads that I have seen. In fact, there’s a sweet-looking cow over there at Fat Cow.
Just say “no” to Go Daddy, and go somewhere else instead.
Anna’s fiction, essays and reviews have appeared in Salon and other publications. She writes the “Aural Fixations” playlist column at The Rumpus. Her novel, The Diary of Suzanne Frank, is forthcoming. She’d love to hear your suggestions, so feel free to reach out to her on Facebook. And, if you missed her Empowering/Embarrassing column last month, click here to read it!
The eSSSence of Anna March
Style: Quirky.
Substance: Notice. Question. Think. Read. Talk. Write.
Soul: "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." -- Oscar Wilde
