Advertising,+where+do+we+draw+the+line?

From ‘Condoms on Bananas’ to Negotiating Consent: Educating around safety and desire in human sexual relationships

Stewart Mcpherson N8847509 Steve Badman

Cultural Artifact


This image comes from the 2007 Dolce and Gabbana heavily controversial advertising campaign. The photo features a blank looking young woman in a bathing suit and high heels being pinned down by a glossy shirtless man while four other men look on. The ad first appeared in Italy's most famous and best selling newspaper on February 5 2007 and then quickly appeared in various publications worldwide. However according to Stephano Gabbana (of Dolce and Gabbana) the image was meant to "Recall an erotic dream, a sexual game."

Public Health Issue
The Problem behind this advertisement campaign is a message that appears to promote gang rape. According to the Centre Against Sexual Assault (CASA) "1 in 5 women and 1 in 20 men have experienced sexual violence since the age of 15". With statistics as high as 91.9 police recorded rape cases per 100 000 population in Australia (CIVITAS, 2010). Ideally, big name fashion brands would be helping to try to reduce these alarming statistics rather producing advertisements that seemingly endorse it.

Literature Review
The statistics shown above are alarmingly high considering that victims of rape have been found to show significantly higher levels of depression, general anxiety and fear (Beigel, Gorcey, McCall-Perez, & Santiago, 1985). This being the case it is incredibly important to eliminate any factors that may encourage people to participate in sexual violence.

If the idea of 1 in 5 women and 1 in 20 men being victims of sexual assault wasn't bad enough, studies have shown that sexual assault could have major effects on not only the primary victim, the person that the assault actually happened to, but may also have a large impact on the primary victim's significant others (close friends and family) (Bak, Christiensen, & Elklit, 2012). With this being the case it is possible that approximately 1 in every 2 people could be affected by sexual assault and rape. Effects shown by secondary victims include; Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, a breakdown in the relationship between the primary and secondary victim and Self attribution of guilt and blame (Bak, Christiansen, & Elklit, 2012).

According to The Australian Law reform commission (2010) "A range of myths and misconceptions about women, children and sexual assault have underpinned the legal and evidential rules in sexual assault proceedings." These myths and misconceptions include, but are not limited to; women and children lying about sexual assault, it's easy to accuse someone of rape but hard to challenge, sexual assault is most likely committed by a stranger, women can't be raped by their spouse, some sexual assaults are more serious than others, non-consent is evidenced by physical harm and that a genuine sexual assault victim reports the incident without delay (ALRC 2010). This being the case, advertisements should not be promoting sexual assault in any form to prevent the idea that, for example, this kind of sexual assault is less serious than others because it appeared on an advertisement.

"Don't be that guy" is an ad campaign launched in Edmonton that aims to reduce the level of sexual assault by targeting the perpetrator rather than the victim. Butterfield (2012) reports that in the year following the distribution of these posters across the city of Vancouver, the number of reported cases of sexual assault in the city dropped by 10 percent. With campaigns like this one being so successful, having advertising campaigns that promote sexual assault rather than attempt to reduce is beyond belief.

According to Moodie, MacKintosh, Brown and Hastings (2008) young people in the U.K had a significant decline in intent to smoke following an advertising ban on tobacco in 2008. Considering the already alarmingly high rape statistics in Australia, something needs to be done immediately to help reduce the amount of sexual assault that occurs. An advertising ban on any advertisement that may promote sexual violence or rape is likely to also have a significant effect on not only children but also older generations.

Children and young adults are naturally susceptible to advertising, and with advertisements such as this one appearing openly across the globe, it's incredibly likely that there will be a great number of teenagers who are exposed to this ad, and as a result may become more susceptible to the idea's of committing rape or another form of sexual assault or sexual violence. According to Moore and Moschis (1978) " mass media creates desires, which in turn motivate consumers to work harder to satisfy these needs". This means that an advertisement, such as this one, that create desires of gang rape or sexual assault, could lead to an increase in sexual assault amongst teenagers and possibly other age groups also.

There are many different occurrences that have been described as motives for rape such as the education level of the rapist, the age of the rapist, if there has been a prior relationship between the rapist and victim, premeditation and physical force. However according to Heilbrun (1980) a major factor was a spontaneous sexual aggression that is often caused by a sexually orientated stimulus. This means that any advertisement that may be considered sexually orientated, such as this one, could spontaneously lead to an individual becoming motivated to sexually assault another person.

Cultural and Social Analysis
Yarrow Place: Rape and sexual assault service (2005) states that the legal definition of rape is //"A person who has sexual intercourse with another person without consent of that other person:// //A) Knowing that that other person does not consent to sexual intercourse with him/her// //B) Being recklessly indifferent as to whether that other person consents to sexual intercourse with him/her// //C) Continues with sexual intercourse when consent is withdrawn//

This means that any one person or group of people could become rapists at any time. Considering that there is already a great deal of factors that can influence people to take part in sexual assault. These factors can include; drugs, alcohol and social pressure and considering these can all have a very strong impact on one's cognitive ability to process right from wrong, the last thing that is needed is another factor such as an advertisement that seemingly promotes sexual assault, influencing their decisions.

Phillips and park (2006) described the most at risk groups of people, to be sexually assaulted, as women, children, sex workers and the homeless. Specific groups of women that are at risk are; young women, pregnant women, rural women, indigenous women, migrant women and women with disabilities. Not only are the victims of the sexual assault impacted but as previously stated there is also a large number secondary victims that are affected not to mention the perpetrators who undergo lengthy investigation and possibly even incarceration.

It is a well known fact that a very large percentage of sexual assault perpetrators are male. This means that obviously the male gender is going to be affected much more than females when they see this advertisement. However if this advertisement causes someone to sexually assault someone then the female gender would be equally as affected as the males. This is because "9 out of every 10 rape victims were female" according to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN) (2009).

Awareness of this issue is very important. The amount of sexual assault that occurs is far to high and the amount of support given to victims is far too low. According to RAINN (2009) victims of sexual assault are far more likely to develop other health related problems such as; depression, post traumatic stress disorder, alcohol abuse, drug abuse and contemplating committing suicide. More specifically they are; 3 times more likely to become depressed, 6 times more likely to suffer from PTSD, 13 times more likely to abuse alcohol, 26 times more likely to abuse drugs and 4 times more likely to contemplate suicide. These statistics show that not only that this issue needs to be discussed far more often than it already is. It also shows that not only do public health experts need to focus on reducing the number of sexual assault cases that occur, but they also need to focus in on providing far more support for sexual assault victims than currently available.

Analysis of The Artefact and Learning Reflections
The artefact is part of an advertising campaign by fashion icon Dolce & Gabanna. It depicts one male pinning a female down while 4 other men stand there watching. It represents the way that a lot of people view sexual assault as 'not their problem' purely because they have never had to experience how bad it truly is. With a worldwide audience, and such an iconic name, this is a perfect example of advertisements using a fantasy of sexual assault to try and increase sales, rather than trying to help reduce the already alarmingly high sexual assault statistics. Personally it is shocking and quite disgusting that big name companies will do anything to increase profits regardless of the impacts it may have on the rest of the world.

Through writing this I have learnt just how alarming the sexual assault statistics, in Australia and all across the world, really are. I have also learnt that there are many more post rape effects than I originally thought. Probably the most alarming thing I learnt is that the number of people affected by sexual assault. Not only just the incredibly high number of people who are sexually assaulted each year, but also the number secondary victims that arise as a result. I think this assignment will affect my thinking process whenever I see a controversial advertisement in the future. I think it will do this by causing me to think of ways that the company could helped to reduce the problems in the world, rather than adding to them.

Reference List
CIVITAS. (2010). Comparisons of Crime in OECD Countries. Retrieved from the CIVITAS website http://www.civitas.org.uk/crime/crime_stats_oecdjan2012.pdf

Christiansen, D., M.Sc, Bak, R., M.Sc, & Elklit, A., M.Sc. (2012). Secondary victims of rape. Violence and Victims, 27(2), 246-62. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1009292100?accountid=13380

Australian Legal Reform Commission. (2010). Family Violence - A National Legal Response (Report 114). Retrived from <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">http://www.alrc.gov.au/publications/24.%20Sexual%20Assault%20and%20Family%20Violence/history-activism-and-legal-change

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Beigel, Gorcey, McCall-Perez, & Santiago. (1985). Long-Term Psychological Effects of Rape in 35 Rape Victims. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 142(11), 1338-1340. Retrieved from http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/article.aspx?articleid=162775

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Moodie, MacKintosh, Brown, & Hastings, (2008), Tobacco marketing awareness on youth smoking susceptibility and perceived prevalence before and after an advertising ban. European Journal of Public Health, 18(5), 484-490. doi: 10.1093/eurpub/ckn016

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Butterfield, M. (2012, January 1) Edmonton Sexual Assault Awareness Campaign: 'Don't Be That Guy' So Effective City Relaunches With New Posters. The Hufflington Post. Retrived from http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Moore, R. L., & Moschis, G. P. (1978). Teenagers' reactions to advertising. Journal of Advertising (Pre-1986), 7(000004), 24. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/208473385?accountid=13380

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Heilbrun, A. (1980). Presumed Motive in the Male and Female Perception of Rape. Criminal Justice and Behaviour, 7(3), 257-274. Retrieved from http://cjb.sagepub.com.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/content/7/3/257

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Yarrow Place. (2010). Rape and Sexual Assault and the Law. Retrived from http://www.yarrowplace.sa.gov.au/booklet_law.html

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Phillips & Park. (2006). Measuring domestic violence and sexual assault against women. Retrieved from <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/Publications_Archive/archive/ViolenceAgainstWomen

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Gainman, N. (2009). Who are the victims? Retrived from http://www.rainn.org/get-information/statistics/sexual-assault-victims

Reflections
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