Free from ‘toxic chemicals.’ Not free from toxic messages

Last week, 15 girls aged 14-16, and involved with Fusion Mornington Peninsula’s Real Girls program, took on Australian make-up and skincare brand Frank Body over its lip and cheek ‘Send Nudes’ product.

 Fusion Mornington Peninsula

June 7 at 5:50pm

Dear Frank Body,

I am speaking on behalf of a group of 15 girls aged 14 to 16 from a Secondary School located on the Mornington Peninsula. We would like to enquire about your ‘Send Nudes’ lip and cheek tint, and specifically why you would ever see it appropriate to name a product ‘send nudes’.

We all love your products, but sadly, this one is just a reminder of the undesired sexualisation that has become so ‘normalised’ by people and companies like yourself. And no, this name is not just ‘banta’, it’s not a joke, and we believe it is time for you to take initiative in valuing your consumers. You stated in your marketing description that ‘Unlike most men, you know how to listen’. That is quite a brave statement to make for a company who’s product campaign reflects the objectifying and disempowerment of girls. If you care about your customers, about encouraging teenage girls to be more than sexualised objects, then you will act by changing the name of this product. 

Sincerely, a group of year 9 & 10 girls from the Mornington Peninsula.

Some of us decided to support their call to the company which prides itself on being natural, vegan and ‘toxin free’ at the same time as spreading toxic messages harmful to girls who are already struggling in a culture undermining their wellbeing.

The company responded with this pathetic reply to those making complaints:

To justify their socially irresponsibly behaviour as ‘playful’ and ‘cheeky’ is a perfect example of double-speak and marketing spin at its best.

The company wants us to believe it has a positive impact on its audience, claiming “his communications encourage positive self-image”.  While at the same time dismissing the suggestion of any negative impact of mainstreaming and normalising the term ‘send nudes’ – a blatant reference to demands for naked images that teen girls receive every day. Frank Body is using the language of girls oppression to sell them beauty products.

Here’s how the Frank Body introduces its brand on Instagram. This isn’t “playful and cheeky” – it’s predatory and creepy. And much closer to the truth.

Keep up the pressure and don’t let them get away with it!

Contact Frank Body:

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Instagram

Organisers of the Miss America pageant have announced they will scrap both the swimsuit and evening gown portion of the competition.

The changes to the pageant came after the Miss America Organisation was faced with their own sexual harassment problem, with chief executive Sam Haskell resigning in December over lewd emails.

New chairwoman Gretchen Carlson attempted to distance the pageant from its sexist origins, telling Good Morning America, “We are no longer going to judge you on your outward appearance.”

While this may represent a step in the right direction, the more likely explanation is that Miss America’s tradition of parading young women around in bikinis to be scrutinised and evaluated by male judges is no longer good for business in the current social climate.

The New York Times summarised the move as follows: “It appears that #MeToo has done what a protest could not: eradicate one of the most derided aspects of the competition, the swimsuit.”

In a commentary piece for CBC News, Meghan Murphy rejected the notion that these changes amounted to a rejection of the objectification of women: 

Miss America has declined in popularity since the 1980s, though objectifying women has not. The porn industry, for example, generates more revenue than CBS, NBC and ABC combined, and more than all major sports franchises. Porn sites get more visitors each month than Netflix, Amazon and Twitter together.

The kind of objectification available to men during the heydey of Miss America was nowhere near comparable to that which exists today. We have access to women's bodies at our fingertips, performing in any way we can possibly imagine, at any given moment. With all of that available, who needs a swimsuit competition?

Other beauty pageants have not taken similar steps. Miss Universe Australia, as well as Miss Universe internationally, have not removed the swimwear component from their beauty pageants, with current Miss Universe Australia Olivia Rogers arguing the practice of assessing women based on how they look in a bikini was “a tradition worth maintaining” and “less objectifying than it used to be”.

The entire premise of beauty pageants is evaluating women on the basis of their physical appearance, and ranking them based on how desirable they are to men. While the strategic removal of the swimsuit round – a business decision- might seem like progress, real female empowerment is not found in a Miss America pageant. Progress comes not by making minor changes to inherently sexist traditions and institutions, but by shutting them down.

Liberated: The New Sexual Revolution is a documentary about coming of age in today’s young adult hookup culture. Following the journey of college students on Spring Break, the film provides shocking insight into attitudes and behaviors regarding sex, the normalization of sexual violation, and the struggle against conceptions of gender and sexuality shaped by the media.

The new documentary reveals a “culture of sexual violation” where women are viewed as sexual conquests to be discarded, and men display an entitlement to women and their bodies.   

A range of experts, including Caroline Heldman, Gail Dines, Robert Jensen and Sut Jhally, discuss the role of media and popular culture in shaping attitudes and behaviours:

“Young people in our culture learn what it means to be man, what it means to be a woman, how they’re supposed to relate to each other, how they’re supposed to have sex from popular culture, whether its social media, film, television, pornography, their peers. And you see this theme of non-intimate sex, you know, throughout every type of popular culture that’s out there, which is a different type of sex from the sex we used to see,” says Caroline Heldman.

HOW TO SPOT SEXUAL OBJECTIFICATION: THE CHIPS TEST- Caroline Heldman

The routine sexual objectification of women in media, advertising and popular culture leads to the view of women as being defined by their sexual appeal and availability. Sut Jhally, founder and executive director of Media Education Foundation notes:

“Any part of popular culture in one sense tells the same story about female sexuality, which is female sexuality is a key component of what it means to be female.”

A still image from the film.

The film also attempts to explain young women’s participation in hook-up culture. Author and founder of Culture Reframed, Gail Dines said:

“Let’s take a young girl and think about what does it mean that, you know, you’re on the cusp of puberty, you’re trying to figure out what it means to be female. And you’re looking around the culture and what’s coming at you is Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus... Today, the culture is saying if you behave in a certain way, act a certain way, dress a certain way, then you are an empowered young woman.”

Caroline Heldman argued that young women may believe being treated as a sexual object is “empowering” because it makes them feel wanted and desired.

“But the idea that our bodies are our value means that we are forever dependent on men to validate us, we’re dependent upon an outside source to say that we are important, to say that we are valuable...What’s the ultimate way to get validation? It’s to be wanted sexually.”

The film showcases the real-life impacts of the pornification of culture and the sexual objectification of women. The view of women as things existing for men’s use and enjoyment was striking, with young men speaking openly about their tactics to hook up with women, and young women describing frequent and normalised sexual harassment and sexual assault from men who felt “entitled”. Is this really progress? Is it empowerment? 

Watch Liberated on Netflix.

Earlier this year, Ad Standards announced long awaited changes to the AANA Code of Ethics regarding the use of sexual appeal in advertising.

We welcomed the updated code as a step in the right direction, hoping that the change would result in more complaints against sexist and sexually exploitative advertising being upheld. We continue to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the updated code to determine whether there has been any meaningful change in the advertising content that is permitted. Here is the latest example we’ve come across.

NGU Real Estate Ad

Complaints against NGU Real Estate have been upheld by Ad Standards. The ad for the Brisbane company was dubbed sexist, objectifying and dehumanising by complainants.

The real estate company’s three minute YouTube video showed bikini clad women, often headless or faceless, in a multi-million-dollar mansion, partying on a boat and swimming in a pool. The video featured gratuitous slow-motion shots lingering on specific body parts as well as sexual innuendo between women, with one woman suggestively sucking on her finger.

A still image from the video.

Ad Standards considered possible breaches of the following industry codes.

AANA Code of Ethics, Section 2.1:  Advertising or Marketing Communication shall not portray people or depict material in a way which discriminates against or vilifies a person or section of the community on account of race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, age, sexual preference, religion, disability, mental illness or political belief.

The advertiser, NGU Real Estate, claimed the sexist ad did not discriminate against women because “there are no acts of inequity, bigotry or intolerance against women”, adding that the models are portrayed “in a position of power and confidence” as a justification for sexually exploiting women’s bodies and sexuality for profit.  Ad Standards agreed with the advertiser’s assessment:

“The Panel noted that the women in the advertisement were depicted as comfortable and confident and did not appear to be in distress or at the property against their will.”

Ad Standards determined the advertisement did not breach Section 2.1 of the Code.

AANA Code of Ethics, Section 2.2: Advertising or Marketing Communication shall not employ sexual appeal: (a) where images of Minors, or people who appear to be Minors, are used; or (b) in a manner which is exploitative or degrading of any individual or group of people.

The Panel referred to a specific scene which shows “women as being similar to cattle” and considered that this particular scene in the advertisement did employ sexual appeal in a manner which is exploitative of women by portraying women as commodities or objects to possess.

The Panel found that the ad was in breach of Section 2.2 of the code.

AANA Code of Ethics, Section 2.4: Advertising or Marketing Communication shall treat sex, sexuality and nudity with sensitivity to the relevant audience.

According to the case report:

“The Panel considered that there is sexual innuendo in the advertisement in the form of licking/sucking fingers and trailing fingers along shoulders but that this is only innuendo.

“The Panel noted that there is no actual nudity depicted in this advertisement. The Panel considered that the women in the advertisement are scantily clad, but that there were no nipples or genitals visible.”

The Panel found that the ad was not in breach of Section 2.4 of the code.

Ad standards is still failing women

While in this case, the complaints were upheld, it is clear that Ad Standards does not understand the nature of sexual objectification or why it is harmful. Treating women as sexualised props and defining women by their sexual appeal harms women as a whole, even if advertisers portray them as confident sexualised props. Sexual objectification may occur with or without nudity, with or without the presence of visible nipples or genitals. Ad Standards ongoing failure to grasp such concepts is alarming and indicates the current system is severely lacking.

What’s more, the many weaknesses in the code embolden advertisers to disregard Ad Standards rulings, as outlined in the final comments by NGU Real Estate:

Legal counsel advice confirms the following:

- NGU is not required by law to remove the ad or any part of the ad.

- NGU voluntarily elected to remove the instances of concern identified by the panel

and the complainant.

- The advertising standards and code are guidelines.

- Advertising is self-regulated.

- NGU did not act unlawfully.

While the revision to Section 2.2 of the AANA Code of Ethics is a step forward, we still have a long way to go.

See also:

25 Reasons Why Ad Industry Self-Regulation is a Disaster

Ad watchdog in Australia a dismal failure – ASB “failing to protect children”, says President of Australian Medical Association

Why Australia Should Follow France's Lead on 'Degrading' Sexist Advertising

According to the New York Times, NFL cheerleaders were required to pose nude and act as escorts for male sponsors.

Photo: Patrick Smith, Getty Images

In a calendar shoot in 2013, cheerleaders had been required to pose topless or only in body paint while a group of male sponsors and FedExField suite holders watched.

At the completion of the calendar photoshoot, nine of the women were told they had been “chosen” by men to be their escorts to a nightclub and to get ready. Some of the women reportedly began to cry.

While they were not instructed to have sex with the sponsors, some women said they felt they were being “pimped out”.

“They weren’t putting a gun to our heads, but it was mandatory for us to go. We weren’t asked, we were told. Other girls were devastated because we knew exactly what she was doing.”

“It’s just not right to send cheerleaders out with strange men when some of the girls clearly don’t want to go.

“But unfortunately, I feel like it won’t change until something terrible happens, like a girl is assaulted in some way, or raped. I think teams will start paying attention to this only when it’s too late.”

This disturbing culture of sexism and discrimination with the NFL includes a “hot or not” game on the Washington NFL team’s website, where players can rate and evaluate the women’s physical appearance. Cheerleaders barely earn minimum wage, and are not permitted to socialise with team players:

Cheerleaders are told not to dine in the same restaurant as players, or speak to them in any detail. If a Saints cheerleader enters a restaurant and a player is already there, she must leave. If a cheerleader is in a restaurant and a player arrives afterward, she must leave. There are nearly 2,000 players in the N.F.L., and many of them use pseudonyms on social media. Cheerleaders must find a way to block each one, while players have no limits on who can follow them.

A screengrab of the Redskins website, with the “hot or not” game.

See also: Washington Redskins Cheerleaders Describe Topless Photo Shoot and Uneasy Night Out- New York Times

Women are more than just bodies. See more. Be more.”

This is the powerful message Lexie and Lindsay Kite promote to young girls.

Lexie and Lindsay Kite, co-founders of Beauty Redefined, advocate for body image acceptance by teaching about the effects of self-objectification.

Specialising in the study of media representation of women and female body image, the Kite sisters explain how the portrayal of women and representations of beauty in the media often translates to objectification of others and ourselves. Lexie and Lindsay Kite assert that women often base their perception of their self-worth on what their bodies look like as opposed to what their bodies can do. 

Lindsay claims that girls and women who are in a state of self-objectification perform worse on maths and reading comprehension tests than girls and women who are not fixated on how they look.

Similarly, All Woman Project is a foundation aiming to better the lives of girls and women worldwide, by displaying true, beautiful, positive and unretouched images of women in photo and video campaigns throughout the year. Their aim is to tackle self-objectification by challenging unrealistic ideas of beauty represented in the media.

(image from #Iamallwomen project)

Self-objectification has been associated with a decline in well-being, increased depressive symptoms, increased self-harm, and increased disordered eating. In other words, self-objectification is harmful and restrictive – the antithesis of empowerment.

For these reasons, Beauty Redefined is calling on women everywhere to see more by redefining beauty for themselves and be more by refusing to be defined by beauty.

“Progress for all of society requires valuing women for more than our parts — not simply expanding the definition of which parts are valuable”.

Beauty Redefined explains how some campaigns promoting self-esteem can encourage self-objectification by valuing beauty through sexualisation. Similar to Collective Shout’s campaigns, Beauty Redefined promotes the idea that objectification leads to the illusion that women and girls must conform to unattainable standards in order to be accepted by society.

Beauty Redefined claims that moving away from our self-objectification culture involves a “paradigm shift”. The first step is recognising and resisting messages in our everyday lives that objectify and distort our views of beauty, health, and individual worth. Being aware of self-talk that sounds like remarks made by an outsider and shifting these is the second.

Please join Collective Shout in our commitment to protecting girls and young women from sexual objectification by signing up today.

Last year, father of three Kenneth Thor started a petition calling on Westfield to stop Honey Birdette’s consistent sexist and porn-inspired imagery in shopping centres across the country.

More than 61,000 people share Kenneth’s concerns about the retailer’s ongoing depictions of women as sexual playthings for men, yet to date, Westfield has failed to demonstrate corporate social responsibility or even respond to hundreds of complaints.

Honey Birdette is a serial sexploitation offender, attracting numerous complaints to Ad Standards for its sexually objectifying treatment of women. The sex shop even made the Ad Standards top ten list of most complained about ads in the country in both 2015and 2016. When complaints against Honey Birdette have been upheld, they refuse to comply, even stating, “Nobody tells Honey B’s when to take down her signage!”

Honey Birdette employees protest sexual harassment and workplace bulling

In a response to Kenneth’s petition, CEO Eloise Monaghan once again dismissed legitimate concerns over Honey Birdette’s sexist treatment of women, claiming,

“You see more flesh on Bondi Beach at 10 a.m.”

Monaghan has missed the point.

What is sexual objectification?

The presence of female flesh alone does not constitute sexual objectification. The inclusion of attractive women does not constitute sexual objectification.

Sexual objectification occurs when a person, often a woman, is treated as a body, or series of body parts for other’s use and consumption, when her physical attributes and sexual capabilities are regarded as representative of her whole self or seen as determining her worth.

As Dr Linda Papadopolous stated in Sexualisation of Young People Review:

 “Although sexual objectification is but one form of gender oppression, it is one that factors into- and perhaps enables- a host of other oppressions women face, ranging from employment discrimination and sexual violence to the trivialisation of women’s work and accomplishments.”

Honey Birdette routinely promotes the sexual objectification of women in their floor to ceiling porn-themed advertising, featuring hypersexualised depictions of women’s bodies or even just parts of their bodies. Women in Honey Birdette advertising exist for men’s pleasure, defined only by their sexual appeal and availability. The message is that women exist for men’s enjoyment and entertainment.

Honey Birdette same-sex marriage marketing stunt slammed as ‘worse than Pepsi’

Objection to the sexual objectification of women is not an objection to women, nor is it an objection to women’s bodies. It is about opposition to sexism, to corporates who profit from the sexual exploitation of women and have the audacity to claim they are empowering women in the process.

What about ads showing men in underwear?

Monaghan went on to suggest Honey Birdette is the victim of a double standard because there is no outcry over ads showing men in underwear.

Again, the issue is not and has never been about underwear. The depiction of men or women in underwear is not inherently degrading or sexualised, nor does it require women to be objectified and exploited. Just look at the lingerie ad below by Badger and Winters who “made a commitment to never objectify women in our work”.

While we have spoken out against the objectification of men, the objectification of men is not nearly as prevalent as the everyday sexualisation and objectification of women in media and popular culture. Women are far more likely to be objectified and to be negatively impacted by objectification. Men featured in advertising are not typically demeaned, dismembered, treated like decorative objects, or posed as vulnerable and submissive in the way women frequently are. Read more here.

In the #MeToo era, with a growing community awareness about alarming rates of men’s violence against women and the relationship between the objectification of women and men’s violence against them, companies like Honey Birdette continue to put their profits before the respect, dignity and wellbeing of women. #TimesUp Honey Birdette.

See also:

"When will somebody figure out Honey Birdette has no intention of playing by the rules?"

Female Empowerment? Why Feminism Deserves Better than Honey Birdette- ABC Religion and Ethics

Sign petition- STOP Honey Birdette using porn-style advertising in Westfield family friendly centres.

Collective Shout’s primary mission is campaigning against the objectification of women and the sexualisation of girls. While we have spoken out against the objectification of men on occasion, the bulk of our time and efforts are focused on women and girls. Why?

While both men and women can be sexualised, it is primarily women who are being objectified, and women who are far more likely to be negatively impacted by objectification.

Women are routinely sexualised and objectified in mainstream popular culture. Hypersexualised representations of women in media and advertising are everywhere. Women are positioned as passive, decorative objects, reduced to a collection of sexualised body parts, defined by their physical attractiveness and sexual availability, and even depicted as (still glamorous) victims of violence. Women’s sexualised bodies are used to sell everything from beer to burgers to organ donation.

Research out of the University of Southern Carolina found that the hypersexualisation of men in films has increased substantially in under a decade.

The Economist reported: 

Of the 100 top-grossing films at the US box-office in 2007, 4.6% of male characters were seen dressed in “sexualised attire” and 6.6% were shown “with some nudity”. In 2014 those figures stood at 8.0% and 9.1%. 2013 marked the highest point of this trend with 9.7% of male characters shot in sexually alluring clothing, and 11.7% taking some—or all—of their kit off on film.

However, women in film fared much worse:

In 2014, 27.9% of female characters wore ‘sexy’ clothing and 26.4% exposed their chests, legs, or other body parts on camera: they are roughly three times more likely to be objectified on screen than men. Considering, too, that women make up less than a third of all speaking characters and less than a quarter of leading roles, the percentages are all the more alarming. Women are less visible in films, and those that are present are exponentially more likely to be featured in sexualised terms.

While both men and women can be objectified, the outcome is not necessarily the same.

We live in a culture in which the value of women and girls is determined in large part by their physical beauty and sexual appeal, to the exclusion of their intellect, abilities and contributions to the world. This treatment does not extend to men.

Boys are scholars, girls are looked at: Gap slammed for sexist kids t-shirts

When men are sexualised in media and advertising, they are not typically demeaned, portrayed as decorative objects or posed as vulnerable and submissive in the ways that women are. Men are also rarely dismembered and presented as a collection of sexualised or individual body parts. Instead, men are depicted as hyper-masculine and strong. The sexualising and objectifying treatment of men may serve to enhance their power and status rather than to reduce it.

Activist and filmmaker Jean Kilbourne has spent decades studying the image of women in advertising. In her documentary Killing Us Softly 4, she responds to the suggestion that men are now being objectified in the way women traditionally have been:

Reporters called me up from all around the country and said, “Look! They’re doing the same thing to men they’ve always done to women.” Well, not quite.

They’d be doing the same thing to men they’ve always done to women if there were copy with this ad that went like this:

‘Your penis might be too small, too droopy, too limp, too lop-sided, too narrow, too fat, too pale, too pointy, too blunt, or just two inches. But at least you can have a great pair of jeans!’

It would never happen and nor should it, and believe me, this is not the kind of equality I’m fighting for. I don’t want them to do this to men any more than to women, but I think we can learn something from these two ads, one of which did happen and one of which never would.”

We do not support ‘equal opportunity’ objectification. No person should be reduced to the status of object, or treated as a thing for another person’s use.

See also:

Keeping women in their place: Objectification in advertising

Don’t worry, Justin Trudeau will never be hurt by sexist objectification

Men-Ups: Men in Stereotypical Pin-Up Poses

A Melbourne based shoe designer has attracted complaints over a sexually objectifying image on their Facebook page depicting a series of semi-naked, headless women wearing their shoes.

Facebook users weighed in on Preston Zly Design’s photo, with a series of witty and insightful comments:

“But why does the model have to take her pants off to sell shoes?”

“Hi, can you please clarify, will I be able to wear these shoes if I have a head attached to my body? Also I put clothes on prior to my shoes, will these shoes still work with my dressing style?”

“Can we expect similar ads for men’s footwear with headless men missing their clothing also, or is it just sexual exploitation of women that sells shoes?”

“I don’t need nudes to sell me shoes.”

“Women are not inanimate objects and selling to us by exploiting us isn’t edgy.”

“Oh look, headless bodies of young, thin, conventionally attractive white women being used to sell a product. How artistic! So revolutionary and challenging! It’s almost like this outdated and sexist practice hasn’t gone on for decades!”

Designer Johanna Preston responded,

“We are not clothing designers- it’s all about the shoes here” – as if featuring clothed female models is a skill limited to clothing designers.

Preston continued,

“The images aren’t exploitative- but if you choose to think they are that’s your prerogative.

“I understand that the use of the female body offends you but we are proud of our work and stand behind our beautiful shoot.”

But the use of women’s bodies as props, the depiction of women without faces, the treatment of women as interchangeable and the use of women’s near naked bodies to sell a product is objectification- whether it is acknowledged or not, whether it offends or not.

There is a wealth of research on the harms of objectifying women- decades of it- finding that this sexist treatment leads both men and women to have a diminished view of women’s competence, morality and humanity. In short, treating women like things is bad for women.

It’s hard to understand how in 2018, in the wake of the #MeToo movement and with a growing awareness of the scourge of men’s violence against women, companies can continue to exploit women’s bodies to sell a product.

In the wake of the #MeToo movement, a range of businesses and industries have been forced to re-examine their business practices. Last month, Formula One announced their decision to discontinue the practice of using ‘Grid Girls’, recognising the use of women as accessories was not in line with modern societal norms.

More recently, large automakers Toyota Motor Corp, Nissan Motor Co and Ssangyong have all shied away from the tradition of using attractive women to sell cars. Ssangyong’s “booth babes” will be replaced by male and female models in sportswear, and Nissan has stopped hiring fashion models.

Photo by Saso Domijan

“Times have changed,” said Sara Jenkins, Nissan spokesperson. “It makes more sense to use product specialists because we’re selling cars.”

Bloomberg reported on the changes:

Lexus, the luxury brand of the world’s second-biggest carmaker, Toyota, confirmed it’s dropping models altogether at the Swiss event, while Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV is said to have canceled contracts with several female models over concern about being criticized on #MeToo. The maker of the Maserati, Jeep and Alfa Romeo nameplates will instead feature men as well as women in less flesh-exposing garb than in previous years, two people with knowledge of the plans said. 

This is in sharp contrast with 2017, when Alfa Romeo’s display had women in little black dresses hovering around its Stelvio crossover. Nearby, a brunette with a beehive hairdo and a bottom-grazing sixties-style dress kicked up her red heels next to a Fiat 500. At Lexus, a woman in an off-the-shoulder burgundy gown was stationed beside one of its sedans.

In the wake of the #MeToo movement, exposing the epidemic of men’s sexual exploitation of women, the casual sexism and objectification of women must be recognised as a significant contributing factor. There can be no gender equality while women continue to be treated as eye candy or props, valued primarily for their physical attractiveness. It’s great to see positive steps forward.