On second thought, this might not be the brave step forward that the United Kingdom’s Advertising Standards Authority is making it out to be.
Sure, the industry watchdog is warning that it will be cracking down on ads that feature stereotypical gender roles — mom cleaning the house, dad making a mess of the house — but are we, like, talking about two genders here?
As Twitchy reported, the Television Academy handed Bill Nye an Emmy nomination for the “Sexual Spectrum” episode of “Bill Nye Saves the World,” featuring the classic, “My Sex Junk.” So is the U.K. only going to police ads for their depiction of “male” and “female” roles? That’s awfully regressive.
The @ASA_UK says harmful stereotypes “can restrict the choices, aspirations and opportunities" of children https://t.co/z0CNSPbCR1
— PA Media (@PA) July 18, 2017
Although moves like this one generally grow out of a perceived need to show women doing more outside the home, men look to “benefit” as well — the ASA, it seems, will also be on the lookout for ads showing dad bumbling around the house and being generally clueless.
Jezebel picked up on the story and added the sad note, “This kind of self-awareness is admirable, but will likely never, ever, in a billion years, happen in the United States!”
Ads that perpetuate gender stereotypes will be banned in UK, but not in the good ol' USA! https://t.co/Ga4SUnfpSb pic.twitter.com/Ag5eKnVkSk
— Jezebel (@Jezebel) July 18, 2017
Honestly, we wouldn’t really care if it did catch on in the U.S.; mostly, we’re just happy not to have an Advertising Standards Authority forcing it on us.
Banned.
Like they're porn or something? ?
— CoolCzech (@CoolCzech1) July 19, 2017
At least the good ole USA still has Freedom.
— Kerry W (@Texican1957) July 19, 2017
That's a feature, not a bug.
— Josh King (@joshuamking) July 19, 2017
"We pretend to believe in free speech"
— Brian O'Fall (@applecharlie5) July 18, 2017
You're bragging about oppressively banning thoughts you don't like while mocking freedom?
— Make Government Small Again (@Avsfan24) July 19, 2017
https://twitter.com/Love_My_Puppies/status/887557687059271680
https://twitter.com/justhackett/status/887486091120586753
I'm old enough to remember when liberals opposed government censorship. https://t.co/jSY8TBHN6k
— Corie Whalen (@CorieWhalen) July 19, 2017
How…. how are companies expected to target demographics without using them? pic.twitter.com/oDxAQlOXhZ
— Johnny De Silveira (@canuck4liberty) July 19, 2017
Proud that we don't have the right NOT to be offended in the good ol' USA! Amazes me what the UK will/will not ban.
— Stuart Stein (@SsteinStuart) July 18, 2017
The rabbit hole goes even deeper, though. British Telecom reports that “the ASA’s move follows last month’s announcement of a Unilever-led alliance of major brands and organisations aiming to end gender stereotyping in advertising.”
And that effort, which goes by the name of the “Unstereotype Initiative” — “a new global Alliance set to banish stereotypical portrayals of gender in advertising and all brand-led content”— is sponsored by UN Women and also includes Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Mattel, Twitter, AT&T, and others. So, it looks like the good ol’ USA is participating after all, albeit voluntarily for now.
https://twitter.com/MrBureaucrat/status/887500744152281088
https://twitter.com/Sdh2442/status/887496061362864128
https://twitter.com/JohnstonAdamK/status/887512581505724417
https://twitter.com/cleothevol/status/887503609990193152
* * *
Related:
NARAL is furious that Doritos is 'humanizing fetuses' it its Super Bowl ad https://t.co/7PK7EUxFnp
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) February 8, 2016
Join the conversation as a VIP Member