After the jump (not safe for work):
NEW! Katie D.R. sent in a similar image from an MTV campaign (found at adsoftheworld):
Also in women are vectors of disease: WWII anti-prostitution propaganda.
Comments
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Sabriel
I agree that women are often portrayed as vectors of disease, but in this case I think using a female model is useful because of the stereotype that HIV is a gay male disease.
They emphasize that point by saying “It could happen to anyone. Don’t discriminate.”
It’s good to change the perception of HIV as a gay male disease for two reasons. The obvious first reason is homophobia. The less obvious second reason is because more straight women have HIV than gay men. You’re more at risk for catching the virus if you’re on the “receptive” end of sex, for biological reasons.
It is good to raise awareness that heterosexual couples and women are at risk for contracting HIV, and because of the stereotypes, a male model in an PSA about HIV would be assumed gay. A female is necessary.
I don’t know about perceptions of HIV in Italy; just the United States, so I could be wrong.
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Sabriel
You’re more at risk for catching the virus if you’re on the “receptive” end of sex, for biological reasons.
I could be wrong about this. It’s something I thought I “knew” but as it turns out I can’t confirm it. I am sure that the risk for women of obtaining HIV is underplayed, however.
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Magnetic Crow
Heterosexual women are indeed far more likely to contract HIV when having sex with an HIV positive partner than heterosexual men are in the same situation.
That doesn’t mean this isn’t problematic. As Lisa notes, women have long been blamed for the spread of venereal diseases. I’d say that the goodness of re-situating HIV fears from gay men to women is somewhat mitigated by the fact that women have already been labeled as “dirty” whenever we exercise our sexuality outside of patriarchy-approved situations. The way the woman’s body is presented definitely isn’t helping (fully naked, headless).
Not that you don’t have a good point! You do! I just think that they’re a long way from treating this issue in a way that doesn’t disadvantage some marginalized group.
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Cola
Did the image need to be of a naked torso? Clearly the artist only thought they were being clever by turning the woman’s pelvis into a letter.
The real problem here is the dehumanisation. It’s so common with women models that the artist probably didn’t think twice about it, but the real problem with HIV are the people who refuse to acknowledge that it happens to real people, like them.
So, is the “cleverness” of the woman’s body forming the final letter in the abbreviation really worth the dehumanising and sexist imagery it creates when other kinds of advertising are available?
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Sabriel
No, of course not. Again, not arguing that there is nothing wrong with the ad; just making a point about HIV.
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Cola
Sorry, I meant to reply to the comment above. These comment boxes are tricky. This is the third time I’ve typed this. I keep hitting subscribe. ;p
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Sabriel
I’d say that the goodness of re-situating HIV fears from gay men to women is somewhat mitigated by the fact that women have already been labeled as “dirty” whenever we exercise our sexuality outside of patriarchy-approved situations. The way the woman’s body is presented definitely isn’t helping (fully naked, headless).
I definitely agree with this. It’s not that I have no problems with the advertisement; it’s just that in the case of HIV I actually see some use for using a female. However, I’m sure they could have done a better job. For starters, they could have shown a heterosexual couple, with it being unclear as to which person is seropositive.
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Katherine
Does anyone else think it is odd that the woman is completely hairless? The clarity of the er, typography depends upon the visibility of the ‘V’ I suppose. But the whole idea of this PSA is that HIV can happen to “everyone”…here ‘Everywoman’ has no hair. Not to mention her flat stomach and perfect high breasts.
This does not look like the ‘everywomen’ that I know.-
Reanimated Horse
The whole shape in that area of the photo is odd, to me. Interesting point, Katherine.
I hesitate to add this, probably because I’m exhausted from noticing sexism and the male gaze around every corner these days. The image makes two arguments outright: She is attractive, and she has HIV. But the ad doesn’t seem to say, “Women, you may carry HIV” as much it says, “Thin, sexy women carry HIV. Men, the women you want to sleep with might have HIV.” I also feel that because of the underlying sexuality of the image, on some level it causes the viewer to think “Women who are having sex might catch diseases that would harm men.”
Maybe I’m hypersensitive and need a time out from sociology. But I do sincerely see the things I mentioned.
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Annoyed
Does anyone else find the airbrushing odd? I mean, the woman is still naked even if you airbrush the details of the vagina. I guess those must be the really dirty parts.
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imnotemily
yeah, I wasn’t aware that models have no labia.
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imnotemily
and you know what? the first thing I noticed was the distinct absence of labia. I would say this is pretty good evidence this ad was thought up and executed by a group of men, who assumed the average viewer wouldn’t notice the egregious airbrushing of her mons. Me, a woman, saw that airbrushing and found it incredibly unsettling, but for a man who perhaps doesn’t instinctively know where the mons splits into the labia, this wouldn’t be an issue.
This is so symptomatic of the male gaze- “it doesn’t matter if her anatomy is correct, because look! boobies!”-
thewhatifgirl
Actually, you could put that ad under the “Which gender is this?” heading too. Men’s pubic areas do sometimes look like that, but since the breasts in the picture are very strongly coded as female in our society, we assume it is a woman. It could also be a trans person or a male with “female-like” breasts, but very few people will allow that possibility at first glance.
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abby
Without the context of seeing this poster under Lisa’s heading, I would have had no idea what it was. It looks like it’s saying HI. And agreed, the airbrushing is weird.
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Kate
Yeah, the way they’ve made it look not like a woman’s body at all, in fact, not like a HUMAN body, and taken out the labia is totally creeping me out. I mean… ew. And also, ew. And also, there’s something deeper about what makes women proper women, suitable to look at and comsume, and sexual availabilty, to be said there but I’m still stuck on EW!!
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Anonymous
It has already been mentioned but the fact that she is hairless and completely airbrushed ( no bumps or folicles) gives me the heebie jeebies. That is the norm? NO hair? And the lack of labia is plain wierd. Is she a Barbie Doll? She has been transformed from a female person to flawless sex object. Oh wait, the ‘flaw’ is having HIV, which she probable caught from some man. Opps, anger spilled out Sorry.
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MeToo
Would it be possible to put these images behind the cut, with a NSFW tag? (*Looks over her shoulder to see who’s watching her websurf.*)
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lisa
Done.
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