For Tom Ford, photographing a woman’s crotch is just a way of selling more cologne. For women around the world, it’s just another sad example of how their bodies are used as props to sell handbags, sandwiches, post-it notes, etc.
Well, advertisers, as a woman, I would like you to know this: we don’t like the way you treat us. We don’t feel empowered by the sexualization of our bodies in the media, we’re disgusted by it. We’re not flattered, we’re tired of being objectified.
If you think that your marketing techniques have no consequences other than increasing your sales, think again. One in three women around the world will be raped, beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime because they are not seen as human beings, but as empty shells. You have the power to make people see this, yet, you consistently choose otherwise. We’re humans, not objects. You should know better.