“For now you can still buy a Beemer with your dignity intact. The question is, should you?” *

A used beemer, that is.

Why so? Thanks to Egalia at Tenessee Guerilla Women for drawing my attention to this sick little ad campaign for BMW:

As it’s described in Salon:

Broadsheet: [A] beautiful young woman — presumably naked and lying in bed — wearing a come-hither look and a crown of blond curls. In small print scrawled across her bare shoulder, it reads: “You know you’re not the first.” As your eyes drift to the bottom of the advertisement — and the top of her chest — you learn that it’s an advertisement for BMW’s premium selection of used cars. Used cars, used women — get it?! And, finally, there’s BMW’s slogan in the bottom right-hand corner, which takes on a whole new meaning: “Sheer Driving Pleasure.”

I’d also add – how old is that girl? 13? 14? She could be 18; but even so the aim is to make her look pubescent, yet still available.

The air of innocence suggests virginal chastity, yet the pose of passive abandon says ‘here, take me’. The makeup is deliberately designed to accentuate the dewy skin, pouting mouth and cherubic curls of extreme youth; yet the direct gaze gives an implicit promise of sexuality. It’s all very carefully done and just to make sure you get the message, it’s made explicit in the slogan. “You know you’re not the first”. Oh well, that’s all right then. Lech away at the child.

No doubt BMW’s marketing droids are aiming for a discrete demographic – and from the message sent by this ad, I’d say that’s the repressed-paedophile-with-aspirational-tendencies-in-a-boring-job-that-doesn’t-pay quite enough-for-a-posh-car market segment. I bet the research people found their target audience goes on holiday in Costa Rica or Thailand as well; but what I’d find even more interesting is the range of media this ad’s been placed in. That would tell us even more about whether BMW sees their customers as potential paedophiles or not. But on the content of that ad alone, I think that were I a second-hand beemer driver, I’d be just a tad insulted.

[First spotted by Copyranter.]

* Jeremy Clarkson, The Sunday Times

The Measure of The Man

Having already abused his current wife in public (having handily divested himself of the previous Mrs. McCain to marry this one for her money) Republican candidate John McCain shows consistency in his attitude towards women:

The blog Rum, Romanism and Rebellion unearthed a 1986 newspaper article reporting an insensitive and sexist joke McCain was said to have made.

Did you hear the one about the woman who is attacked on the street by a gorilla, beaten senseless, raped repeatedly and left to die? When she finally regains consciousness and tries to speak, her doctor leans over to hear her sigh contently and to feebly ask, ‘Where is that marvelous ape?’

Women’s groups slammed McCain at the time for making the joke; it remains to be seen how much its reemergence will hurt the Republicans’ ongoing attempts to woo women voters.

When the article first appeared, McCain’s campaign denied he had made the joke, but the reporter who wrote the article stands by the story.

More…

Well. That’ll go down well with the voters.

Comment of the Day: Canada edition

Nicked wholesale from James Nicoll:

Dr. Henry Morgentaler, famous women’s rights activist, to be named to Order of Canada.

Catholic priest Lucien Larré, whose two criminal convictions were related to the collapse in a flurry of financial woes and allegations of abuse of Larré’s Bosco Homes, returns own 1983 Order of Canada because granting the Order of Canada to Dr. Morgentaler “degrades” the honour.

Further comments are unnecessary.

Go On, Get Your Nads Out For The Girls

Hey sugarbuns! Yeah you! Smile darlin’, it might never happen! What? Waddaya mean, that’s harassment? What are you, gay?

Oh those poor builders, they can’t take what they dish out, can they….

Girls banned from whistling at builders

A further education college has banned its female students from wolf-whistling at builders.

Girls at West Kent College have been advised that whistling constitutes harassment and is unacceptable

Officials sent an email to all pupils warning that the behaviour was “totally unacceptable”, and saying any students caught harassing contractors would face disciplinary action.

The email was sent after a demolition team started work on a £94 million, three-year building project at the campus.

The email read: “It has come to the attention of the college that some female students have been making comments to, or whistling at, the builders both whilst on site and as they walk around the campus.

“Although we are sure no offence is meant, this constitutes harassment and is wholly unacceptable.

More….

What a bunch of limp wimps.

Happy Happy Day

Today is officially the happiest day of the year – really, it’s scientific, so it must be true so just ignore those negative vibes they’re not real – and in keeping with the theme, here is the happiest picture I can find.

California has an outbreak of love and common sense:

Californian gay couple happy to be married

Congratulations to all who are now able to marry the love of their life. Just don’t read the comments or that happy glow will vanish in a puff of bitter cynicism.