A typhoon-in-a-teacup's brewing over tampons.
A Libra tv ad's been labelled "transphobic": supposedly it implies transgender people are not REAL women coz they don't menstruate. (Transphobia = negative attitudes or feelings towards transsexual/transgender people.)
The tvc shows a drag queen and a blonde woman in a nightclub restroom putting on mascara and lippy, and adjusting their bras competitively. The blonde woman then pulls out a Libra tampon, leaving the drag queen to storm out of the loos in a huff.
The ad, with catchphrase Libra Gets Girls, has caught a cacophony of catty criticism on the company's Facebook page. One woman posted:
"I'm not sure what's more disgusting, the blatant transphobia or the inclination that a period is what defines a woman's femininity." Another poster wrote: "So, for the females who've gone through menopause or hysterectomies, I suppose Libra failed to 'get those girls'? Having a campaign where some snooty-nosed woman resorts to whipping out her feminine hygiene product in the face of someone who doesn't have a menstrual cycle therefore rendering her a winner, is in bad taste and poor form."
Male supporters defend the ad, saying the criticisms are PC gone crazy. But females say the ad was probably written by men who, obviously, neither menstruate nor buy Libra products.
Well, duuuhhh! Excuse my ignorance...but I don't think transexuals use tampons either! They may have had a cut'n'tuck, darlin', but surely medical science can't make them menstruate...?
Here's the ad: see what you think.
PS: 04 Jan.2012 - After moans from people with no sense of humour, Libra has pulled its ad! Officials issued an apology, saying: "It was never intended to upset or offend anyone. Independent research was undertaken and the advertisement viewed positively during testing."
So here's the thing: if the ad tested THAT positively, and there was no deliberate slight...then why pull such a good ad for the sake of a few limpdicks???!!!
PS: 05 Jan.2012 - Here's the response from the character used in the ad, who is NOT transgender at all but a gay drag queen and very proud to have been in the ad!
2 comments:
Is this for REAL???
That ad is quite funny. Can't see any problem with it myself.
But then again, I AM a mere heterosexual male!
As a fully-functional woman, I'm surprised some of my gender were upset by this ad.
I don't feel Libra was making a dig at women who no longer require their products.
Yes, it was risque to use a transgender figure...but quite frankly, they are NOT women in the complete and true sense. IMO they are people who've had a sex change: simple as that.
Having no willy does not make you female, and many women I know have bigger balls figuratively than many men's literal ones anyway!
Post a Comment