Oh, But I Thought FEMINISTS Were The Ones Who REALLY Hated Women

[filkertom]

Anne clued me in to a Brazilian ad campaign for low-fat yogurt. The tag line is "Forget about it. Men’s preference will never change. Fit Light Yogurt."

That first picture, mimicking a shot from American Beauty, is, I guess, supposed to gross out both men and women with how EWWWW GAH-ROHSS she is or somethin'.

I, on the other hand, think she looks cuddly as hell. Killer smile. My absolute first reaction was a flashback to idle, wicked thoughts I've held deep in my heart for a number of years regarding the effervescent folkmew. Hubba hubba.

The other two pics ain't skanky either. Well, okay, the Basic Instinct one is. But not because of the model. Because she's emulating Sharon Stone, who is kinda skanky in that movie.

(And we won't even get into the laughable "Men's preference will never change". As if any two men, any two people have exactly the same preferences.)

People are people. Some are larger than others. Some are smaller. Some younger, some older. Some this, some that. It ain't the physique; it's the person.

Tell someone you love how sexy they are today, mmkay?

Comments

[drzarron.livejournal.com]

They are right, Men's preferences will never change. I'll take the bed of roses ANY day, cause, damn, cute as hell!

[scifantasy.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I liked the first two pictures, but I was less enthused about the Basic Instinct one. It's the face--completely kills it.

[shekkara.livejournal.com]

Well, they aren't trying to sell the yogurt to men. It's women they're trying to disgust or make afraid.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

True, but they're also counting on men's reactions to those pics to reinforce the disgust and fear. "He doesn't want a woman who isn't thin."

There was an episode of the vastly underappreciated John Larroquette Show where Liz Torres' character, Mahalia Sanchez, was revealed to have modeled for nude photographs in her youth. Various intrigues, good laugh lines, yadda yadda, standard excellent season ep for that series. But the kicker is after Mahalia and John have spoken about it all, and he turns to leave, and she suddenly says in a barely-controlled sob, "I was beautiful then."

And John turns and gives that lovely little smile of his, and says, "You were very pretty. It took years for you to become beautiful."

[katyhh.livejournal.com]

Your reaction to this ad made me smile lots :) Yay for men with good taste ;-)

Wow

[nezmaster.livejournal.com]

She's more attractive than 90% of the women that media crams down our throat. But I'm more amused by the Marilyn pick. Marilyn, unlike the vast majority of current 'sex symbols' was not a pencil. She was a beutiful full figured woman, much like the woman in this picture. What idiots.

Re: Wow

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Tell me about it. I remember a few years ago when the entertainment "press" was talking about how fat Kate Winslet was. Kate frickin' Winslet.

Good to see you, by the way. I know you've had a rough time. ConGlom?

[jcw-da-dmg.livejournal.com]

The first one is DDG! (Drop-dead gorgeous!) The other two, not so much, but not because of the size, because of the attitude & facial expression.

The Dove (soap/lotion) people are doing a "Campaign for Real Beauty" using models who are larger than the rest of the industry uses, and they mostly look HOT to me!

In short, sexiness has nothing to do with how well a woman emulates Vogue or Cosmo - not to me, anyway; and I suspect there are more men out there like me than these mags & agencies want to admit.

[troubleinchina.livejournal.com]

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

[drzarron.livejournal.com]

Monroe was a size 14, and no one was hounding her to lose weight.

[mathmuffin.livejournal.com]

My wife is fatter than the three models. She is also sexier.

By coincidence, I am heading down to a breakfast of low-fat yogurt. (I have to lose weight to reduce strain on an arthritic knee.) But not the brand of yogurt in the advertisement.

Erin Schram

[hitchkitty.livejournal.com]

*sigh*
As a Rubenesque woman I knew in college put it, "Zaftig is making a comeback".

In the US, beauty and diet products are responding by using real (read: possessed of body fat) women in their ad campaigns. Some, like Slim Fast, actually acknowledge the difference between hips and hip bones, encouraging women to "find your Slim".

In Brazil, apparently, advertisers are running scared. Clinging desperately to the rules that have worked before. Denying that the pendulum is swinging away from them. "Forget it. This won't last. And when it ends, you'll still be a disgusting tub of lard. Only WE can save you!"

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go remind my wife how OMGWTFSEXAY I find her curves ^_^

[ericcoleman]

I hadnt seen the second two, but a friend had a link to the first picture a couple of days ago ... I seem to remember that my first reaction was ... hmmm ... how did I put it ... oh yeah

OH MY GOD YUM !!!

or something like that ...

[wyattkelly.livejournal.com]

Yum! The American Beauty gal is adorable!

[redaxe.livejournal.com]

Real Women Ain't Just Sticks. These three (especially the first) are awesomely gorgeous. They're clearly either idiots themselves, or, more likely, pandering to idjits.

With any luck, it means more of these ladies for the rest of us.

[shadowriderhope.livejournal.com]

OMFG, the first woman is especially yummy. ;)

[bryanp.livejournal.com]

How many times do we have to say "Different people like different things."

I work with a friend (he's sitting about 5 feet behind me now). When we go out for lunch I freely admit we make quiet neanderthal comments about women to one another. Some of them no more than "Oooh. *grunt* *snort* Wooooman!"

Our tastes vary. His tastes tend towards thinner women than mine. There's a nice overlap in the middle where we both go "Mmmmmm...preeeetty", but there are ladies walking around who are a bit more substantial than he would prefer that make my knees go weak. And that's as it should be. Vive la difference and all that.

Not that it matters. We're both married men. But our wives both understand that we're guys ... we're gonna look.

[ttamsen.livejournal.com]

Heh. I used to work with a lesbian friend at a convenience store years ago and we had about the same degree of overlap in aesthetics. She also had the most flawless Animal impression I've ever heard -- but an octave higher. "Wo-man! Wo-man!" in Miss Piggy's range. :-)

[illusionmajik.livejournal.com]

Beauty...
Just lovely.
My husband saw the photo of the American Beauty one and was like "Now THAT is what a model should look like."

[sazettel.livejournal.com]

Insecure women are money makers for the corps. and the ad machine.

Speaking as another important woman of queenly and magnificent proportions...

First, that ad showed the media's usual complete lack of any sense of history. Never mind Marilyn Monroe, these people have CLEARLY never looked at Mae West (who was a walking nightmare for the Hayes office), let alone a Reubens or a Titian.

Second, I am pleased to note that in Romance fiction, which is women writing for and about women, there is a strong trend of Big Woman stories, in which the woman of queenly proportions justly triumphs and gets laid a whole lot. We're fighting back, and we're making money doing it. The ad media will notice this eventually, although Brazil has some extreme problems with women and body image that are really outrageous.

Third, I am also pleased to note that the gentlemen of my acquaintance have all had the same response to the ad, namely, D*mn! She's a babe! Which shows that the pig-headedness the media is attempting to get us to regurgitate is not taking in all cases.

[lizard-sf.livejournal.com]

First one is definitely a total hottie. A lot of it is the smile and posing...she really looks like she's enjoying herself. I wonder if she was told, "BTW, your purpose in this ad is to make women NOT want to be you"?

I definitely prefer women who do not look like they'd break if I hugged them too hard...and besides, one of my primary wooing techniques is that I am a darn good cook, and I'd hate to try to use that shtick on a woman who limited herself to half a stick of celery a day.

(Granted, getting married (to my ex-wife...let's hear it for Marriage 2.0) in six weeks so further wooing is not an issue, but it's the principle of the thing...)

[dr-zrfq.livejournal.com]

I wonder if she was told, "BTW, your purpose in this ad is to make women NOT want to be you"?

Perhaps she was given the above line and said to herself, "Screw that, I'm going to have *fun* with this!"

[starfallz.livejournal.com]

Not surprising for a Brazilian ad campaign, really. My boyfriend's mother is Brazilian and one of his cousins came to look for work in the US because she is overweight and there is a lot of pressure in Brazil to be thin, so much that it is hard to find jobs if you aren't.

I think the women in the pictures are gorgeous, but I live in the US.

[awfulhorrid.livejournal.com]

I have to echo pretty much everyone else: The first picture in particular is very beautiful! (And the other two are also nice, although I'm not that fond of the last one simply because I don't find the hairstyle and clothing very attractive.)

I'm poly: two of my sweeties are, well, fat. (One BBW & One Bear = lucky me!) I love them just the way they are and find them both very attractive! The other isn't exactly what you'd call thin and as with the other two, I love her exactly the way she is. Heck, when it comes down to it, I'm far more attracted to brains and personality than anything else ... but I do like a nice layer of curves and padding to go with those brains!

Oh and I have to agree with you again: MEW is very sexy!

[liddle-oldman.livejournal.com]

There is an axiom in advertising, along the lines of "If you can make a woman hate herself enough, you can sell her anything". This is another excellent example.

That being said, despite the fact that I'm old and happily married, the lady on the bed of rose petals could make me cry with desire.

[wildcard9.livejournal.com]

That first pic was most definately VERY sexy!! I am very disappointed with that ad. Too many women think they need to be stick thin to look good. That is not the case. My preference is for women who have a little meat on their bones. Hot Waffles has the perfect song about this: Girl You Are Too Skinny.

[fair-witness.livejournal.com]

The woman in the first photo has the kind of attitude that will keep her sexy for years, no matter what weight.

[selenesue.livejournal.com]

The thing about the rose girl is that she is smiling and posed in a very appealing manner that says "come roll with me." Have you seen the American Beauty picture that it's supposedly based on? She is lying stick straight with a bland expression. No appeal at all, even if you liked that kind of body. Meh.

[tigertoy.livejournal.com]

If that first pic were any hotter, I think it would melt the backbone routers on the Internet.

To me, it's just another example of how disgusting the advertising industry is. They will spread any message, no matter how untrue, no matter how harmful, that they can convince the client will increase sales. If this example is offensive enough to actually get through the ennui of "it's just a commerical", maybe some good can come of it. Many of the women targeted are mothers; maybe this will motivate them to teach their children how to recognize how ads use lies and irrelevant emotional baggage to make them think they want garbage they would never want if they were rational.

[kengr]

as I noted in a comment below, even places whose customers are all "larger" pulll this shit. The models in the catalogs and ads are all at the *lowest* end of the size range they carry. Making it damned hard to figure out how the clothes will look on their *typical* customers.

A *very* few use models that are closer to their typical customers.

[mbumby.livejournal.com]

I don't get the movie references (except for the Marilyn one), but I'm just a touch confused by anyone who'd think anything other than *drool* about the first one. And even if you prefer slender women, I don't even think she's that large. Ok, so you can't count ribs -- maybe that means she's healthy! (Or I'm blind.)

I kind of liked the attitude on the 2nd (Marilyn) one too.

[bryanp.livejournal.com]

The picture with the roses is a reference to the movie "American Beauty." It's quite good, but not one I have any particular desire to re-watch.

The other non-Marilyn pic is supposed to be a pose made famous by Sharon Stone in the movie "Basic Instinct." I have it on DVD because it came free with a bunch of others. They were giving away packs of free DVD's to people who bought players back when they were stupidly expensive (1998). I've had it all that time still haven't watched it.