Perth's Indi Bar has taken down an image from their Facebook page after a barrage of complaints from Facebook users accusing them of promoting rape culture and violence against women. The image, referencing an act of sexual violence common in pornography, was an ad for their hot dogs and beer.

                             

It’s 2016, and yet women’s bodies are still being used to sell everything from beer to burgers to organ donation. Are we ok with this? Caitlin from Collective Shout gives us her two cents.

We all know sex sells. But what type of sex is being sold, and what are the implications for women and girls?

The clamor surrounding Kim Kardashian’s full frontal nude has finally started to subside, and my news feed, haggard and tired, can take a well-needed breather. There were many tweets about choice and empowerment. The heated (and old) debates about “slut shaming” and women’s sexual freedom resurfaced. There was even another nude, though this time Kim was accompanied by another young, it-girl.

“Sex sells”, so why not flaunt it? Yes, sex certainly does sell, and Kim’s nude is a good case in point. But this nude is just one of many images that exist on a broader trajectory of exploitation, in which women are stripped bear, consumed and discarded, until another nude appears on social media grapevine. The sexual exploitation of women through visual media is not a new phenomenon. In fact it is so ubiquitous that we rarely pause to ask why these images continue to be so pervasive. By accepting the objectification of women or simply looking the other way, we not only fail to question the broader systems of power these representations speak to – we actively sustain them as well. 

Queensland’s Burger Urge criticised over its burger delivery campaign

It's 2016. Yet companies all over the world continue to push the toxic message that women are only valued for their sex appeal. We've spoken out about Calvin Klein before for their 'gang rape' billboards which thankfully at the time were ordered to be removed after complaints to the Advertising Standards Board. 

Well General Pants are under the spotlight again for yet another sexist ad campaign. General Pants are repeat offenders. We've highlighted them in our #CrossedOff blog every year since 2010. 

"There is no need for a woman to be naked to advertise on the first page"

What will 30 minutes at Chadstone Shopping Centre tell us about our pornified culture?

But the male CEO of the fashion label suggests the ads are sexist towards men - we're #notbuyingit