feminist blogs

I’ve gotta say, I think gray hair is attractive on men and women alike. Zuzu wrote about embracing gray hair awhile back and the consensus was clear: Gray hair is hott.

Now the Beauty Machine eats at men, men with gray hair, and it deems them old and unattractive. And unfortunately it gives them the worst fear-of-aging ad campaign on a website I think I’ve ever seen, pathetic even compared to women’s anti-wrinkle beauty advertising shit.

I WAS AT WOODSTOCK. I SWORE I WOULD NEVER LIVE PAST THE AGE OF THIRTY. NOW I CAN HAVE ALL THE HOT LADIES AND A TOUCH OF GRAY.

HOT LADIES. HEH. PEACE.

Joe Miller of Factcheck.org dissects John McCain’s desperate, disingenous attempt to combat his multiple mansion problem, which we discussed a few days back. It’s nice to see a major media outlet willing to call out John McCain for the lies and slimy innuendo that his campaign has become. But the greatest insight coming out of the whole [...]

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Note to self: just post these as soon as they come out, because Sarah Haskins is always funny as hell. Doot-doo-doo-doot!

I don’t even want to do a full post on the new Lady Yahoo! site Shine — specially vamped to sell lady products via lady advertising — so I’ll just compile some of the headlines.

Whose Design Is It Anyway?
Does the man in your house have a say in the decorating, or is he just there to move the furniture?

That one alone made me choke a little, but then there’s this:

6 things that scare your man
Is a good husband the secret to a working mom’s success?
How old should a girl be before she should wear earrings?

Then my personal favorite:

Would you respect a stay-at-home wife?

The Onion already covered this, Lady Yahoo!. Marie Claire called, and they want their schtick back.

But when I am hopped up on pain killers (OH NOES!) I get babbly.

So we’ve all at least heard of John McCain’s campaign ad mixing images of Paris Hilton and Britney Spears in with images of Barack Obama while calling him a “celebrity,” right? I think we can agree for the most part on all the racist and misogynistic bs wrapped up in that, so we’re just going to move right on, because I’ve got something awesome here for you. Paris hits back!

PWNed.

Loves it.

Here’s a little something for your inner 12-year-old:

You’re welcome. And happy weekend!

It’s about time I found a good excuse to post on beer. It’s a beverage which — particularly in the form of the great American microbrew — holds a special place in my heart and, needless to say, American culture. Unlike water or wine, beer walks the delicate line between common appeal and refinement. It is [...]

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Check out the women of 3iYing.

This is one viral sensation you don't want to be part of. It's called Flip. The premise is simple: A young girl films herself flipping your brand into the dustbin because its advertising is offensive, insulting or just plain stupid.

There are 190 such videos on a dedicated YouTube channel as of this writing. And 3iYing, the all-girl creative consultancy behind the effort, says it's received 400 entries and counting since opening up the concept to the public more than a month ago.

Here's a sample of their work:

I love these women.

Given this, we might find out tomorrow night.

By the way ...if you're not watching Mad Men, you're really missing some interesting commentary on the early history of the sexual revolution, feminism, mass marketing, the civil rights movement, etc. that was at the heart of post-WWII America.

Trojan condoms has unveiled a new advertising campaign that both CBS and Fox networks have refused to air -- apparently because pregnancy prevention is not a good enough reason to promote condom use.

Andrew Adam Newman writes in The New York Times:

Both had accepted Trojan's previous campaign, which urged condom use because of the possibility that a partner might be H.I.V.-positive, perhaps unknowingly. A 2001 report about condom advertising by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation found that, "Some networks draw a strong line between messages about disease prevention -- which may be allowed -- and those about pregnancy prevention, which may be considered controversial for religious and moral reasons."

Representatives for both Fox and CBS confirmed that they had refused the ads, but declined to comment further.

In a written response to Trojan, though, Fox said that it had rejected the spot because, "Contraceptive advertising must stress health-related uses rather than the prevention of pregnancy."

In its rejection, CBS wrote, "while we understand and appreciate the humor of this creative, we do not find it appropriate for our network even with late-night-only restrictions."

"It's so hypocritical for any network in this culture to go all puritanical on the subject of condom use when their programming is so salacious," said Mark Crispin Miller, a media critic who teaches at New York University. "I mean, let's get real here. Fox and CBS and all of them are in the business of nonstop soft porn, but God forbid we should use a condom in the pursuit of sexual pleasure."

While Fox and CBS are being criticized for their decision, the commercial itself is drawing mixed reviews.

Vanessa at Feministing writes:

So do I like the commercial? Not particularly, but I looked through the website of this new campaign Trojan is launching titled "Evolve," and it definitely sounds like one I'd be willing to support: they discuss the misinformation that abstinence-only programs put forth about the inefficacy of condoms, the fact that often ideology is often promoted over real information, and their intent to put forth the message that "sex isn't an unhealthy thing needs to be policed or demonized."

And Tracy Clark-Flory writes at Broadsheet:

I was first alerted to the ad by a press release this morning from Planned Parenthood calling for the networks to reconsider their decision to block the spot. I was shocked to find that there's plenty about the ad that actually offends my own sensibilities. For starters: The depiction of men as pigs. I can understand the idea behind it -- that men who do not respect their partners enough to protect them from pregnancy or disease are pigs. But filling an entire bar with the nastiest of male stereotypes implies that almost all men are pigs. I'm also not too hot about the underlying message that men are solely responsible for condom use.

Ultimately, however, Clark-Flory concludes: "I have a hard time passionately defending the actual content of the ad -- but I have a much harder time defending the networks' reasons for blocking it."

According to the NYT, the commercial will run on ABC, NBC and nine cable networks, including MTV, Comedy Central and Adult Swim, along with print ads in 11 magazines and promotions on seven websites.

The Times also provides a bit of condom history and market data:

The 87-year-old company placed its first ad in trade magazines for pharmacists in 1927, when druggists still kept condoms behind the counter. Though out in the aisles for decades, condoms are still purchased furtively: while the average time shopping for a home-pregnancy test is 2.5 minutes, the average condom buyer takes just 7 seconds, according to research by Trojan. "We call it a drive-by purchase," Mr. Daniels said. "People to this day are embarrassed."

In its new commercial, the word "Trojan" is never uttered, and the logo appears only briefly on the bathroom's vending machine and at the end. But with what according to A. C. Nielsen Research is 75 percent of the condom market (Durex is second with 15 percent, LifeStyles third with 9 percent), [Jim Daniels, vice president for marketing], said the company was focusing less on growing market share than growing the market. The annual condom market is now $416 million, according to Packaged Facts, a division of MarketResearch.com.

x-posted from Our Bodies, Our Blog