You know what I want to see? I want to see companies like gillette not firing women after they come back from maternity leave. I want them to give men paid paternity leave. I want them to offer daycare at their offices. There is so many actions that could speak so much louder than words.
Agreed. It all trails back to corporations in politics. America is bought and paid for. It’d be cool if we started looking at workers as human beings instead of lifeless work machines. Also, we need to be a lot more distraught by the dwindling power and membership of unions.
“Is there substance or action behind the ad.” THANK YOU. That’s the main reason why I’m so sick of “girl power” ads. Yes, I’m aware that society forces certain roles on men and women. Yes, I’m aware that girls and women can do anything. But what’s being said? What’s being done? Are you saying anything new? What’s being added to the conversation?
Why are we expecting companies to have like an hour long conversation in their commercials? They aren't trying to have a conversation, the ad is trying to get us to buy their soap or tampons which we all need anyway so what's the problem. 30 second ad about self-love and buy our tampons next time you need some. I think it is really that simple and nothing more or less.
But women can't do anything men can. That's a myth. Women are judged by men in a completely different criteria. And their biology makes them less likely to want to do what men do.
I like to call it Slacktivism from some website I don't remember the name of. It's like if your next door neighbor's house burned down and you only sent them "thoughts and prayers" on social media then went on your merry way. You didn't actually contribute anything, but you feel like you did so yay you!! Like holy crap, find out where they're staying and bring them a hot cooked meal and a gift card if you can. Help them clean up. Even sparing 10 minutes of your time and effort is more valuable than any "thoughts and prayers" fake niceness bs. Plus I had a teacher tell me in a class once that if a company has to tell you they care about a group of people in an ad then it means they probably got in trouble with that group of people for being uncaring bastids. Any time I see a company being all like GRRRLLL POWERRRR then I'm pretty sure its run by white men who hire male advertising teams. Or they're promoting some lightweight feel-good crap, patting themselves on the back for being so "forward thinking", then continuing to not give women management positions, paternity leave for fathers, daycare options etc.
Whats being added is ur money to a multibillion dollar company who still fights for tax breaks but votes against the poor because "they dont need them"
I think it depends on the context. If I’m in a little glittery dress at a bar with my friends that makes sense. Not so much if I have a responsible position at work.
milikoshki Because actual girls watch the same commercials and it feels like they are included and they are right to feel included because it’s targeting them they’re brainwashing our young girls the deed has already been done to us
I had one about 3 women going to the beach... one had her shoulders bared and her friends were wondering how she got rid of her back hair... it was an ad for razors... thanks, Japan... until now, I didn't know that that was a thing...
Okay about the Nike ad (with the little girl singing). It’s a campaign of Nike Russia, in a very conservative country, where it was not just a marketing move (feminism is not that popular here, unfortunately, compared to the US and Western Europe). It was truly an attempt to destigmitize the girl power concept and feminism. It was so important in this national context I cannot stress this enough! By the way, I don’t mean to argue, I completely agree with what you said and just wanted to add the other perspective from the other side of the world
Oliver Cetus, In Soviets women had official rights before other world, but being honest government were trying to control all aspects of life, including women’s bodies when demographic decline came in. And even now there is a big pressure on women about their reproductive role. Wages also not equal to men ones and iris only to begin In some regions female circumcision is still practicing
Another thing I often am forced to think about it how much these companies don't care about international women or eco-feminism. Especially when it comes to fashion companies where women in underdeveloped countries are often employed in slave like conditions to make the western world's lil edgy feminism logo t-shirts!! But that's a whole 'nother video haha
yeah, companies like dove have ads about how all women are beautiful but they're still gonna promote skin whitening products as if it wasn't a result of damaging eurocentric beauty standards.....
yes yes yes. there's nothing more ironic than seeing a t-shirt that says "the future is female" on it that was probably made by impoverished women in a sweatshop.
just thought I'd pop in to say that if you want a clothing company that's ethical check out freeset. They help women in India to escape from prostitution and don't just give them a living wage to make fabric and garments but also provide healthcare and education for the women and their families. I found out about them through RubyCup which is a menstrual cup company that donates a cup for each one purchased and the cups go to local women's health organisations in Africa and Nepal. I wish there was more advertising for companies like these but until there is we have to spread the word ourselves
@@carrieamoreno Yep. This is why I decided to stay away from those cooperations and settled for smaller companies who actually do what they stand for. Even though their impact may be smaller and on a more local-basis, at least they're not bullshitting consumers for their own financial gain.
Yeet Well yes & no. We talked about this in college, too. But you would think that some companies at least do something small. Turns out some don‘t do anything at all.
I have such an issue with the term "girl boss". Why can't I just be a boss regardless of what's between my legs? What's the use of having the distinction "girl" in there as if only males are bosses/leaders which is ridiculous. Also, I'm a woman not a 5-year old CEO. I find the term patronising tbh.
Yuuuuup. I feel this way at work when they do things for international women's day and stuff too, like i'm not a "female employee" i'm just an employee.
@@yotosaurus9728 why do you think there is a comment section? To talk about the subject of the video. There might as well not be one if you're not allowed to share your opinion. "No one cares". Yeah, tell that to the hundreds of people who like and agree with this comment. Foh
I find the tshirts with "Girl Power" and "The Future is Female" so fake. I personally wouldn't be able to just feel empowered when wearing a tshirt made by an underpaid woman who has probably been abused in a sweatshop.
I got my girl power shirt from a second hand store, I don't like supporting fast fashion. Though I agree with Tiffany's point that we shouldn't address grown women as girls. I still like wearing the shirt and seeing others wear the shirt, (maybe because I own the shirt)
@@sukumykaja because a lot of the past has been patriarchal and focused on men and what they want and need and all of that, that's why it would get backlash my theory at least
one thing I always think about is how women are spoken about like their 'the other' like men are the default. I find it funny when men are like ' i think women can do anything anyone else can do' like yeah, women are one half of the world, that doesn't really hold up. I don't think I can explain this very well but yeah, just something I notice often how women are spoken about like another species
if you haven’t read the second sex by simone de beauvoir i would highly recommend! goes into stuff like Othering + perception of women as extensions of men etc etc
@@priscillaosanna9061 eggxactly though I wouldn't want men to be suppressed either but it's annoying when they keep denying that women are their equal and men aren't the default. So I guess you reply to force by force. #💪 wait that's a male hand too🤨 make this a movement change this emoji!!
The funny things is that if be look at this with logic, women aré the default sex. Cause the female body Is the base of both sexes and the male one is created fue to mutations.
I think they use the word "girl" because they aren't really targeting grown women, but young girls who would be more easily influenced by what they see... You know, to manipulate them into buying product.
I think another reason may be that if a woman likes such advertizment-has complexes she probably got those in childhood. Therefore if you say: "girl" you touch deeper in heart straight to that abused child
It drives me nuts when I see fast fashion trying to be (or sell T-shirts about) feminism. Most of those clothes are made by women who don't get paid a living wage!
And made in Bangladesh. Guess what? The building they were working in fell on them.
5 лет назад+265
I’m so glad you pointed out the fact that we call grown women girls, but call grown men men. There are soooo few people taking about that and I’ve thought about that for such a long time. In Sweden we have three words for girls. It’s called “flicka” which is a small child, maybe around 1-7 years old, then it’s “tjej” which is around 8-18, then “kvinna” which means woman. In a newspaper it said “the man was attacked, and then the same year old “flicka” was attacked too.”. It actually said she was the same age, but was called a flicka, you call small children that word. Some people talked about it, but most people didn’t. I know think it’s kinda fucked up that we refer grown women as children.
I'm late but I think about this ALL THE TIME. Another thing I think about with this is that, in english, we have boy, guy, then man, but then there's girl,.., woman. I think this sometimes contributes to calling grown women "girls" as well, especially when they're teens or in their early 20s
The most ironically disappointing thing is dove and axe are owned by the same company unilever. Axe is about getting “the girl.” I just don’t no how truthful the brand is when they are under the same umbrella as a typically masculine brand like axe with an obvious message.
What I like about Barbie and their feminist advertising is they actually walk the talk. Girls can do anything seems to be their real belief. For example, they employed young girls ages 15-18 for the orchestration of their Barbie of Swan Lake movie. One of the many things I love about Barbie :)
Thank you for talking about girls vs women and language. I remember my first women’s studies professor said to people calling grown ass women girls “has she had her period?? Can she vote??” And I just love that
But Barbie's in themselves aren't inclusive of all body types and ethnicity so... Kind of easy for them to appeal to feminism but at the same time not doing any body representation and indirectly body shaming young girls ?
@@camrivest7571 But they are not bodyshaming anyone. You know, I'm not a tall blonde, blue eyed girl but I always looked past Barbie physical appereance and saw a lot of myself in her growing up (be who you wanna be, Barbie girl!) We should teach kids that they can still see themselves in icons that don't look exactly like them
Rose Wood Also they talk about body acceptance while all having flawless skin(wich is what they sell) "You might be not skinny but you can still have nice skin..buy our stuff for that"
They actually have a seperate brand for men, dove men + care, because they realized their logo and soap were rounded and apparently, that makes men not want to buy the products
But dove is for women. Its kind of like how axe is for men. They want to product good washing soap for female skin. There is nothing wrong with that. Thats like getting mad at certain shampoo products marketing for women hair even though it literally is for women hair but men can still use it. The point of dove is to have smooth skin and look flawless and beautiful. How do men relate? Axe is to make men masculine and smell good to attract women. I hate these types of comments. They devalue things because of personal bias
Not to mention: a lot of these companies that do ‘social justice’ ads have really bad labour policies within the production branch of the company. A company making an ad about women being great while paying women in their factories less than a living wage, working them for exhausting shifts and forbidding worker’s associations is not feminist.
This is an old video but I just gotta say something. I HATE how much that "if Barbie had irl proportions shed look like a monster" thing that gets shared. Barbie has female astronaut dolls in the 90s. And doctors and cowboys. They're honestly a truely awesome and empowering brand and people saying shed look like a monster just brings all the focus back onto her physical appearance.
Yeah but... Why does a toy for young girl need to be sexualized? If your think for one second barbie isn't using feminism for the money ur naive ... Altho at least they do send a good message about girls doing any job, their message isn't consistant all the way by not showing legit body representation and thus, not feminist
@@camrivest7571 well they have created dolls that have larger/different body types, also even if seeing girls play with dolls that can be anything And see themselves in that character. It’s empowering to see little girls thinking wow that’s cool about a girl in stem even if Barbie isn’t a real person, true most children pick dolls cause how they look they are still getting exposure to a lady in a male dominated field. So when someone says “you can’t be a coder you’re a girl” they may think “well Barbie did it and she’s a girl, so I can to”
I always find the female empowerment ad completely cringe! I would never share an ad like that on social media. People get empowered by experiences and personal growth by working hard, helping others and being an active part of their community. Not by looking nice, and buying some soap.
Nadia B. i know right!! especially when there is an easy way for some of these companies to take action. always, for example, make feminist ads, and they could back that by donating to poorer countries where girls have less access to menstrual products. substance, meaning, and ties to the brand. like, so easy, yet they don’t help :(
This series is my favorite thing on RUclips right now. (I especially love how you add clarification to your points with short clips because it means you really watch your content back and want to make sure the audience understands what you’re saying. Love it.)
I literally just had the “girls” conversation with my fiancé! It’s so crazy. “Guys” is missing a colloquially acceptable alternative. “Gals” ain’t it, sis. There’s always “ladies” I guess, but it seems too proper.
The rise of feminism? I feel like there’s a decline in feminism, especially compared to the 70s for example. I’m from the early 80s myself and I feel like there is much more pressure of being perfect sexy women.
Yes, there is also a pattern forming where women are mostly viewed as powerful when showing masculine traits, not feminine ones. Femininity is still being viewed as weakness, when it isn't. You can be a strong woman and it has nothing to do with what you wear or do for a living. How we view femininity affects us all.
@@wronglayerbutok I agree. Also I think feminism didn't do enough to make the stay at homes mom have a positive image. There's still this stigma about stay at home moms, like if you're a young woman and you say you want to have kids and stay at home mom, even if you want to have a diploma before becoming a stay at home mom without any diploma of some sort, then people say you're wasting your potential.
dil oreo But should we push being self supportive by bashing the women who choose to be stay at home mothers? I agree that the idea of being able to be independent should always be expressed but if someone chooses to be a stay at home mother by their own will because that’s what they think is best for them then they shouldn’t be put down or told they’re supporting the patriarchy because of that.
Treka Double • I’m all for people leading their own lives and making their own choices, but coming from a family where both my parents have always worked, I’ll never choose to be a stay at home mum, simply because you _do_ make yourself dependent. If the main provider becomes ill or walks away, it’s pretty hard to enter the job market at, for example the age of 51. So yes, feminism is about everybody making their own choices and I respect that. But I’ll personally never understand stay at home mums. I’d much rather have the father and mother both working part time and caring for the children equally. Often, fathers are also judged if they want to stay home with the kids.
Agatha jay • No, it doesn’t mean you don’t work. But it does mean you don’t bring home an income to pay the mortgage (I don’t consider people working from home stay at home moms, they’re working). Again, everybody is free to do whatever, but staying home with the kids does make you vulnerable as a family and also puts a big burden on the one provider. If you spread your chances, it’s much easier to change jobs if you’re not entirely happy in your current role.
I call it Marketable Feminism, the company will go far enough to get people to buy their products because it connects *just* enough with the viewer, but *doesn't* take it a further step to actually create positive change in favor of women's equality.
GOD THAT DOVE AD I HATE IT SO MUCH it still haunts me. They don't even realize how shamelessly ageist and fat-shamey they all are and it's so cringey and terrible
Idk. Indian ones aren't that bad. They are typical but fun (the shampoo ones) I mean at least they used dusky skinned models as well, unlike other bathing soap ads.
If its a casual setting *with friends* I don't mind being called a girl. "hey, I'm out with the girls." It's fine, just like a guy would say he's hanging out with his boys. But in professional or not close relationships (such as being advertised to) it's really patronizing even when other grown women say it. They don't know me, they ain't my girl XD
What gets me is that these ads confuse feeling powerful with empowerment, which devalues the meaning of empowerment and (to some extent) feeds pop-feminism
The biggest thing that has always annoyed me about these ads (especially in light of the new Nike ad) is that they preach equality and feminism yet their products are made in sweatshops by people living below the poverty line... so are the only women you care about the ones who can actually afford to buy your products? So sick of all this western feminism, there are women you employ who are suffering at the expense of your company under paying them
I've heard this referred to as empowertising. There's an older episode of the podcast Stuff Mom Never Told you regarding this that was released around the same time all those Dove commercials were coming out.
Watch the difference between the ads for nerf and nerf rebel. We watched them side by side in my philosophy class, and it started a really good discussion.
I hate when they use the word “girl” to describe us. I mean come on we are women not GIRLS. We are adults using that word just makes it much worse. I totally agree with you and what you said.
@@Shy-xm4kn I'm 23 too and I prefer a woman over a girl because that's the truth I'm an adult not a teenager anymore + when they call you a girl while you're a woman that doesn't make you younger at all. It'll effect how they treat you that's it.
Great video!!! Super important to dissect the idea that companies are only promoting socially progressive notions because that's what sells. If racism was the hot new mainstream thing and socially acceptable (more so than it is now obv) then thats what gillete/ dove/ etc would be advertising. I really liked how you pointed out that a few million over 3 years is like...nothing for a company with several billion in profits over a year. Those sort of donations are so hollow and performative. Really liked this video, and as always love the series!!!
I agree that we should check if these companies actually walk the walk, but hiring based on sex instead of competence or imposing hiring quotas really isn't the way to go in my opinion
I agree! We have no idea if those 4 women were the only competent women. It is very difficult to judge "equality" from the outside of a company without knowing any specifics on the hiring process
Celeritate7 completely agree. If all the top qualified are men, I don’t think it’s right to take it away from the best to give it to someone less deserving. It should be completely on merit and whoever ends up there is who ever ends up there.
@@leilanidru7506 Unfortunately the world isn't fair and men aren't always the best applicants. Women apply for jobs less, because they feel they shouldn't even bother if they aren't 100% qualified. Male applicants are more often picked over women, because of the assumption that men are better performers and harder workers. Women are also assumed to want to have kids or are overly emotional. Even females who do the hiring seem to believe this about women in general. Men get picked more often, because companies believe they are saving money that way. This is starting to change in some industries, but it's disingenuous to pretend this isn't happening.
Vanessa Putnam why would the best qualified be exclusively men though. in the past (and in the present) there are industries and careers dominated by men even though men AND women receive the same education. there is so much bias that can factor into recruiting and hiring, a quota is a nice way to make sure bias cannot impact one sex negatively like it has in the past. there is no reason why there should be zero women on a board or in a career because women receive equal training and education as their male counterparts. there is no reason why they would be less fit for the job if they received the same education. it just boils down to recruiter biases and that’s why they should need to fill a quota so that their personal biases definitely won’t interfere with people’s career possibilities.
Hbomberguy did a video that is kindoff complimentary on this one since it talkes about wanted outrage about "progressive ads" being the actual ad. Realmercials
What I’d love to see would be ads addressing toxic femininity. The pressure to not focus on “harder” subjects, to “just be pretty” instead of intelligent, to gang up on other girls because of jealousy or insecurity. Show girls helping other girls, women helping other women. Now THAT would be interesting. Part of the issue with toxic masculinity and the discussion around it is that I think guys feel picked on. But we have our own house to get in order. Yes, toxic masculinity impacts women in a lot of powerful and negative ways. I understand that’s why it’s under the microscope. But the reverse still needs to be addressed. As a kid, older extended family members encouraged me to spend my extra time not studying or reading, but having a more extensive skincare routine and workout regimen to be in ideal shape to get and keep a guy. From a young age, before I developed! I remember sitting on my bed and thinking about it and what to do. I decided that if I couldn’t do it, I could fall back on the “still pretty,” backup plan, but that I wanted to be more than that. I wanted to be better. Since then, that family member had kids and her daughter has been asking about a college to go to that ends up in a lot of students getting married. What job makes the most money with the least qualifications. She... was such a creative kid, and naturally talented at sports. But her mother pushed and pushed and pushed her and what she values eerily reflects her Mom’s ideals. It would be great to see examples of positive traits of femininity, while showing women bucking the more negative aspects of what’s traditionally been seen as what women should focus on. Also, I have endometriosis, and Clue was a great way to see what treatments might be helping; I could go back month after month and see how my symptoms stacked up, and I could add a tag for what meds I was on, so I saw how it correlated. And it wasn’t... all flowery, which I loved, because that’s not my aesthetic. 🤷🏻♀️
When I was growing up Monster high had a more impactful message that affected who I am, unlike Barbie who just now is jumping on the diversity and acceptance bandwagon Monster high was organically preaching the ideals of loving yourself with all your flaws and that beauty is inside you and it’s okay to wear makeup/not wear makeup or dress a certain way if that’s how you feel can bring your beauty to the outside. Even though none of the dolls actually represented a physical race they were all different and accepted each other. Some people would argue that the dolls were too skinny but they weren’t meant to be humans in the first place. They were meant to be monsters, like they had fangs, claws, gills, tails, etc. The skinny was something they needed for the stands that came with the dolls and a liberty they could take because unlike Barbie they weren’t trying to imitate real human women.
pepsi would have had way less backlash if they let the protest play and THEN say "Pepsi stands by this" and boom! mic drop. that would have been clever. but I think the marketing team is familiar with how people view them and just make lemonade out of lemons.
You see this with movies all the time. Like recently there was a huge fuss made about Captain Marvel's supposed feminist message, but the movie isn't even remotely political unless you think feminism means there's a woman on screen. There's also the fact that a film that is essentially an Air Force ad can't qualify as feminist in any real way, but that's another topic.
The origins of “straight pride” were people who felt left out due to not having their own version of pride month or pride parades, even though they are not a marginalized group of people.
@@dreamscaped Straight pride is for the vast majority purely trolling, and it seems like people took the bait. It's not that serious, the LGBT community celebrates every year and some straight people say they gonna do it too. This community keep telling people they are normal like everyone else and sexuality isn't a big deal, but they paint the roads with their colors, every year in their march you see the worst stereotypes about the LGBT community come to life, somehow they are feeding the haters with more reason to hate them. So some people said if they do it we can do it too and there will be a meltdown about it, and they were right, the meltdown was priceless and delicious.
Love it, BUT This Girl Can IS genuinely empowering! It’s a UK charity whose sole aim is to get more women exercising! If that’s not female empowerment idk what is. This is their statement: This Girl Can celebrates active women who are doing their thing no matter how they do it, how they look or even how sweaty they get. Launched in 2015, we have successfully persuaded nearly three million women to get more active - but our work isn’t done yet.
@@carrieamoreno probably because This Girl Can sounds better. Throughout the website they repeatedly refer to "women" not girls: This Girl Can celebrates active women who are doing their thing no matter how they do it, how they look or even how sweaty they get. Launched in 2015, we have successfully persuaded nearly three million women to get more active - but our work isn’t done yet. Women come in all shapes and sizes with all abilities and from all backgrounds. Some of us are expert sportswomen, some of us are a bit rubbish. It doesn’t matter. We’re just happy that you’re getting active. And if you’re still not sure that you can, we’re here to help you to figure out the way of getting active that’s right for you. Our research shows that many women are put off taking part in physical activity due to a fear of judgement - this might be about the way the look when they exercise, that they’re not good enough to join in or they should be spending more time on their families, studies or other priorities. This Girl Can seeks to tell the real stories of women who get active or play sport in the way that’s right for them using images that show what activity really looks like in all its sweaty, red-faced, jiggly glory. We never judge and we don’t care what other people think.
In my opinion, particularly with the Gillette commercial, that an underlying message of progression is being portrayed in terms of breaking from their previous ads that they've made in the 90s and the 80s* that were heavily inflicted with toxic messages about society norms. I.e. the society norms that we suffer from today were made true in due part to prior advertisements made by these same companies, and as such they're attempting to change their ways and raise a better generation for tomorrow by changing the way they appeal to the masses. The fact that they're marketing their product has always been known, it's the message that they've collectively and continuously been sending out that has shaped a toxic minded society. (just another perspective to ponder upon) * (Toxic heteronormative Gillette ad from the 80s) ruclips.net/video/mgzHu3pxgG8/видео.html
Ive never understood that part of someone that sees an ad and then decides to buy something. I don't think an ad has ever influenced my decision to purchase something.
I love the internet analysis series! Can you do a video about Ariana Grande and black fishing? I think it’s not a black and white issue and I would like to hear your thoughts. Thanks :)
Nele Tegenbos I honestly don’t remember most of the names so I’ll be editing this comment a lot and I’ll probably spell them wrong too lol but I watch a lot of film critic essays so people like Karsten Runquirst and Lessons From The Screenplay are my go to. And then there’s kind jokey ones like 24 Frames or Nick. And then I’ve also been watching more Kristen Leo. And then I’ve also gotten really into Strange Aeons who doesn’t necessarily do essays but I like her analyzing same with Ready To Glare. And there’s one more I really like who’s name I can’t remember hang on Edit: Sara(h?) Z! She’s one of my favourites (and I can’t even remember her name lol)
Great video! This is something I think of a lot especially in June when every company decides they are now supportive of lgbt+ rights bc they slapped a rainbow on their product 🙃
As long as a brand sells its products at high costs but still produce them in 3rd world countries, we can’t ever believe them;( Ads are made for selling products, that’s it. It’s fine that they talk about somehow important Issues of the moment, but won’t do anything else. I love your videos, thank you for making them.
i work for a clothes company that sells like """""feminist""""" tshirts and socks and like... "girl love" "girl power" products but like... the ppl who make these items are probably making so little money and are working in grueling conditions and everytime we get more of these items in i just rot inside cause the company is literally just catching on to the latest trend (social justice, feminism) and capitalising on it. like can u actually pay ur workers a living wage before you try and be a "woke" company?
Feminism in marketing is a ploy to sell more products. If any company truly cared about women they'd do more to dismantle things that harm us like the pink tax we pay on the very products they are trying to sell.
the pink tax isn't a necessary payment though, you choose those products yourself. Nobody said you couldn't use men's products, or better yet, not use anything.
@@katrinagreco3414 it's ridiculous that i'd have to use men products to avoid paying more for something that should cost the same. it's not a necessary payment because i can avoid paying it, but it also shouldn't exist at all.
@@katie-yk1es well the thing is that some women's products cost more to make than men's products, so for the company to make the same profit they obviously have to charge more.
Women's products contain more ingredients on average than men's products, and often use more expensive ingredients like shea butter or certain scents that aren't found in most men's products. Don't want to pay extra for the flower smelling soap? Then don't buy the flower smelling soap. If you really believe that identical products are being sold at different prices because of gender, then buy the cheaper options. Companies only speak money, after all.
I knew there was a reason those types of commercials never sat right with me! You laid all your points out so well. I enjoy hearing your perspective on things. Keep being awesome!
Yes Tiffany! You're v on point here. I work at a video content agency doing all the social media marketing behind the videos we produce for our clients and I will definitely be linking this video to my team if we use "girl power" in our ads. It makes me sad that the majority of people who direct, write and produce these ads are usually white men :/
during that campaign for Dove, I tweeted just some bs about being ugly or whatever tf I said, and they replied back something like "every women is beautiful" or some bs. Look, I already use your products, I don't need you to just give me some copy paste response, how did they even find me???
It's so strange how they use the words strong, power, more, big, great. When they should show being weak is nothing bad but just a perception, that is not about that but how you are, what you do is what makes you better, no matter woman or men
I agree with this! I have a bad knee and wrist. I haven't really been able to do simple things like open a jar of pickles without help in years and I can't do squats or balance my weight on my left leg. I am weaker than other people, and that's just a fact. There's nothing wrong with needing help or not being good at everything. I just think about how this stuff must affect people with disabilities.
The "girl" versus "woman" thing is so true! In middle school, we had a few different select choirs, the one for male singers was called "man choir" and the one for female singers was called "girls choir" and it honestly felt kind of degrading, especially since the Girls choir featured much more mature music
Also note that a campaign like ‘shine strong’ is slightly (extremely) eurocentric in basis if were talking about hair quality. Black hair is notorious for... not shining. Its dry.
I think this is a really good comprehensive analysis of the problem with ad campaigns in general. They’re made to sell a product, any cause they try to promote within the ad is meant to appeal to the people the issue effects with the intention of trying to persuade them to buy things, which is inherently antithetical to some of the causes they claim to throw themselves behind
Something about this analysis falls flat to me or leaves something to be desired… idk I think I just don’t find this to even be a productive conversation like I don’t want companies to have ‘better feminism’ (whatever that means) I want them to stop trying to sell me things I don’t need and pretending like any part of this process (them advertising, me being tricked into buying something, them profiting) can ever even BE anywhere near feminism (by any definition).
THANK YOU FOR UNPACKING THIS. The extreme wealth of these companies is disgusting. Only 3 billionaires donate 3% of their income to charity, the rest range around a half percent or a bit more. More people need to bring this up.
SO agreed on the term "girl". I'll be 39 this year and I f'n HATE being referred to as a girl. I'm a grown woman, I,m educated, a mother and wife, not a 12 year old. And the biggest pet peeves; adult women referring to themselves having "girls night out" or "going out with my girls"??? No lady, you're an adult!
I used to watch twitch streams practically 24/7, I remember being in one where I was either the only woman in chat, or one of two to three women. I started referring to the male streamer and his male viewers as "the boys" and "my boys". They were so ANGRY! And it only fueled me further, seeing them get so pissed. I also have a slight problem with the use of "females" to refer to women. This term is, of course, perfectly fine if used for scientific purposes; when discussing sex/gender distinctions. What I have a problem with is when it's used in a way that treats women as biological creatures destined to serve men. "Females" is often surrounded by rhetoric which reduces them to reproductive function, occasionally to aesthetics. It has always bothered me.
As I've said before, thank goodness for your videos bc I miss having these discussions in college as a SOC student. I'm not done watching but I do think these ads aren't completely pointless, not saying you ever said that but one function is they help to change our culture and they do feel good to watch and get that reminder/validation of our own experiences. I'd like to see more action behind the ads as well. Also, I think there's so much time spent on ads for women, we need to see more ads about men like that one about toxic masculinity. The ads help change the culture and we've seen a lot of that for women, we get it, let's talk about masculinity, class, rape culture, poverty, consent, and racism..... Thank you for these vids ❤️
A good no, great reason to refer to them as 'girls' is that little girls are used to hearing crap that they can't do. So by representing girls like that you're showing them that little girls can be strong too.
I'm old enough to remember the Virginia Slims cigarette ad with the slogan "You've come a long way, Baby." The jingle: "You've come a long way baby/ You've come a long, long way? You've got your own cigarette now, baby/ You've come a long, long way", Yeah, it was going on before then (1970's) and here we are now. Somewhat scary I can remember this jingle without looking it up. Great video!
I hate the thing w/ telling women to apologise less. How about spreading the message to men to apologise more, bc otherwise, then everyone is just more of an ahole imo
One of the smartest and clearest explanations about this topic that I've heard! And that's coming from a communications student that's taken several feminist media classes.
I was already invested.. but then u catered to my idiot brain with “short word do trick” in a way that that hasn’t worked before, and now I’m even more invested. Thank you for wording things in a way that I can like actually /actually/ retain it. This idiot appreciates you and you’re approach to different topics quite a lot!!
I completely see what you're saying with these video and I do mostly agree, however, as someone whose teenage formative years happened to be around the same time these ads were released (I'm a little older), I personally found these so comforting and confidence building, at the time. They might not have aged too well, but as a young teenager, with nothing similiar around at the time, these kinds of things felt like an enormous breath of fresh air. That Dove campaign was a big inspiration to me whilst I was fighting anorexia. I personally don't feel that - in context - the marketing aspect cheapens the intent.
Great video as always. This is definitely a topic that should be looked into. Especially since a lot of insta-boutiques are posting empowerment memes but the clothes are coming from lord knows where.
On this topic I cant recommend enough the amazing book "The Beauty Myth" by Naomi Wolf. Nowadays you can find it in pdf on the internet and in several languages too. Its a life-changing book, though hard to read (I cried a lot through it)
The Russian ad with a little girl singing that you showed at the beginning is really powerful. It uses a very sexist song (from the USSR time i guess? it’s still recogniseable today anyway) about what girls and boys are “made of” and turns it into something that defies those stereotypes. I don’t really know if kids nowadays learn the original song but I guess people aged 20+ know it so it’s very powerful to see the new version of it. Nike did a great job, and tbh we don’t get a lot of feminist ads in Russia in general, so to see something with a good background and meaning behind it is moving. It’s also done by Nike, a company that does not sell stereotypically girly products but instead produces sportswear that allows women to express themselves and do what they want, which is nice. The ad is really popular among Russian feminists
ThatxDamnxGirl nope, it hasnt even conservative Media had to admit that woman earn 6ct less if you account everything. On top woman do 50% more time on thier children, the house hold and volunteering. All unpaid work.
You know what I want to see? I want to see companies like gillette not firing women after they come back from maternity leave. I want them to give men paid paternity leave. I want them to offer daycare at their offices. There is so many actions that could speak so much louder than words.
Agreed. It all trails back to corporations in politics. America is bought and paid for. It’d be cool if we started looking at workers as human beings instead of lifeless work machines. Also, we need to be a lot more distraught by the dwindling power and membership of unions.
Sara K daycares in offices? That’s what stay at home mothers did BEST children need their mothers full time.
@@sofiabravo1994 Good job, Sofia. You're part of the problem.
@@Sarah-re7cg Have you seen the Amazon anti union ads? Dude it's whack.
Sofia Bravo
Work from home
“Is there substance or action behind the ad.” THANK YOU. That’s the main reason why I’m so sick of “girl power” ads. Yes, I’m aware that society forces certain roles on men and women. Yes, I’m aware that girls and women can do anything. But what’s being said? What’s being done? Are you saying anything new? What’s being added to the conversation?
Agreed, these ads are just made to promote a product, not gender equality :( it belittles the movement
Why are we expecting companies to have like an hour long conversation in their commercials? They aren't trying to have a conversation, the ad is trying to get us to buy their soap or tampons which we all need anyway so what's the problem. 30 second ad about self-love and buy our tampons next time you need some. I think it is really that simple and nothing more or less.
But women can't do anything men can. That's a myth. Women are judged by men in a completely different criteria. And their biology makes them less likely to want to do what men do.
I like to call it Slacktivism from some website I don't remember the name of. It's like if your next door neighbor's house burned down and you only sent them "thoughts and prayers" on social media then went on your merry way. You didn't actually contribute anything, but you feel like you did so yay you!! Like holy crap, find out where they're staying and bring them a hot cooked meal and a gift card if you can. Help them clean up. Even sparing 10 minutes of your time and effort is more valuable than any "thoughts and prayers" fake niceness bs.
Plus I had a teacher tell me in a class once that if a company has to tell you they care about a group of people in an ad then it means they probably got in trouble with that group of people for being uncaring bastids. Any time I see a company being all like GRRRLLL POWERRRR then I'm pretty sure its run by white men who hire male advertising teams. Or they're promoting some lightweight feel-good crap, patting themselves on the back for being so "forward thinking", then continuing to not give women management positions, paternity leave for fathers, daycare options etc.
Whats being added is ur money to a multibillion dollar company who still fights for tax breaks but votes against the poor because "they dont need them"
YES I am SO TIRED of being called "girl" at work. I'm 29 years old!!!! christ.
milikoshki Fair point. But some guy addressed me as “woman” yesterday and I was insta-angry so there’s that.
I like being called a girl, it makes me feel more innocent and teeny xD
I think it depends on the context. If I’m in a little glittery dress at a bar with my friends that makes sense. Not so much if I have a responsible position at work.
milikoshki Because actual girls watch the same commercials and it feels like they are included and they are right to feel included because it’s targeting them they’re brainwashing our young girls the deed has already been done to us
you go girl!
Opened the video to a pre-roll ad for deodorant that was literally pink animated butterflies flying out of a woman’s armpits....oh algorithms.
I got an ad of girl power lol
I had one about 3 women going to the beach... one had her shoulders bared and her friends were wondering how she got rid of her back hair... it was an ad for razors... thanks, Japan... until now, I didn't know that that was a thing...
I got a shaving ad before her video about society's hatred of women's body hair -_-
Disgusting : do they thinks making butterfly fly away from armpits cute or smells goods ? Thoses butterfly probably stinks;ans it’s weird as shit !
I hate the butterflies flying out of her armpit. No woman can live up to that expectation smh
Okay about the Nike ad (with the little girl singing). It’s a campaign of Nike Russia, in a very conservative country, where it was not just a marketing move (feminism is not that popular here, unfortunately, compared to the US and Western Europe). It was truly an attempt to destigmitize the girl power concept and feminism. It was so important in this national context I cannot stress this enough! By the way, I don’t mean to argue, I completely agree with what you said and just wanted to add the other perspective from the other side of the world
Makes sense to me
Me too. Definitely way more places in the world that need it the most
Feminism, as a movement, is honestly different for different regions across world.
I thought Russia didnt need feminism since their women were equal to men or seemed to be
Oliver Cetus, In Soviets women had official rights before other world, but being honest government were trying to control all aspects of life, including women’s bodies when demographic decline came in. And even now there is a big pressure on women about their reproductive role. Wages also not equal to men ones and iris only to begin
In some regions female circumcision is still practicing
Another thing I often am forced to think about it how much these companies don't care about international women or eco-feminism. Especially when it comes to fashion companies where women in underdeveloped countries are often employed in slave like conditions to make the western world's lil edgy feminism logo t-shirts!! But that's a whole 'nother video haha
yeah, companies like dove have ads about how all women are beautiful but they're still gonna promote skin whitening products as if it wasn't a result of damaging eurocentric beauty standards.....
yes yes yes. there's nothing more ironic than seeing a t-shirt that says "the future is female" on it that was probably made by impoverished women in a sweatshop.
Don’t forget being forced to have abortions because being a pregnant woman doesn’t make these companies money.
Thank. You. 👏
just thought I'd pop in to say that if you want a clothing company that's ethical check out freeset. They help women in India to escape from prostitution and don't just give them a living wage to make fabric and garments but also provide healthcare and education for the women and their families. I found out about them through RubyCup which is a menstrual cup company that donates a cup for each one purchased and the cups go to local women's health organisations in Africa and Nepal. I wish there was more advertising for companies like these but until there is we have to spread the word ourselves
I don’t want to “feel” empowered, I want liberation
shufly
The toxic relationship between feminism and forcing women into what they don’t like
Why ? Aren t you free ?
Wow.Yes.
Fuck yes
Wym
I work in marketing and I can confirm. It's really only about numbers, analytics and 'doing what works'.
LOL, scheme confirmed!
@@carrieamoreno Yep. This is why I decided to stay away from those cooperations and settled for smaller companies who actually do what they stand for. Even though their impact may be smaller and on a more local-basis, at least they're not bullshitting consumers for their own financial gain.
@@denizece3672 good for you! way to stand up for what you believe it!!!
Was this a surprise?
Yeet Well yes & no. We talked about this in college, too. But you would think that some companies at least do something small. Turns out some don‘t do anything at all.
I have such an issue with the term "girl boss". Why can't I just be a boss regardless of what's between my legs? What's the use of having the distinction "girl" in there as if only males are bosses/leaders which is ridiculous. Also, I'm a woman not a 5-year old CEO. I find the term patronising tbh.
I ALWAYS SAY THIS. It irks me when I see stupid merch with that term. Just be a BOSS
Yuuuuup. I feel this way at work when they do things for international women's day and stuff too, like i'm not a "female employee" i'm just an employee.
Really your complaining on RUclips. No one truly cares
dil oreo hmmmm I remember that my parents raised me meaning they must of cared
@@yotosaurus9728 why do you think there is a comment section? To talk about the subject of the video. There might as well not be one if you're not allowed to share your opinion. "No one cares". Yeah, tell that to the hundreds of people who like and agree with this comment. Foh
I find the tshirts with "Girl Power" and "The Future is Female" so fake. I personally wouldn't be able to just feel empowered when wearing a tshirt made by an underpaid woman who has probably been abused in a sweatshop.
Why would the future be the female equivalent to today’s bullshit
Imagine a "The Future is Male" shirt and how much backlash that would get.
I got my girl power shirt from a second hand store, I don't like supporting fast fashion. Though I agree with Tiffany's point that we shouldn't address grown women as girls. I still like wearing the shirt and seeing others wear the shirt, (maybe because I own the shirt)
He nothing says girl power than an underrpayed woman selling things that a young Asian kid probably got payed 1P to make
GIrL pOwER
@@sukumykaja because a lot of the past has been patriarchal and focused on men and what they want and need and all of that, that's why it would get backlash my theory at least
Nike especially gets on my nerves with how they pretend to be ‘woke’ yet they use sweatshops to produce their products
yes! one example of their duality is how they parade Kaepernick in their ads but has big jersey contracts with the NFL. like what.
@@stitchedbycarly yes that is exactly what i said
@@Skepticalresident sorry where? And if so yay for us for making the same point?
one thing I always think about is how women are spoken about like their 'the other' like men are the default. I find it funny when men are like ' i think women can do anything anyone else can do' like yeah, women are one half of the world, that doesn't really hold up. I don't think I can explain this very well but yeah, just something I notice often how women are spoken about like another species
if you haven’t read the second sex by simone de beauvoir i would highly recommend! goes into stuff like Othering + perception of women as extensions of men etc etc
@@priscillaosanna9061 eggxactly though I wouldn't want men to be suppressed either but it's annoying when they keep denying that women are their equal and men aren't the default. So I guess you reply to force by force. #💪 wait that's a male hand too🤨 make this a movement change this emoji!!
The funny things is that if be look at this with logic, women aré the default sex. Cause the female body Is the base of both sexes and the male one is created fue to mutations.
@@pkmahjay6290 Hmm, thanks for the recommendation!!
I think they use the word "girl" because they aren't really targeting grown women, but young girls who would be more easily influenced by what they see... You know, to manipulate them into buying product.
I think another reason may be that if a woman likes such advertizment-has complexes she probably got those in childhood. Therefore if you say: "girl" you touch deeper in heart straight to that abused child
It drives me nuts when I see fast fashion trying to be (or sell T-shirts about) feminism. Most of those clothes are made by women who don't get paid a living wage!
Or a wage to began with
And made in Bangladesh. Guess what? The building they were working in fell on them.
I’m so glad you pointed out the fact that we call grown women girls, but call grown men men. There are soooo few people taking about that and I’ve thought about that for such a long time. In Sweden we have three words for girls. It’s called “flicka” which is a small child, maybe around 1-7 years old, then it’s “tjej” which is around 8-18, then “kvinna” which means woman. In a newspaper it said “the man was attacked, and then the same year old “flicka” was attacked too.”.
It actually said she was the same age, but was called a flicka, you call small children that word.
Some people talked about it, but most people didn’t. I know think it’s kinda fucked up that we refer grown women as children.
I completely agree with this, but also "girls" is easier to say than "women" so that could be another reason.
I'm late but I think about this ALL THE TIME. Another thing I think about with this is that, in english, we have boy, guy, then man, but then there's girl,.., woman. I think this sometimes contributes to calling grown women "girls" as well, especially when they're teens or in their early 20s
The most ironically disappointing thing is dove and axe are owned by the same company unilever. Axe is about getting “the girl.” I just don’t no how truthful the brand is when they are under the same umbrella as a typically masculine brand like axe with an obvious message.
Yes and unilever causes so much harm to poor countries and exploits their workers over there
Axe doesn't even smell good.. if anything, they *deter all living things*
But, yes i do understand your point
Tbf Unilever owns a bunch of shit. But yeah if they just owned Axe and Dove it would be weird as fuck
How about all the “girl boss” merch that is so popular? Why not just boss? And why girl and not woman?
Girl Boss could simply be the sequel to Boss Baby?
when you try to bring it up, male co-workers are like "it's just a word" BUT WORDS HAVE MEANING
Being a boss sucks. Why boss at all is the real question.
dove: BODY! POSITIVE! ACCEPT YOURSELF!!
also dove: sells skin lightening creams
What I like about Barbie and their feminist advertising is they actually walk the talk. Girls can do anything seems to be their real belief. For example, they employed young girls ages 15-18 for the orchestration of their Barbie of Swan Lake movie.
One of the many things I love about Barbie :)
And everyone still hating Barbie for the “body issues” that no one cares about?
Tbh Barbie have given young girls various career options since their grandmothers' time lel
@@RibbonVintageGirl Yeah! Yet people still bash Barbie.
Thank you for talking about girls vs women and language. I remember my first women’s studies professor said to people calling grown ass women girls “has she had her period?? Can she vote??” And I just love that
I love y’all!
I think barbie has some of the best feminist ads. their RUclips channel has some pretty insightful videos about feminism.
Omg you sent me down a rabbit hole. Her vids are really great.
@No Name yooo frrrr but then everyone will be like, "but she's too pretty" but I agree
@@RibbonVintageGirl I'm not pretty but i don't really get the whole stigma against attractive people (especially women).
But Barbie's in themselves aren't inclusive of all body types and ethnicity so... Kind of easy for them to appeal to feminism but at the same time not doing any body representation and indirectly body shaming young girls ?
@@camrivest7571 But they are not bodyshaming anyone. You know, I'm not a tall blonde, blue eyed girl but I always looked past Barbie physical appereance and saw a lot of myself in her growing up (be who you wanna be, Barbie girl!) We should teach kids that they can still see themselves in icons that don't look exactly like them
I can't handle Candle Jenner
Shelby Thomas my heart😭
Sounds like you need to have a pepsi
My name is Candle 🕯
i find it weird how Dove, a soap company, mostly only markets women???
Like everyone uses soap, not just women???
Rose Wood Also they talk about body acceptance while all having flawless skin(wich is what they sell)
"You might be not skinny but you can still have nice skin..buy our stuff for that"
They actually have a seperate brand for men, dove men + care, because they realized their logo and soap were rounded and apparently, that makes men not want to buy the products
You can’t market to everyone. You have to choose a target demographic and that’s Dove’s
They have a Dove Men's collection. Please do your research.
But dove is for women. Its kind of like how axe is for men. They want to product good washing soap for female skin. There is nothing wrong with that. Thats like getting mad at certain shampoo products marketing for women hair even though it literally is for women hair but men can still use it. The point of dove is to have smooth skin and look flawless and beautiful. How do men relate? Axe is to make men masculine and smell good to attract women. I hate these types of comments. They devalue things because of personal bias
Not to mention: a lot of these companies that do ‘social justice’ ads have really bad labour policies within the production branch of the company. A company making an ad about women being great while paying women in their factories less than a living wage, working them for exhausting shifts and forbidding worker’s associations is not feminist.
👏👏👏
This is an old video but I just gotta say something. I HATE how much that "if Barbie had irl proportions shed look like a monster" thing that gets shared. Barbie has female astronaut dolls in the 90s. And doctors and cowboys. They're honestly a truely awesome and empowering brand and people saying shed look like a monster just brings all the focus back onto her physical appearance.
Yeah but... Why does a toy for young girl need to be sexualized? If your think for one second barbie isn't using feminism for the money ur naive ... Altho at least they do send a good message about girls doing any job, their message isn't consistant all the way by not showing legit body representation and thus, not feminist
Cam Rivest they changed the bodies recently I think
@@camrivest7571 well they have created dolls that have larger/different body types, also even if seeing girls play with dolls that can be anything And see themselves in that character. It’s empowering to see little girls thinking wow that’s cool about a girl in stem even if Barbie isn’t a real person, true most children pick dolls cause how they look they are still getting exposure to a lady in a male dominated field. So when someone says “you can’t be a coder you’re a girl” they may think “well Barbie did it and she’s a girl, so I can to”
“Why are we still calling grown women girls”
This !! I’ve been wondering this for the longest time now !! THANK YOU SO MUCH for pointing this out !!!!
I always find the female empowerment ad completely cringe! I would never share an ad like that on social media. People get empowered by experiences and personal growth by working hard, helping others and being an active part of their community. Not by looking nice, and buying some soap.
Nadia B. i know right!! especially when there is an easy way for some of these companies to take action. always, for example, make feminist ads, and they could back that by donating to poorer countries where girls have less access to menstrual products. substance, meaning, and ties to the brand. like, so easy, yet they don’t help :(
This series is my favorite thing on RUclips right now. (I especially love how you add clarification to your points with short clips because it means you really watch your content back and want to make sure the audience understands what you’re saying. Love it.)
I literally just had the “girls” conversation with my fiancé! It’s so crazy. “Guys” is missing a colloquially acceptable alternative. “Gals” ain’t it, sis. There’s always “ladies” I guess, but it seems too proper.
How about "most esteemed female gendered colleagues"? Or as I prefer to say "What's up mefgc's?"
My boss insists that "girl"/"dear"/"sweetheart" may only be substituted by "your highness" by those stupid enough to call her those things ahaha
Women is still a good term
What about lads and lassies?
nah let’s all move to Alabama and grow neckbeards, and then call everyone “ya’ll” and your sister “m’lady”
Maybe you can make a video on these predatory MLMs using #girlboss etc, which is so annoying and not right
Assistentin Maigrün pleaseee
yessss
There’s a great podcast on this!
@@MissJeriB The Dream right?!
What does MLMs stand for?
The rise of feminism? I feel like there’s a decline in feminism, especially compared to the 70s for example. I’m from the early 80s myself and I feel like there is much more pressure of being perfect sexy women.
Yes, there is also a pattern forming where women are mostly viewed as powerful when showing masculine traits, not feminine ones. Femininity is still being viewed as weakness, when it isn't. You can be a strong woman and it has nothing to do with what you wear or do for a living. How we view femininity affects us all.
@@wronglayerbutok I agree. Also I think feminism didn't do enough to make the stay at homes mom have a positive image. There's still this stigma about stay at home moms, like if you're a young woman and you say you want to have kids and stay at home mom, even if you want to have a diploma before becoming a stay at home mom without any diploma of some sort, then people say you're wasting your potential.
dil oreo But should we push being self supportive by bashing the women who choose to be stay at home mothers? I agree that the idea of being able to be independent should always be expressed but if someone chooses to be a stay at home mother by their own will because that’s what they think is best for them then they shouldn’t be put down or told they’re supporting the patriarchy because of that.
Treka Double • I’m all for people leading their own lives and making their own choices, but coming from a family where both my parents have always worked, I’ll never choose to be a stay at home mum, simply because you _do_ make yourself dependent. If the main provider becomes ill or walks away, it’s pretty hard to enter the job market at, for example the age of 51. So yes, feminism is about everybody making their own choices and I respect that. But I’ll personally never understand stay at home mums. I’d much rather have the father and mother both working part time and caring for the children equally. Often, fathers are also judged if they want to stay home with the kids.
Agatha jay • No, it doesn’t mean you don’t work. But it does mean you don’t bring home an income to pay the mortgage (I don’t consider people working from home stay at home moms, they’re working). Again, everybody is free to do whatever, but staying home with the kids does make you vulnerable as a family and also puts a big burden on the one provider. If you spread your chances, it’s much easier to change jobs if you’re not entirely happy in your current role.
I call it Marketable Feminism, the company will go far enough to get people to buy their products because it connects *just* enough with the viewer, but *doesn't* take it a further step to actually create positive change in favor of women's equality.
I honestly can't wait until we get over this whole pandering to and "empowering" women thing and we're just treated like people.
GOD THAT DOVE AD I HATE IT SO MUCH it still haunts me. They don't even realize how shamelessly ageist and fat-shamey they all are and it's so cringey and terrible
All the Dove ads are super subversive like this. It's gross.
Idk. Indian ones aren't that bad. They are typical but fun (the shampoo ones)
I mean at least they used dusky skinned models as well, unlike other bathing soap ads.
@@uglyvegan7945 obviously Dove has a ways to go if people are referring to their soap company as "gross," did you do that on purpose? I like it!
P&G owns basically the whole grocery store
If its a casual setting *with friends* I don't mind being called a girl. "hey, I'm out with the girls." It's fine, just like a guy would say he's hanging out with his boys. But in professional or not close relationships (such as being advertised to) it's really patronizing even when other grown women say it. They don't know me, they ain't my girl XD
What gets me is that these ads confuse feeling powerful with empowerment, which devalues the meaning of empowerment and (to some extent) feeds pop-feminism
The biggest thing that has always annoyed me about these ads (especially in light of the new Nike ad) is that they preach equality and feminism yet their products are made in sweatshops by people living below the poverty line... so are the only women you care about the ones who can actually afford to buy your products? So sick of all this western feminism, there are women you employ who are suffering at the expense of your company under paying them
I've heard this referred to as empowertising. There's an older episode of the podcast Stuff Mom Never Told you regarding this that was released around the same time all those Dove commercials were coming out.
Watch the difference between the ads for nerf and nerf rebel. We watched them side by side in my philosophy class, and it started a really good discussion.
I hate when they use the word “girl” to describe us. I mean come on we are women not GIRLS. We are adults using that word just makes it much worse. I totally agree with you and what you said.
@@Shy-xm4kn I'm 23 too and I prefer a woman over a girl because that's the truth I'm an adult not a teenager anymore + when they call you a girl while you're a woman that doesn't make you younger at all. It'll effect how they treat you that's it.
Great video!!! Super important to dissect the idea that companies are only promoting socially progressive notions because that's what sells. If racism was the hot new mainstream thing and socially acceptable (more so than it is now obv) then thats what gillete/ dove/ etc would be advertising. I really liked how you pointed out that a few million over 3 years is like...nothing for a company with several billion in profits over a year. Those sort of donations are so hollow and performative. Really liked this video, and as always love the series!!!
I recommend you to watch hbomberguys video in the wanted outrage about "progressive ads". its a good ad to the video with loads of substance
this comment aged very well! jheeze
I agree that we should check if these companies actually walk the walk, but hiring based on sex instead of competence or imposing hiring quotas really isn't the way to go in my opinion
I agree! We have no idea if those 4 women were the only competent women. It is very difficult to judge "equality" from the outside of a company without knowing any specifics on the hiring process
Celeritate7 completely agree. If all the top qualified are men, I don’t think it’s right to take it away from the best to give it to someone less deserving. It should be completely on merit and whoever ends up there is who ever ends up there.
@@leilanidru7506 Unfortunately the world isn't fair and men aren't always the best applicants. Women apply for jobs less, because they feel they shouldn't even bother if they aren't 100% qualified. Male applicants are more often picked over women, because of the assumption that men are better performers and harder workers. Women are also assumed to want to have kids or are overly emotional. Even females who do the hiring seem to believe this about women in general. Men get picked more often, because companies believe they are saving money that way. This is starting to change in some industries, but it's disingenuous to pretend this isn't happening.
Vanessa Putnam why would the best qualified be exclusively men though. in the past (and in the present) there are industries and careers dominated by men even though men AND women receive the same education. there is so much bias that can factor into recruiting and hiring, a quota is a nice way to make sure bias cannot impact one sex negatively like it has in the past. there is no reason why there should be zero women on a board or in a career because women receive equal training and education as their male counterparts. there is no reason why they would be less fit for the job if they received the same education. it just boils down to recruiter biases and that’s why they should need to fill a quota so that their personal biases definitely won’t interfere with people’s career possibilities.
Hbomberguy did a video that is kindoff complimentary on this one since it talkes about wanted outrage about "progressive ads" being the actual ad.
Realmercials
Yeah, I liked how he discussed that even backlash gives these companies profit.
What I’d love to see would be ads addressing toxic femininity. The pressure to not focus on “harder” subjects, to “just be pretty” instead of intelligent, to gang up on other girls because of jealousy or insecurity. Show girls helping other girls, women helping other women. Now THAT would be interesting. Part of the issue with toxic masculinity and the discussion around it is that I think guys feel picked on. But we have our own house to get in order.
Yes, toxic masculinity impacts women in a lot of powerful and negative ways. I understand that’s why it’s under the microscope. But the reverse still needs to be addressed.
As a kid, older extended family members encouraged me to spend my extra time not studying or reading, but having a more extensive skincare routine and workout regimen to be in ideal shape to get and keep a guy. From a young age, before I developed! I remember sitting on my bed and thinking about it and what to do. I decided that if I couldn’t do it, I could fall back on the “still pretty,” backup plan, but that I wanted to be more than that. I wanted to be better. Since then, that family member had kids and her daughter has been asking about a college to go to that ends up in a lot of students getting married. What job makes the most money with the least qualifications. She... was such a creative kid, and naturally talented at sports. But her mother pushed and pushed and pushed her and what she values eerily reflects her Mom’s ideals.
It would be great to see examples of positive traits of femininity, while showing women bucking the more negative aspects of what’s traditionally been seen as what women should focus on.
Also, I have endometriosis, and Clue was a great way to see what treatments might be helping; I could go back month after month and see how my symptoms stacked up, and I could add a tag for what meds I was on, so I saw how it correlated. And it wasn’t... all flowery, which I loved, because that’s not my aesthetic. 🤷🏻♀️
I agree that we need to talk about toxic femininity as well. Both are harmful to everyone.
okay girl you have found ur niche on youtube and im so here for it
When I was growing up Monster high had a more impactful message that affected who I am, unlike Barbie who just now is jumping on the diversity and acceptance bandwagon Monster high was organically preaching the ideals of loving yourself with all your flaws and that beauty is inside you and it’s okay to wear makeup/not wear makeup or dress a certain way if that’s how you feel can bring your beauty to the outside. Even though none of the dolls actually represented a physical race they were all different and accepted each other. Some people would argue that the dolls were too skinny but they weren’t meant to be humans in the first place. They were meant to be monsters, like they had fangs, claws, gills, tails, etc. The skinny was something they needed for the stands that came with the dolls and a liberty they could take because unlike Barbie they weren’t trying to imitate real human women.
At this point, most girl power ads just seem like they are pandering and trying to gain support for being #woke.
also on the note of people calling women "girls" a customer at my job literally referred to me as "little girl" to a colleague the other day :| im 26
pepsi would have had way less backlash if they let the protest play and THEN say "Pepsi stands by this" and boom! mic drop. that would have been clever. but I think the marketing team is familiar with how people view them and just make lemonade out of lemons.
I don’t think anyone should look to a corporation for morals and ethics lmao
You see this with movies all the time. Like recently there was a huge fuss made about Captain Marvel's supposed feminist message, but the movie isn't even remotely political unless you think feminism means there's a woman on screen. There's also the fact that a film that is essentially an Air Force ad can't qualify as feminist in any real way, but that's another topic.
can you do a video on “straight pride” and how it’s stupid
stella the only reason straight pride exists is to put down gay pride.
The origins of “straight pride” were people who felt left out due to not having their own version of pride month or pride parades, even though they are not a marginalized group of people.
@@dreamscaped Straight pride is for the vast majority purely trolling, and it seems like people took the bait. It's not that serious, the LGBT community celebrates every year and some straight people say they gonna do it too. This community keep telling people they are normal like everyone else and sexuality isn't a big deal, but they paint the roads with their colors, every year in their march you see the worst stereotypes about the LGBT community come to life, somehow they are feeding the haters with more reason to hate them. So some people said if they do it we can do it too and there will be a meltdown about it, and they were right, the meltdown was priceless and delicious.
@@pipoleo8982 "It's not that serious"
Not according to /pol/.
I think 'straight pride' is meant to be ironic and satirical.
Love it, BUT This Girl Can IS genuinely empowering! It’s a UK charity whose sole aim is to get more women exercising! If that’s not female empowerment idk what is.
This is their statement:
This Girl Can celebrates active women who are doing their thing no matter how they do it, how they look or even how sweaty they get.
Launched in 2015, we have successfully persuaded nearly three million women to get more active - but our work isn’t done yet.
If 'This Girl Can' celebrates women specifically, then why don't they call themselves 'This Woman Can?'
@@carrieamoreno probably because This Girl Can sounds better. Throughout the website they repeatedly refer to "women" not girls:
This Girl Can celebrates active women who are doing their thing no matter how they do it, how they look or even how sweaty they get.
Launched in 2015, we have successfully persuaded nearly three million women to get more active - but our work isn’t done yet.
Women come in all shapes and sizes with all abilities and from all backgrounds. Some of us are expert sportswomen, some of us are a bit rubbish. It doesn’t matter. We’re just happy that you’re getting active. And if you’re still not sure that you can, we’re here to help you to figure out the way of getting active that’s right for you.
Our research shows that many women are put off taking part in physical activity due to a fear of judgement - this might be about the way the look when they exercise, that they’re not good enough to join in or they should be spending more time on their families, studies or other priorities.
This Girl Can seeks to tell the real stories of women who get active or play sport in the way that’s right for them using images that show what activity really looks like in all its sweaty, red-faced, jiggly glory. We never judge and we don’t care what other people think.
Yes! Thank you! 🙌🏼 the part about empowerment always confuses me! How is this product empowering??
In my opinion, particularly with the Gillette commercial, that an underlying message of progression is being portrayed in terms of breaking from their previous ads that they've made in the 90s and the 80s* that were heavily inflicted with toxic messages about society norms.
I.e. the society norms that we suffer from today were made true in due part to prior advertisements made by these same companies, and as such they're attempting to change their ways and raise a better generation for tomorrow by changing the way they appeal to the masses.
The fact that they're marketing their product has always been known, it's the message that they've collectively and continuously been sending out that has shaped a toxic minded society.
(just another perspective to ponder upon)
* (Toxic heteronormative Gillette ad from the 80s) ruclips.net/video/mgzHu3pxgG8/видео.html
This is such a good comment!
Ive never understood that part of someone that sees an ad and then decides to buy something. I don't think an ad has ever influenced my decision to purchase something.
Literally got a feminist "girl power" ad before this video
I like the new hair!!
I have another bone to pick, none of these companies’s alleged feminism is intersectional, what’s with that?
I love the internet analysis series! Can you do a video about Ariana Grande and black fishing? I think it’s not a black and white issue and I would like to hear your thoughts. Thanks :)
i'd like to see this video too!
Ahhh I’ve been watching video essays all day (I stayed home sick) and this is perfect!
I'm sick at home too.
ooh, do you have any recommendations for other channels that make good video essays? :D
Nele Tegenbos I honestly don’t remember most of the names so I’ll be editing this comment a lot and I’ll probably spell them wrong too lol but I watch a lot of film critic essays so people like Karsten Runquirst and Lessons From The Screenplay are my go to. And then there’s kind jokey ones like 24 Frames or Nick. And then I’ve also been watching more Kristen Leo. And then I’ve also gotten really into Strange Aeons who doesn’t necessarily do essays but I like her analyzing same with Ready To Glare. And there’s one more I really like who’s name I can’t remember hang on
Edit: Sara(h?) Z! She’s one of my favourites (and I can’t even remember her name lol)
Hey, Ive got another one for you.
Hbomberguys latest video also deals with this topic in a way.
Nele Tegenbos contrapoints
Philosophytube
Hbomberguy
Shaun
Eric taxxon
Big joel
threearrows
Great video! This is something I think of a lot especially in June when every company decides they are now supportive of lgbt+ rights bc they slapped a rainbow on their product 🙃
As long as a brand sells its products at high costs but still produce them in 3rd world countries, we can’t ever believe them;( Ads are made for selling products, that’s it. It’s fine that they talk about somehow important Issues of the moment, but won’t do anything else. I love your videos, thank you for making them.
i work for a clothes company that sells like """""feminist""""" tshirts and socks and like... "girl love" "girl power" products but like... the ppl who make these items are probably making so little money and are working in grueling conditions and everytime we get more of these items in i just rot inside cause the company is literally just catching on to the latest trend (social justice, feminism) and capitalising on it. like can u actually pay ur workers a living wage before you try and be a "woke" company?
There's also that one touchy subject....
YOU CAN EMPOWER GIRLS WITHOUT BRINGING MEN DOWN-
in some countries women deserve more rights than men (but not in all countries)
Feminism in marketing is a ploy to sell more products. If any company truly cared about women they'd do more to dismantle things that harm us like the pink tax we pay on the very products they are trying to sell.
the pink tax isn't a necessary payment though, you choose those products yourself. Nobody said you couldn't use men's products, or better yet, not use anything.
@@katrinagreco3414 it's ridiculous that i'd have to use men products to avoid paying more for something that should cost the same. it's not a necessary payment because i can avoid paying it, but it also shouldn't exist at all.
@@katie-yk1es well the thing is that some women's products cost more to make than men's products, so for the company to make the same profit they obviously have to charge more.
Women's products contain more ingredients on average than men's products, and often use more expensive ingredients like shea butter or certain scents that aren't found in most men's products. Don't want to pay extra for the flower smelling soap? Then don't buy the flower smelling soap. If you really believe that identical products are being sold at different prices because of gender, then buy the cheaper options. Companies only speak money, after all.
I knew there was a reason those types of commercials never sat right with me! You laid all your points out so well. I enjoy hearing your perspective on things. Keep being awesome!
Yes Tiffany! You're v on point here. I work at a video content agency doing all the social media marketing behind the videos we produce for our clients and I will definitely be linking this video to my team if we use "girl power" in our ads. It makes me sad that the majority of people who direct, write and produce these ads are usually white men :/
during that campaign for Dove, I tweeted just some bs about being ugly or whatever tf I said, and they replied back something like "every women is beautiful" or some bs. Look, I already use your products, I don't need you to just give me some copy paste response, how did they even find me???
It's so strange how they use the words strong, power, more, big, great. When they should show being weak is nothing bad but just a perception, that is not about that but how you are, what you do is what makes you better, no matter woman or men
I agree with this! I have a bad knee and wrist. I haven't really been able to do simple things like open a jar of pickles without help in years and I can't do squats or balance my weight on my left leg. I am weaker than other people, and that's just a fact. There's nothing wrong with needing help or not being good at everything. I just think about how this stuff must affect people with disabilities.
The "girl" versus "woman" thing is so true! In middle school, we had a few different select choirs, the one for male singers was called "man choir" and the one for female singers was called "girls choir" and it honestly felt kind of degrading, especially since the Girls choir featured much more mature music
Also note that a campaign like ‘shine strong’ is slightly (extremely) eurocentric in basis if were talking about hair quality. Black hair is notorious for... not shining. Its dry.
I think this is a really good comprehensive analysis of the problem with ad campaigns in general. They’re made to sell a product, any cause they try to promote within the ad is meant to appeal to the people the issue effects with the intention of trying to persuade them to buy things, which is inherently antithetical to some of the causes they claim to throw themselves behind
Something about this analysis falls flat to me or leaves something to be desired… idk I think I just don’t find this to even be a productive conversation like I don’t want companies to have ‘better feminism’ (whatever that means) I want them to stop trying to sell me things I don’t need and pretending like any part of this process (them advertising, me being tricked into buying something, them profiting) can ever even BE anywhere near feminism (by any definition).
janae m yup, I get your point. Even very ethical products are at the end of the day just products...
Not quite on the topic but hbomberguy made a good video about calculated outrage following progressive campaigns.
Sui Des oh yeah I’ve seen that
THANK YOU FOR UNPACKING THIS. The extreme wealth of these companies is disgusting. Only 3 billionaires donate 3% of their income to charity, the rest range around a half percent or a bit more. More people need to bring this up.
5:43 a woman with textured hair going to bed without her hair covered... super realistic
SO agreed on the term "girl". I'll be 39 this year and I f'n HATE being referred to as a girl. I'm a grown woman, I,m educated, a mother and wife, not a 12 year old. And the biggest pet peeves; adult women referring to themselves having "girls night out" or "going out with my girls"??? No lady, you're an adult!
I used to watch twitch streams practically 24/7, I remember being in one where I was either the only woman in chat, or one of two to three women. I started referring to the male streamer and his male viewers as "the boys" and "my boys". They were so ANGRY! And it only fueled me further, seeing them get so pissed.
I also have a slight problem with the use of "females" to refer to women. This term is, of course, perfectly fine if used for scientific purposes; when discussing sex/gender distinctions. What I have a problem with is when it's used in a way that treats women as biological creatures destined to serve men. "Females" is often surrounded by rhetoric which reduces them to reproductive function, occasionally to aesthetics. It has always bothered me.
As I've said before, thank goodness for your videos bc I miss having these discussions in college as a SOC student. I'm not done watching but I do think these ads aren't completely pointless, not saying you ever said that but one function is they help to change our culture and they do feel good to watch and get that reminder/validation of our own experiences. I'd like to see more action behind the ads as well. Also, I think there's so much time spent on ads for women, we need to see more ads about men like that one about toxic masculinity. The ads help change the culture and we've seen a lot of that for women, we get it, let's talk about masculinity, class, rape culture, poverty, consent, and racism..... Thank you for these vids ❤️
A good no, great reason to refer to them as 'girls' is that little girls are used to hearing crap that they can't do. So by representing girls like that you're showing them that little girls can be strong too.
I'm so glad someone is speaking about this. It's so annoying with the fake empowering ads without a movement behind them
The fact that men got mad at the Gillette commercial speaks volumes about themselves 🥴
The fact that you are susceptible to cynical corporate pandering speaks volumes about you.
Juicy Smellit the fact that you’re offended by the ad means that you’re part of the problem and that the ad was targeted at people like you
I'm old enough to remember the Virginia Slims cigarette ad with the slogan "You've come a long way, Baby." The jingle: "You've come a long way baby/ You've come a long, long way? You've got your own cigarette now, baby/ You've come a long, long way", Yeah, it was going on before then (1970's) and here we are now. Somewhat scary I can remember this jingle without looking it up. Great video!
I hate the thing w/ telling women to apologise less. How about spreading the message to men to apologise more, bc otherwise, then everyone is just more of an ahole imo
One of the smartest and clearest explanations about this topic that I've heard! And that's coming from a communications student that's taken several feminist media classes.
me every 5 seconds watching this: BINGO!! THERE IT IS!! SHE SAID IT!!
I was already invested.. but then u catered to my idiot brain with “short word do trick” in a way that that hasn’t worked before, and now I’m even more invested. Thank you for wording things in a way that I can like actually /actually/ retain it. This idiot appreciates you and you’re approach to different topics quite a lot!!
downloaded clue the last time you mentioned it- it's really a great great app!!
I completely see what you're saying with these video and I do mostly agree, however, as someone whose teenage formative years happened to be around the same time these ads were released (I'm a little older), I personally found these so comforting and confidence building, at the time. They might not have aged too well, but as a young teenager, with nothing similiar around at the time, these kinds of things felt like an enormous breath of fresh air. That Dove campaign was a big inspiration to me whilst I was fighting anorexia. I personally don't feel that - in context - the marketing aspect cheapens the intent.
I'm always so surprised how quickly you get these out. You must be a research machine.
Great video as always. This is definitely a topic that should be looked into. Especially since a lot of insta-boutiques are posting empowerment memes but the clothes are coming from lord knows where.
On this topic I cant recommend enough the amazing book "The Beauty Myth" by Naomi Wolf. Nowadays you can find it in pdf on the internet and in several languages too. Its a life-changing book, though hard to read (I cried a lot through it)
Ironic that just past 5 minutes in this video I got served a weight loss ad. We can never escape.
That clue app is gonna be a lifesaver for me
The Russian ad with a little girl singing that you showed at the beginning is really powerful.
It uses a very sexist song (from the USSR time i guess? it’s still recogniseable today anyway) about what girls and boys are “made of” and turns it into something that defies those stereotypes. I don’t really know if kids nowadays learn the original song but I guess people aged 20+ know it so it’s very powerful to see the new version of it.
Nike did a great job, and tbh we don’t get a lot of feminist ads in Russia in general, so to see something with a good background and meaning behind it is moving. It’s also done by Nike, a company that does not sell stereotypically girly products but instead produces sportswear that allows women to express themselves and do what they want, which is nice. The ad is really popular among Russian feminists
Love your internet analysis series 💜🙌👏👏👏👏
I love how she's able to call out third wave feminism without being hateful malicious or toxic
pay gap has been disproven multiple times, also people should hire who is best fir for the job, not based on their gender or skin color.
ThatxDamnxGirl nope, it hasnt even conservative Media had to admit that woman earn 6ct less if you account everything. On top woman do 50% more time on thier children, the house hold and volunteering. All unpaid work.
I love that you go back and explain more thorough explanations in the video while editing. Amazinggg