Sadiq Khan moves to ban body shaming ads from London transport

[FrodosPet]

Is this a positive step against body shaming, or a way of promoting puritanism using nuanced language?
[hr]
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/jun/13/sadiq-khan-moves-to-ban-body-shaming-ads-from-london-transport

Jasper Jackson - Last modified on Monday 13 June 2016 17.00 EDT

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has moved to ban body shaming ads, which promote unrealistic expectations about body image and health, on London’s transport network from next month.

Khan, elected in May, has told Transport for London to stop running ads amid concerns that the advertising “can demean people, particularly women”.

~ snip ~

In a statement, Khan said: “As the father of two teenage girls, I am extremely concerned about this kind of advertising which can demean people, particularly women, and make them ashamed of their bodies. It is high time it came to an end.

“Nobody should feel pressurised, while they travel on the tube or bus, into unrealistic expectations surrounding their bodies and I want to send a clear message to the advertising industry about this.”

~ snip ~

[linuxman]

1. What exactly is restricted?

Images of women, images of good looking women, images of partially uncovered women, or images of women accompanied by demeaning text? It wasn't very clear.


I don't see what the outrage behind the ad is all about. It's an ad for fitness supplements. There is a fit woman who obviously works out. What were they supposed to do? Find someone 300 lbs overweight with early onset diabetes?

[uppityperson]

2. Good. "Lose weight so you can go to the beach" isn't appropriate for public transport

[Eric J in MN]

3. If it were an ad for bikinis instead of an ad for pills, would it have been OK? NT

NT

[tblue37]

4. I wish people would not say "pressurized" when they mean "pressured."

Last edited Thu Jun 16, 2016, 05:44 PM - Edit history (1)

Airplane cabins are pressurized.

That sort of malapropism is like fingernails on a blackboard to me No, actually, fingernails on a blackboard don't bother me--I am too hearing impaired. But they bother other people, and this sort of malapropism bothers me similarly.

Partly, I think, I cringe at the thought that every time someone says something like this, it gets out into the world where people will get used to seeing it, until it becomes normalized and then eventually replaces the original word.

[PasadenaTrudy]

14. It's a Britism n/t

[Amimnoch]

5. Great first step imo.

It'll be the best step when the day comes that the purchasing public finds these distasteful as well. Sure, there's nothing wrong at all with the lady in the ad going to the beach, but the hinted message is that you need to look something like that to be able to go to the beach and wear a 2 piece, when there's also not a damn thing wrong with more realistic and average women doing the same thing, and there's nothing wrong with heavier/larger women doing the same thing either.

Make no mistake, this kind of advertising DOES propagate body shaming, and promotes the notion that you should look a certain way to go to the beach and feel comfortable with yourself.

[romanic]

6. Depends on what he thinks is "body shaming".

Sounds kind of puritanical to me.

[CJCRANE]

7. I don't care for the ads, but I don't think it's the mayor's job to ban them without consultation.

[mwrguy]

8. It is a good move to protect the dignity of women

[melman]

9. wtf?

The dignity of women?

[mwrguy]

10. You don't think that women have dignity?

WTF?

If you want to body shame and objectify women then you'll have to find somewhere other than the London subway from now on.

[melman]

11. As it says in the OP

" a way of promoting puritanism"

That is clearly where you are coming from when you say dignity.

[mwrguy]

12. As is says in the OP

"positive step against body shaming"

Cherry pick all you want, and enjoy your subscription to Maxim.

[melman]

15. Not cherry picking

Just familiar with your posting history.

[Nye Bevan]

13. Presumably only "dad bods" will be permitted in ads depicting males?

Because men can also feel bad when confronted with ads depicting perfect male bodies.