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“A dream you dream alone is only a dream; a dream you dream together is reality.” — Yoko Ono
Nov
14
Message to the Guys: Donating Your Organs is Almost Like Sex
Filed Under beauty myths, marketing, media, misogyny, objectification, patriarchy, pop culture, sex and sexuality, sexism | Posted by Cara |
This ad promoting organ donation appeared in a Belgian men’s magazine.
The message at the bottom reads: Becoming a donor is probably your only chance to get inside her.
Nice way to objectify women to get across your “altruistic” message, suggest that women are only good for “getting inside of,” imply that women who don’t fit the above ideal of (poorly photoshopped) beauty aren’t quite as deserving of life, and portray men as so shallow that this is the only way to get them to do a good thing, all at the same time. It’s really quite impressive.
And yet, while I really do want to be pissed at this level of objectification, condescension and sexism, and on some level I am, I’m ultimately just incredibly bemused. I mean, who the hell thought this was a good idea?
Also, let’s just consider the menz for a minute, can we? Think about it. You’re some poor guy who donates your organs for the purpose of showing the world how very macho and heterosexual you are, and then you die and your organs go to — oh noes — another man! That would, like, make you totally gay, dude!
Or, um . . . something. I don’t know, I find homophobia almost as confusing as heterosexuality so insecure and compulsory that it requires comparing organ donation with a sex act.
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“Men, their rights, and nothing more; women, their rights, and nothing less.” — Susan B. Anthony
oh man, if she ever loses her kidneys, and then I get into a car accident and die, I’ll get to BE INSIDE HER. oh yeah! super hot. Can’t wait.
Are you fucking kidding me? Yeah, with this one is prob better to just laugh and shake our heads at the asshat that thought this was a good idea.
It’s just a joke/pun on the phrase “inside her”. Not really a big deal…
Gee, wow, rrsafety, thank you for the explanation!!! As you can tell from reading the post, I totally missed what the joke was and I was actually just angry for no apparent reason over something I didn’t undersand because I’m a feminist and getting irrationally angry is what we do.
My first reaction was the same bemusement as you.
My second reaction was queasiness at the idea of “my” only chance for getting “inside” her to be if she was injured and in danger.
I’m still stuck on complete bemusement.
Anna, I do have to concede that I’ve always found sex and organ donation remarkable in the degree to which they are unalike.
What I cannot for the life of me understand is how this is supposed to promote organ donation. This is the same kind of advertising that PETA does and it leads nowhere. People stop and consume the image of the woman, express their sexism and then go on. It does not cause any lasting reflection, it only highlights the sexist inequality that women are forced to live with.
I can see where PETA are coming from, though; I think their campaigns are fucking terrible, but I can see the point they’re trying to make.
This, I don’t get at all, unless it’s a very laboured ‘joke’ on the phrase ‘organ donation’.
…nope. Still complete bemusement.
Anna,
I really can’t see this as any better or worse than the PETA ads. Contributing to the objectification of one group isn’t justified by the fact that you think your cause is really, really important.
Ha I guess this ad is kinda speaking to the necrophiliacs out there!!! Disturbing!!!
I’m not saying the PETA ads are better – just that I can sort of vaguely see the connection, even if I do think they are completely screwing over their own message by going about it in a horrible, horrible way.
This just.. confuses me. A lot. I’m not even in angry feminist mode about it [which is incredibly rare] I’m just .. confused. I can’t see how this is supposed to get anyone anywhere.
Even the most ridiculously insecure male wouldn’t go for this.. surely?
‘Oh, I’d fuck her, so she can have my spleen if I die and she’s being operated on! YEAH!’
This is so disturbing!
As a woman currently waiting for my second heart transplant, I can say with all complete certainty that this is not the right message to be sending to a potential donor.
I honestly don’t think anyone who isn’t a donor would become a donor because they thought their organs would go into a stereotypically attractive woman.
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