Blatantly Sexist Ad Campaigns: It’s an E.U. Thing!
If you haven’t seen the European Union’s “Science: It’s a Girl Thing!” video yet, prepare yourself for a cringe-filled 53 seconds.
Originally intended to showcase science career opportunities for women, the video resembles a low-budget cosmetics ad dripping with nail polish and bursts of powdered colors. Not to mention the science “opportunities” appear limited to catching the eye of a male scientist by wearing sexy attire and posing next to a hydrogen symbol.
Point blank, the video fails to represent women in science, and even worse, it’s “breathtakingly sexist,” says Time NewsFeed. The video implies that females are underrepresented in science because it’s not glamorous enough–an assumption not only insulting to women, but also to the field of science. While scientists have created antimatter, discovered effective ways to treat cancer and even developed fabric that converts body movements into electricity – all in the past year alone – this video relegates the purpose of science to a superficial level.
Perhaps the EU should focus its efforts on eliminating gender discrimination before investing in advertising that perpetuates sexist stereotypes.
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