This letter was published in the Straits Times Forum on 3rd January 2013.
I CAUGHT the late-night screening of the movie You, Me And Dupree on
free-to-air television on Christmas Day. The 109 minute-long movie aired from 12.45am to 3am and was interspersed with
advertisements.
What I did not expect was the repeated airing of a few advertisements that
drew attention to the female body and offered breast enhancement, weight-loss
programmes and hair-loss treatment.
One advertisement, which focused entirely on close-up images of a model's
exposed cleavage, and flaunted her presumably augmented breasts, was lewd and
subliminally pornographic.
Another showed the drastic weight loss of a young mother and her progression
from being an oversize to an XS size. The message suggested that excessive weight gain as a result of childbearing
is crushing to a woman's self-esteem. It did not offer any information on the health risks of obesity, or the
benefits of staying healthy.
In yet another commercial, a young wife was visibly distressed when her
husband told her that her crowning glory was thinning. Her crisis was not over a life-threatening illness but the fear of looking
unattractive to her husband.
Sexism was the common thread in all these commercials, with in-your-face
messages that a woman's self-esteem can be repaired simply with breast
augmentation, weight loss and hair-loss treatment.
While it is important for every person - man or woman - to keep good health
and hygiene habits, I was offended by the sexual objectification of women in
these messages.
Ironically, while the movie carried a PG-13 rating, there was nothing to warn
me of the sexist contents in TV commercials that could be offensive to me as a
woman. For a long time, Singapore has had legislation that prohibits tobacco
advertising and limits the screening of alcohol commercials.
In the wake of the recent heinous gang-rape in New Delhi and the global
outcry for the protection of women against violence, maybe it is time our media
and advertising regulatory bodies also look into the content, presentation and
impact of print and TV advertisements to rate them for sexism, ageism and all
forms of discrimination against women.