11/20/2005: Woman is your friend

[Undertoad]

This is an African country and they will have a different attitude towards bare breasts. I know, I've seen the Nat'l Geographics.

Originally Posted by BigV

Maybe.

I've read this thread and viewed the picture every time there's been a reply, and frankly, that vibe never occurred to this man. Maybe it's the insensitive male chauvinistic pig blinding me to the message you're describing...

But I don't think so.

No, I don't think so, either. A guy whose mind doesn't work that way probably wouldn't pick up on it. Women are more likely to see the subtext in the message because we get to deal with it. For example, women tend to be the ones who get raped, not men (outside of prison, anyhow).

[tw]

One look at that billboard - and I see an ad that encourages wife beating. Look, for the message to have effect, the message must convey to the man an emotional distress at what he has done. That billboard - without any text - only glorifies the wife beating - or at least makes it appear to be something that men can do.

Appreciate that I was raised watching commercial created that Americans believed - such as smoking cigarettes does make one healthier. Yes, eliminate the current bias, and that is exactly what most Americans believed in the early 1960s even when the Surgeon Generals report confirmed in 1964(?) what was proven sometime in the 1940s.

I see an ad that actually does just the opposite of what is intended. I am sure most all do not see the same. But then I was raised to see the mindset of an advertising executives - propaganda expert.

[Clodfobble]

I saw an American television public service announcement about two years ago that was effectively this same message.

Man is shown going into a diner. He's very pleasant, orders water or something from the nice young waitress. She accidentally spills a little on his leg. He goes into a rage, first slapping her across the face, then shoving her back onto the table and pouring scalding coffee across her chest, all the while screaming obscenities at her.

Then the screen cuts to black and the message appears: "If you wouldn't get away with it here, why should you get away with it at home?"

Granted, I only saw it linked on the internet because it was stirring up controversy in whatever small town it had aired in once or twice before being yanked from the station. Obviously this sign isn't disturbing or horrifying anyone in Monrovia. But spousal abuse exists here too, and there are foolish people everywhere who think public awareness campaigns can solve everything.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by marichiko

What are we coming to when we have to put up signs admonishing people to behave as normal human toward one another?

That's the problem there. He is behaving as a normal human. He's doing what his father did.....and his father before him. In that society it is normal behavior .....or at least one of the options, that is accepted behavior.
Other parts of the word have similar problems, like setting your wife on fire in India and other extremes in lots of places.
As you well know, rape is about power and humiliation, not sex. That's why is isn't looked upon as a great problem in countries where maiming and death are also viable options.

[BigV]

Originally Posted by marichiko

No, I don't think so, either. A guy whose mind doesn't work that way probably wouldn't pick up on it. Women are more likely to see the subtext in the message because we get to deal with it. For example, women tend to be the ones who get raped, not men (outside of prison, anyhow).

First, thanks for the credit, marichiko, I appreciate it, really.

But I don't agree with your conclusion that women are more likely to see the subtext in the message, because they're women. I think someone, male or female, who sees the world as populated by threats would be more likely to see this subtext. To the extent that more women are beaten by men than there are men beaten by women (or men combined), more women see the threat here.

xoB is right, this is normal behavior, not my norms, but normal in the sense of common. And it is sad and tragic.

Well, BigV, I think we are fundamentally in agreement. I did not mean to imply that the xx chromosome bestows x-ray vision to read between the lines of society's messages in general.

However, women are taught to view the world as populated by threats from men. "Don't wear suggestive clothing or you're asking for 'it.'" "Don't talk to strangers - especially men." "Don't go do things alone after dark."

Women are continually being warned how to avoid danger from men, whether real or percieved. When I had jobs that caused me to work until after dark, the security guards would always escort me and other female employees to our cars. They didn't do that for the male employees. Women are treated to stories of charming serial killers and rapists and told to "watch out". When I go out on the weekends selling roses, bar patrons and staff, especially the women, will admonish me to "stay safe." I seldom, if ever, hear anyone telling a man who goes out alone at night to "stay safe."

This is, indeed, society's norm, and, as a result, women are more quick to pick up on such subliminal messages.

[Dagney]

I think, you need to consider the cultural context as well - I don't know for certain, but I believe that the continual warnings of which you describe are more prevalent in 'industrialized' countries. There are places where women (amazingly) willingly accept the fact that they are considered to be 'less than' those who carry the XY chromosome pair. (I hesitate to call them men).

While I agree with most everything that's been said in the posts on this thread, I think that viewing the billboard without the 'filter' of American society, may show you a different picture.

[wolf]

This all reminds me of a scene in the recent film, "The Constant Gardner."

One of the marketplace scenes in Africa focused on what was essentially a PSA for AIDS prevention, and it was presented by a live theater troupe ... I just thought that was interesting, tailoring the medium to the best opportunity to reach a mass audience.

[xoxoxoBruce]

However, women are taught to view the world as populated by threats from men. "Don't wear suggestive clothing or you're asking for 'it.'" "Don't talk to strangers - especially men." "Don't go do things alone after dark."

Reinforcing that, clothing for dangerous places.

[lumberjim]

if you can't read English, does the message come across effectively? Or does it look like foreplay?

[Griff]

They really are missing their target audience aren't they.

[warch]

I saw the boob as indicating she was a nursing mother.

Reminded me of theseKenyan Feminists Great Story!

[xoxoxoBruce]

That's great, Warch.

[Billy Budapest]

"former?"