Billboard porn

Lately, so-called unscrupulous billboard advertising has been making headlines and I couldn't be happier that offenders are getting called out. By now, most of you know I get riled up by ads that portray women in, shall we say, less than flattering light.

But it hit a little closer to home when this billboard was recently erected in a Chicago suburb. The ad, which portrays a woman lying wet on a beach, apparently dressed in just a top, back arched and butt up in the air, is for a salon. All around her, arrows highlight various problematic body parts (from dull hair to cellulite) and, as luck would have it, solutions available at the salon RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER!

Puke.

Is this what we want our little girls to see as we drive them to soccer practice or art class?

There was also a big hubub made over a recent billboard touting divorce as a quick fix for a dreary, boring, stale life. A female-run law firm put up the ad, which depicted a female and male body, only showing the tanned, taut (and apparently surgically enhanced) torsos and the tagline "Life is Short. Get a Divorce."

Where are our priorities?

Oh, PS...to give you an idea of the mentality we're dealing with: the salon owner who erected the spa billboard had this to say in the Chicago Tribune when defending his choice: "You know what? My next billboard is going to be of a 300-pound woman and it will say, 'Could you help me please?' Then everyone would be after me saying, 'My son is traumatized because you showed me a fat woman.' You can never win."

Classy.

What would your caption read on a billboard with his pic?

PS Love to my highly-evolved husband for pointing out the salon ad. You're the best!

Comments

The billboard with the ad for a female- run law firm sort of confuses me. You would think that they would be focused on empowering women to tep up and take action, instead, they're shunning them with the (seemingly) degrading picture. (I say that because I haven't seen it, but I've heard lots about it.) I would think that they would try and appeal to their customers, rather than drive them away. Anyways, just my opinion, But they must be making money off of it.

Lighten up... it's just a billboard!

It's effective advertising and it doesn't break the law. If you're going to apply your own standards and censor things you don't like, there are plenty of magazine adds and tv commerials that will keep you busy.

Use your time and energy on the things you want, not the things you don't want. What are you goals? If censoring billboards is your goal, you need to watch "The Secret".

What does everyone think about this?
http://www.nme.com/news/the-gossip/28648

Well I think it's great that the magazine had the balls to put Beth on the cover like that - even though her body type is so far from the accepted standard. But if we're talking equality, then i would have to say i'd like it if everyone just kept their clothes on. I'm going to call out girls of all sizes who pose naked or close to it. BUT i do think the intentions of beth ditto naked are far different than if it were jessica alba naked... i dont know if thats a good thing or a bad thing...

Its "just" a billboard that everyone in the area has to see. The author was simply stating her opinion, not starting a censorship campaign. I think you're the one who needs to lighten up.

Tonya, thanks for your input and shedding light on the other side of the topic. If you re-read my post, you'll see I never called for the billboard to be taken down, just a re-examination of society's priorities, particularly when it comes to educating our children about what's important/valuable in life (ie beauty on the inside vs. outside). I do, however, happen to think that statements like "It's just a billboard" help perpetuate the belief that women can continue to be exploited in many aspects of life (it kind of smacks of "He was just flirting" when a man catcalls a woman - a way to explain away behavior that, over time, adds up.
Mia, I saw the cover with Beth Ditto on it and thought it was interesting. I'd be hypocritical saying that one type of nudity is A-OK and everything else is wrong. I do appreciate that the magazine is showing a woman of a different size...the major difference is that people CHOOSE to buy magazines. A billboard is up in broad daylight - you're basically forced to look.

What is beautiful? Are the images on those billboards more visually pleasing than the photo of Beth Ditto? Probably to most people and attractiveness sells products/services. I try to remind myself of the magic of airbrushing and powers of Photoshop. I wonder what the designers that have to airbrush and correct people's imperfections for a living feel when they're doing their jobs. I can't help but feel that everything we see is fake and when we see something like the image of Beth, something opposite of what we're used to, brings you back to reality. What is socially acceptable? As far as the law firm and the salon promoting their business in such a way, it's all about the money in our society. If you have it, you better flaunt it. And that book/video Secret, is a joke. It's just a power of positive thinking and laws of attraction, not some fad. Let's all watch less TV, reduce visits to Perez Hilton.com to once a week, read more books, learn a new skill (I'll try sewing) and enjoy real people in our lives. Ciao!

I think that your right Les. This is ridiculous. This billboard says that when women have problems with their body, face, etc, they should just get them fixed. Why are we not teaching young women to accept their "flaws" as part of their unique personality. I just listened to my co-worker tell me about all the money she saved so her 17 year old daughter can get a nose job! I was appalled. As someone who has struggled with an eating disorder for 10 years and have finally overcome it, I cannot stress the importance of self acceptance. And if us "mature" women cannot do this, how do we expect young girls and teens to ever do it. Keep speaking out against this Les.

I don't think this is "just a billboard" at all. It highlights the very objectification of the female body that women have been fighting for years. I recently listened to two 12 year-old girls bemoan their "fat thighs" as they glanced at magazine covers with Hollywood's starving stars splashed across the cover. NOT COOL! We need body acceptance in this society, not the perpetuation of unattainable beauty myths.

I'm torn on the magazine cover: I would like to think that no woman has to drop her clothes in order to get attention or make a statement. I'm just not convinced that, at the end of the day, it makes any difference. Then again, what does make a difference?

Awesome post, Leslie!

There is something deeply wrong in America's perception and portrayal of a healthy body image. Not only is it biased towards external beauty but is also predominantly marketed towards women. There is a continual battle that women are going to have to fight in order to get past these perceptions/portrayals. First, let's realize the discrepancy in gender oriented marketing: Women are continually expected to be a set ideal of beautiful... an external ideal at that. Men are not held to this same ideal. Most Americans have become numb to this and don't even notice. Continue pointing out society's flaws in perception/portrayal of body image and do what YOU can to change them, we'll make progress.

The divorce campaign is a moral issue that, if not in accordance with your own beliefs, will have to be dealt with on the home front. YOU take the initiative in your OWN home to address these issues so your children see the same flaws that you do. At the very leasat, bring it to their attention and let them decide.

i agree with you, mia - it does seem like almost everything we see is fake (especially on tv and in magazines; you just KNOW the images have been altered or digitally enhanced). you have to put your faith in yourself and not in the media because they will always be trying to make you feel insecure. i know that this is tough for us women in our 20s & 30s because we grew up reading seventeen, cosmo, glamour, etc., and didn't really realize that we were hurting ourselves. sometimes when i'm waiting in line at the supermarket, or browsing thru barnes & noble, i'll notice that the latest issue of InStyle has "getting gorgeous" as its cover headline (i've seen it more than once) and i can only imagine how anxious some women get over such things. this magazine's message is "no matter how hard you try, you'll never be pretty enough", and that is what messes a lot of us up in the head. i always wonder who writes these articles and who decides what's fashionable and what isn't (or what's pretty and what's not). continued..

....it's just amazing how many people take this stuff seriously. how can you let someone without a face tell you how to live your life?

Jesus HAS a face!

The parents of the community where the billboard was displayed have let their feelings be known, and the display will be removed this weekend.

Teach your children how to love themselves for who they are so that when faced with idiotic advertisments they can make the right choice for themselves as to how to react to it. There is no use in fighting the billboard or the people behind them. I would recommend you all to watch this video http://youtube.com/watch?v=iYhCn0jf46U, show your children or anyone for that matter and understand that advertisments and models aren't ever natural it's all digitally tampered with. Reaching model perfection is completely unrealistic for the majority of us, so wake up and love yourself. Teach your children to do the same.

I am also a fan of the movie "The Secret" and recommend it to everyone.

there is a nearly naked man on there as well, its perfectly fair.

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