Monday, January 30, 2006

Essay 366


Chicago Tribune columnist Dawn Turner Trice presented a follow-up to the WLEY billboard controversy (see Essay 352). Folks sent responses, remarking whether or not the ad was offensive. As always, it’s a mixed bag of opinions.

>At first the “25 Pegaditas” ad didn’t offend me, but then I wondered what if the woman was browner and her thighs and hips a bit rounder? As an African-American woman, I know how I’d be upset. So should I be any less bothered in this case? My answer is no.

>The people that this ad offends need to find something more constructive to do with their time, like paying attention to the road instead of billboards.

>I have been offended by this radio station’s ads for the past year or so and I am glad to see that I am not alone. I am also glad to hear that a female group from the Latino community feels similarly. I am 36 and I may be starting to sound like an old biddy, but I’m at a loss as to how to explain this and other ads on the street to my 5-year-old daughter.

>The only women I know who ever seem to get offended by racy ads featuring women are women who are not attractive in the slightest. It’s petty. My friends and I often dress up in our sexiest outfits to go out, yet we should be offended when sex is used to sell?

>Hey, why not put all women in burkas? Then we won’t have to be offended by those uncomfortably attractive bottoms.

>I am a man and I see the “25 Pegaditas” ad every day on my way home from work and I never fail to feel insulted by it. I am particularly concerned with what this kind of message does to the psyche of Latina girls and boys.

Well, it’s no Dove Real Beauty campaign.

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