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Brut, who make cologne for blokes, sponsors Channel Nine’s coverage of the NRL and as such, you will see an ad similar to below. This the original version from last year.

As a post from Sociological Image says:

The woman is, quite literally, an object, to be “modified,” and then posed with his other belongings. And as we see, being “brutally male” is associated with drinking a lot, driving powerful vehicles, having hot women, and probably engaging in the type of risky behaviors that partially explain why men in many industrialized nations live shorter lives than women.

And too rightly complaints were lodged such as one by Miss T. The outcome of the complaints were also noted by Mumbarella in 2009:

Two ads judged to be demeaning to women have been censured by the Advertising Standards Board.

The ASB has found that a commercial for Brut Max anti-perspirant and a late night ad for the Girls Gone Wild adult mobile service were both in breach of advertising rules.

The Brut ad – made by ad agency Loud for advertiser Pharmacare – featured a robot collecting macho-friendly objects such as a surfboard and a football . It then picks up a doll, which it indicated is “rejected” before turning her into a woman in a bikini, which it collects.

A voiceover for the ad – aired during NRL and AFL broadcasts – concludes: “Brut – still brutally male”.

Defending the ad, the advertiser said: “”When making the commercial we made sure that: Tara, our model was portrayed as comfortable and happy, and a real person. -The Robot acted gently, engaging and not threatening or menacing.”

Referrring to coverage of sex scandals involving footballers, the board described the media placement as “unfortunate”, and added:

“The Board considered that the advertisement objectifies the woman and represents her as a desired possession of men. The transformation from a doll to this particular buxom, very attractive woman dressed in a bikini also objectifies a particular type of women and perpetuates a stereotype of ‘desirable’ women.

So the ad was modified.

Spot the difference? Why yes, the concession was not to place the woman in the back of the ute. That sure is progress.

Now this NRL season, I have seen a third version . The difference now is that the Barbie doll that is rejected and modified has been removed. But the woman still comes out of the chute with all the other objects to be collected by the robot.

Brut really don’t get it.

They obviously believe they have tapped into a demographic but that should not excuse Brut of using crass gender stereotypes and sexism to sell a product. I love my footy but I resent being told that, as a bloke, the ad is representative of my gender.

The tag line “Still – brutally male” is disgusting with the implication that violence is an essential part of being a man. And while I do think the NRL has made ground in regards to gender issues over the years (scandals not withstanding) the endorsement of this ad by the NRL’s broadcaster is a sign there are still ways to go.

Been meaning to blog about this for a while but there is a art controversy in Australia about the Wynne Prize. I don’t know much about painting but Leach’s work (the one on the right painted quite recently), looks quite a bit like the one on the left (painted in 1688)

The comparison is bleeding obvious and John MacDonald’s piece at The Drum is a good summation of the issues surrounding the painting.

But as I said before, I don’t know much about painting but I do know a bit about playing the guitar. And guitarists certainly do have bad artists (those that copy) and great ones (those that steal) but with the great artists, they use they have stolen to innovate.
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Terry Pratchett recently had the honour of giving the Richard Dimbleby Lecture. It was actually given by Tony Robinson as Pratchett’s early-onset Alzheimer’s can make it difficult to read. But Robinson was wonderful himself and Pratchett’s lecture lost nothing by using a “Stunt-Pratchett”. It was sad, funny, wonderfully argued and most of all, defiant.

Pratchett mounted an excellent case for assisted dying. One that will be very hard to counter.

In the 21st Century, we have pushed death far away from us. Even when Death is at the door suggesting that we might be off now, we use whatever medical technology we can to forestall the inevitable, often at a terrible cost in pain for the soon departed and their family. There is no dignity in a lingering death in pain with one’s faculties withered. It is simply cruelty no matter the intent.
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Australia has caused another racism ruckus (the Hey Hey black face episode being the previous one) with a KFC add that depicts an Aussie bloke making friends with a crowd of West Indians by offering them some KFC.

The cries of racism were directed at the ad for use of an stereotype that African-Americans like fried chicken. And if the ad was in an American context, I could understand the concern.

But the ad has nothing to do with US racial stereotypes. The black people in the ad are West Indians who are not part of the United States. KFC are a major sponsor of cricket here in Australia and the West Indies are one of (and a popular) side touring Australia at the moment. The ad is a mildly humorous take on what happens when you are stuck in the middle of the opposition supporters.

There are number of West Indian stereotypes that, if used, would make accusations of racism accurate and deserved.

That is not to say racism does not exist in Australia. We have yet to still come to terms with a abysmal treatment of the Indigenous population. The White Australia policy was still on the books until the mid-70s. The aforementioned Hey Hey incident revealed a disturbing, lingering element of casual racism in Australia. And the continued attacks escalating into murder of Indian students are frightening.

But KFC should be let off the hook for this one. It is a case of the Americans being remarkably insular and ignorant about the rest of the world and not Australian racism. And of course, Americans are guilty of the greater crime of not having a clue about cricket.

My main problem with the ad is that Mick is a know-it-all smarmy little git.

The Spectrum section of today’s SMH threw up a surprise with a pro-polygmany article by Keysar Trad. Essentially, Keyer’s essentialist argument can be broken down to that men want to root around and having multiple wives solves that problem.

The trouble with Trad’s argument is that, apart from a few token gestures (including the bizarre notion that a man wanting two or more mother in laws is actually a form of praise for wife number one), it is all about what men want. The woman’s role in his ideal of a polygamous marriage is to simply help satiate the manly urges.
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Like many, I welcome The Chaser’s War on Everything team back to out television screens. The last time they graced our living rooms with their slash and burn approach to culture and politics, Rudd was still the PM in waiting. There is a barrenness of good focused satire in Australia’s media landscape. The Chaser are important as they brazenly dare to show up the powerful in Australia. But when the Chaser decide that anyone is ripe for a prank, they lose focus and show an unfortunate, smug, cruelty in their humour.

The segment in question was Chas’ attempt to replicate spurious lawsuits involving the companies in question. Now, the litigious nature of society is a fertile ground for satire as are often the companies reaction. But the sketch missed its mark entirely. Instead of making valid points about the incidents, it was no more relevant, creative nor funnier that an episode of Punk’d. By roping in the regular workers, earnest in their attempts to help, Chas’ sketches served no other purpose than cheap TV laughs through humiliation. There is nothing really daring or satirical about it.

That is not to say that we ordinary folk should not be the target of satire. Daily life is ripe for attuned wit to knock the stuffing out of it. But the Chaser lads, who do it oh so well when puncturing the fragile pomposity of our media and political elite, lose their way when ordinary people become comedy collateral damage.

Yes, the show is “The War on Everything” but do they need to fight all the battles? Leave the easy, cheap laughs through humiliation to those with no talent.

The death of Bettie Page last week reminds us how, even given the standards of beauty change with time, real beauty is eternal. Bettie has charmed men and women for over half a century and will continue to do so even now she has gone.

Bettie’s beauty was natural. In her photographs (whether the amateur shots or the BDSM photo shoots) there was a playfulness and a sense of fun. Something lost in today’s artificial world.

Old Feminist has a good post that contrasts what passed as desirable for nekkid women in the 1950s to what is desirable for nekkid women today.

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