Advertising, Pornography and Public Space

Gender stereotypes have possibly been in existence since time began. The mans' role has often been one of dominance and ruggedness, whilst women have been seen to be sexy and feminine. It would take an eternity to change what has pretty much, always been.

Advertising takes us into a world of fantasy where women are pretty, perfect and sexy. Men are handsome, tough and rugged. I am not aware of a fantasy ever hurting anyone. Besides, if you are female, would you marry a pretty, feminine man? If you are male, does a butch woman with a three day growth turn you on?

Would you be at all tempted to buy whiskey, food or records being advertised by a women in rollers or by a man resembling a vagrant? Would you buy a product being advertised by a horizontal, blonde man in a black velvet backless dress, or an avocado being advertised by a thin man with his legs spread? I think not.

A drama starring enticing women and stern men, to me, is preferable to a drama starring butch women and gay men. (Sorry Betty) I can however, say that live nude girl shows, x rated films, adult book and sex shops are the things which ruin fantasies and should possibly be left in Amsterdam. They take what was once left to ones' imagination into something cheap and sleazy. To a lesser extent, we now have male strip shows. These however, are not as cheap and sleazy as the female shows, but they do tend to make a woman laugh.

See the Full Monty.

On a different level, fine art, displaying nude male or female shapes, should not be looked at in disgust. The human body should be seen as something beautiful. We all have one, so we shouldn't be ashamed of it. Bodies are art forms in their own right and should be used with care, caution and pride. What would a construction site be without 'wolf whistles' from the workers? If a woman walked past a group of straight men and wasn't given a second glance, she would surely wonder what was wrong with her. Everyone likes to have their ego boosted, male and female, and whether they admit it or not, most people like to be thought of as sexy.

Girls in groups are just like construction workers, only not as vocal. When girls see a cute guy, they stare, drool and sometimes fantasize about the man. Men turn their feelings into sounds, such as whistles and comments such as, 'hubba, hubba.'

Women and men are different, so why not show it and be proud of it!

Read the Flip Side to this article here.