(original advertisement)
Dolce and Gabbana, a high end fashion label that is globally renowned, recognized and respected made an advertisement mistake that will forever haunt them throughout the rest of the brands marketing campaigns. In this misogynistic add D&G represents women as objects, while simultaneously condoning what seems to be a violent non-consensual sexual act. By advertising in this sexist manner, the ad essentially recognizes and promotes rape culture on a massive and very public scale. Women themselves, and their bodies, become dehumanized, objectified, and their rights seem to be disregarded. D&G were essential approving what seems to be a type of gang rape. This ad came under even more public scrutiny due to earlier comments made by the owner’s/head designers of D&G about how children born through IVF (in virtro fertilisation) were synthetic. Essentially stating that family (the social normative of what a family should be) is a man, a women and a child. Thus implicating that sexually objectifying women and promoting rape culture was far more acceptable than the non-traditional family’s in the high fashion world. This ad’s use of hyper-sexuality offends feminine dignity on a global scale, as well promotes and condones this type of situation to other younger females that it’s both acceptable and “sexy”. Additionally, this ad portrays women as weak and helpless, while the males are shown in traditionally accepted positions of power and dominance. This is demonstrating out-dated views that women are inferior to men, and should remain below them in social, physical, and sexual settings. This ad also emphasises the fact that in both the fashion world and in modern society, women being under the control of men is a social norm, and something that is to be expected. This ad sadly only promotes negative and condescending messages about females in the social world, primarily for the shock value, and because in the eyes of the designers, this is what sells designer clothing.
(Culture Jammed, Edited Version)
In my jamming process, I use the phrase “We Don’t Take No For an Answer” to overemphasize and exemplify the horrific messages being sent throughout the advertisement. This was done to make the subliminal meanings and messages more obvious and loud to the viewer. By bringing the message to the forefront, the promotion of rape culture, sexism, and dehumanizing of women in the original advertisement is bluntly addressed and ridiculed. By overemphasizing the negative and socially out-dated messages of the advertisement, I give light to both the use of hyper-masculinity, the males who are shown as muscular and powerful, as well as hyper-feminism by representing the women as weak and helpless to the actions of the men. The use of hyper-sexuality thus becomes far more evident, and then goes on to show that by using these types of over emphasized male and female characters is a negative use of archaic stereotypes. Messages like non-consensual sex, violence, and gender norms are portrayed, in which men are depicted as more powerful and women as helpless are more noticeable. By making the issues more noticeable, I hoped to encourage the acknowledgement of negative social impacts advertisements like these have on the international stage. The young audience of both males and females who see these advertisements on massive billboards, or popping up as advertisement’s while surfing the web, are susceptible to being influenced by these messages. Young males will believe that these hyper-masculine figures and their actions and messages are what’s expected of the young males, and then should be replicated and idolized as they grow up. Additionally, young women will look at advertisements like these, assuming that being weak, and helpless and put in similar situations by male figures are acceptable and the norm. In conclusion, by making the issues at hand painfully obvious, I hope to illuminate and create a deeper thought into the consequences of the messages presented, in order to change and hopefully stop the negative social implications.