from feministing

[verbicide]

Members of the European Parliament voted this week in favor of a report that calls for less sexism in advertising.

European lawmakers are concerned that the way women and men are portrayed in marketing and advertising is making it more difficult to dispell old-fashioned ideas of traditional gender roles.

Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) on Wednesday adopted a new report that calls on member states to make a greater effort to monitor how gender is portrayed in advertising. Constant images of women in the kitchen while men clean their cars outside are reinforcing sexist stereotypes, the study argues.

The lawmakers' statement said, "MEPs call on the EU institutions and member states to develop awareness actions against sexist insults or degrading images of women and men in advertising and marketing." The report isn't legally binding, but it's still a step in the right direction.

Comments

[desdenova.livejournal.com]

Well, I wish them good luck with that!

I guess it's nice that they at least recognize that there's a problem.

[verbicide.livejournal.com]

First step, right? (Hopefully step two isn't 100 years from now.)

[pinkminx.livejournal.com]

Uh-huh. I could, frankly speaking, do with a lot less sexualised nudity in advertising, be the parts male or (more often) female. The consensus over here seems to be "what, but we're already equal!" wherein equality, that two-backed beast of yore, seems to be described as the freedom that can be found in objectifying both sexes.

[verbicide.livejournal.com]

I have to say I prefer equal to unequal, but I can imagine that it gets a little tired seeing everyone's squishy parts waved around to sell a tin of beans or deodorant.

[mixed-up-media.livejournal.com]

Yeah, you said it. :(