NSFW Ad Uses Naked Men As Props To See How Men Feel When Roles Are Flipped, But Not Everyone Think It’s Right
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It’s the template of almost every men’s fashion ad ever to be published; a handsome, sharply-dressed man flouts about glamorous settings while a submissive, fully or nearly naked woman fawns over him. Suistudio, a women’s suit-making company, is turning this tired old trope over on its head with their latest ad campaign, fittingly titled “Not Dressing Men.”
The titular name alludes not only to the fact that Suistudio’s sleek, timeless suits are produced exclusively for women, but also to the use of nude male models in their racy promotional photos. The images show various well-outfitted women in positions of power and dominance, while the men featured act as mere background scenery; as furniture. It’s a clever reversal of the sexist ideologies that seem to plague society at every turn, but it’s not going over well with absolutely everyone.
Some are accusing Suistudio vice president Kristina Barricelli and her advertising team of promoting the very forms of human objectification that they claim to abhor. According to an email sent to Upworthy, however, Barricelli describes her company’s work as a “call to viewers to reconsider the rigid gender roles reinforced through advertising over the years.” Scroll down to decide for yourself, and let us know what you think in the comments.
More info: Official Site, Twitter, Instagram
Women’s suit manufacturer Suistudio has got people talking with their latest ad campaign, Not Dressing Men
Drawing on sexist tropes from men’s fashion ads, the photos feature naked men as background scenery
Almost like furniture
The women, however, appear dominant and powerful, rather than submissive and vulnerable
In modern advertising, it’s usually the other way around
Suistudio vice president Kristina Barricelli wants viewers of the ads to see “rigid gender roles” differently…
But is objectification of a human, male or female, ever acceptable?
Some people definitely think not, and are calling it a step in the wrong direction for feminism
Others, however, positively received the message
A leap forward, or a severe blow back? Have your say in the comments below!
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I have exactly as much problem with using naked men in an ad campaign as with using naked women. None at all. Tought I can understand people who have problem with both, but not those who have problem with one of them but perfectly fine with the other.
Yep. Most men, including me, don't really care. Almost nobody's provoked, because men usually don't care much about stupid ads, and they are used to be presented as imbeciles in most ads.
that's an excellent point. we are conditioned to this. there's no shock value here.
That's what's I'm saying!!
Also saying women usually look "submissive and vulnerable" in ads is utter bullshit. When I see a hot girl in an ad I think "Wow she's gorgeous! What a stunning woman!" And not "look at that cute little fucktoy"...
I was just thinking "nice butt and shoulders", miam :))
I think you comment says a lot about the topic that I think is being missed, we are not all seeing this in the same way, so we are not all seeing this as a problem. Having nude men in the ad is not turning the tables on men and having the intended "ah-ha" moment that they're going for, because Men tend not to see women as being submissive or of a lower status when nude in an advert in the same way that some women do, which is why even with the nude men in the advert my eyes are still looking at the female models. The point may have worked better less attractive women but I doubt even this would have prompted me to feel whatever it is that a woman feels when she sees something like this that offends her.
Then there's probably something wrong with me, because I actually looked at the suits 😂 ... And I'm into men and women.
anarkzie, studies of advertising has showed that both women and men like to look appreciate women's bodies more than men's...
Yeah, I'm a woman and when I look at a gorgeous looking woman in advertisement or wherever else, I don't feel like my gender is being offended. I think I'm a regular human being who likes to look at aesthetic stuff. Even if people on adverts are photoshopped. I'm like 'Wow! He/she looks beautiful!' But I don't feel obliged to look the same way, coz I'm ok with myself.
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I guess the nakedness does not really matter here. They want to provoke in a "if you did the same series but with men and women roles flipped, than bla bla bla". Let them provoke if they do not have more important things to concentrate on. Boring!
Good message? Of course not! Good food for thought? Oh yeah! Let's think of it as an invitation to empathize, for men to try and immagine themselves in our shoes. Does this make you feel uncomfortable? Well, guess what... I dunno wether this will be effective in the way I'm telling about it, and I DO NOT wish for this to be the new marketing standard, but from an artistic and philosophic point of view, you can't deny this is interesting. It makes you think, it brings people to discuss. And btw, we don't need to do this step for the sake of feminism, what we need is simply treating all models with respect in their marketing rappresentations as well as in their personal/professional lives, but I do have a feeling that sometimes projects like these are neccessary. It's a waking slap on the face of society.
Ok, but I think an issue you'll find is most men, like me, aren't offended by this any way so it doesn't really have the impact they were looking for.
Honestly, I agree. While I applaud the attempt, I don’t think showing men chilling out nude next to beautiful, well dressed women is the way to elicit the desired impact. What many women want is for men to feel the sense of violation and disrespect that we have just once so that we’ll understand eachother better, but I’m not sure these interesting adverts will accomplish that.
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what about us men giving women a slap to the face in return? If you demand respect by disrespecting us, you only breed mistrust and hate, nothing positive. Want something positive from us? Give us something positive that we want from you. Its so easy.
What people don't seem to understand when people criticize representation, is that there is context to consider. Yes, feminism wants equality. That is the ultimate goal. But it's not there, not nearly. Not in gender, not in race, not in ability, sexual orientation, religion. Criticism is raised in the context of certain groups of people systematically discriminated against, and generally degraded by society at large, which shows vastly in the media, ads included. No, naked men in this ad is NOT the same as naked women for men's suits, because their social status is not the same. It'd be nice if things WERE equal, if ads didn't have to get that hyperbolic to get a reaction, but what most people end up doing is complain about men being treated the same way as women, and not... actually doing anything to stop men treating women that badly. The message is, "How does it make YOU feel to see yourself as furniture in an ad?" It's intended to be a social discussion. It's a good message.
It would be the same if they showed naked men in men's suits ads around other men who are clothed. The only way for most men to get it is to truly put them in the position that we currently put women. Men do fear being sex as a sex object by women. It's not particularly threatening and many think they desire it However being seen as a sex object by other men, then drives the point home.
Finally, someone smart. Thank you.
Well said!
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
feminism was never about equality. It was, and is, about more rights and privileges to women, on expense of everything else. And there are too many double standards and "coincidental, collateral damage" from feminist actions to belive otherwise.
Considering men's rights to govern their own body is never under threat, men are not underpaid for their work in the majority of professions, men generally don't get killed for refusing advances, men have always had a right to education, to vote, to lead, to own things, to marry without their father's permission, to work without their spouse's permission, that men who rape women still don't nearly get blamed enough for their acts when the women instead are ostracized, I'd say that feminism has pretty good incentive to focus first on women's rights. That needs to include fighting against racism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, ageism, and sexism at large. How about, instead of freaking out about women gaining rights, you actually worry about the large number of issues that men ACTUALLY face, like difficulty to seek help for physical and emotional pain, the toxic imperative of performing masculinity in an aggressive manner or be shunned, which too often turns them into mass shooters?
It WAS always about the rights and privileges of women, because it was started by women who were being put down by society - it was a reaction against sexism, but it was never at the expense of anything else. I've read old feminist manifestos and essays and there's usually a good amount of emphasis put on how this about making women equal to men, not better than or above them, as many men during the early days of, say, the suffragette movement feared. The idea of making feminism equal to "equality in general" seems like generalizing the movement too much (and it's not like a person can't be both a feminist and support other things), though there are many modern feminists who treat it like it's meant to be directly relevant to all other forms "fighting for equality".
Found the MRA/MGTOW
I have exactly as much problem with using naked men in an ad campaign as with using naked women. None at all. Tought I can understand people who have problem with both, but not those who have problem with one of them but perfectly fine with the other.
Yep. Most men, including me, don't really care. Almost nobody's provoked, because men usually don't care much about stupid ads, and they are used to be presented as imbeciles in most ads.
that's an excellent point. we are conditioned to this. there's no shock value here.
That's what's I'm saying!!
Also saying women usually look "submissive and vulnerable" in ads is utter bullshit. When I see a hot girl in an ad I think "Wow she's gorgeous! What a stunning woman!" And not "look at that cute little fucktoy"...
I was just thinking "nice butt and shoulders", miam :))
I think you comment says a lot about the topic that I think is being missed, we are not all seeing this in the same way, so we are not all seeing this as a problem. Having nude men in the ad is not turning the tables on men and having the intended "ah-ha" moment that they're going for, because Men tend not to see women as being submissive or of a lower status when nude in an advert in the same way that some women do, which is why even with the nude men in the advert my eyes are still looking at the female models. The point may have worked better less attractive women but I doubt even this would have prompted me to feel whatever it is that a woman feels when she sees something like this that offends her.
Then there's probably something wrong with me, because I actually looked at the suits 😂 ... And I'm into men and women.
anarkzie, studies of advertising has showed that both women and men like to look appreciate women's bodies more than men's...
Yeah, I'm a woman and when I look at a gorgeous looking woman in advertisement or wherever else, I don't feel like my gender is being offended. I think I'm a regular human being who likes to look at aesthetic stuff. Even if people on adverts are photoshopped. I'm like 'Wow! He/she looks beautiful!' But I don't feel obliged to look the same way, coz I'm ok with myself.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
I guess the nakedness does not really matter here. They want to provoke in a "if you did the same series but with men and women roles flipped, than bla bla bla". Let them provoke if they do not have more important things to concentrate on. Boring!
Good message? Of course not! Good food for thought? Oh yeah! Let's think of it as an invitation to empathize, for men to try and immagine themselves in our shoes. Does this make you feel uncomfortable? Well, guess what... I dunno wether this will be effective in the way I'm telling about it, and I DO NOT wish for this to be the new marketing standard, but from an artistic and philosophic point of view, you can't deny this is interesting. It makes you think, it brings people to discuss. And btw, we don't need to do this step for the sake of feminism, what we need is simply treating all models with respect in their marketing rappresentations as well as in their personal/professional lives, but I do have a feeling that sometimes projects like these are neccessary. It's a waking slap on the face of society.
Ok, but I think an issue you'll find is most men, like me, aren't offended by this any way so it doesn't really have the impact they were looking for.
Honestly, I agree. While I applaud the attempt, I don’t think showing men chilling out nude next to beautiful, well dressed women is the way to elicit the desired impact. What many women want is for men to feel the sense of violation and disrespect that we have just once so that we’ll understand eachother better, but I’m not sure these interesting adverts will accomplish that.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
what about us men giving women a slap to the face in return? If you demand respect by disrespecting us, you only breed mistrust and hate, nothing positive. Want something positive from us? Give us something positive that we want from you. Its so easy.
What people don't seem to understand when people criticize representation, is that there is context to consider. Yes, feminism wants equality. That is the ultimate goal. But it's not there, not nearly. Not in gender, not in race, not in ability, sexual orientation, religion. Criticism is raised in the context of certain groups of people systematically discriminated against, and generally degraded by society at large, which shows vastly in the media, ads included. No, naked men in this ad is NOT the same as naked women for men's suits, because their social status is not the same. It'd be nice if things WERE equal, if ads didn't have to get that hyperbolic to get a reaction, but what most people end up doing is complain about men being treated the same way as women, and not... actually doing anything to stop men treating women that badly. The message is, "How does it make YOU feel to see yourself as furniture in an ad?" It's intended to be a social discussion. It's a good message.
It would be the same if they showed naked men in men's suits ads around other men who are clothed. The only way for most men to get it is to truly put them in the position that we currently put women. Men do fear being sex as a sex object by women. It's not particularly threatening and many think they desire it However being seen as a sex object by other men, then drives the point home.
Finally, someone smart. Thank you.
Well said!
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
feminism was never about equality. It was, and is, about more rights and privileges to women, on expense of everything else. And there are too many double standards and "coincidental, collateral damage" from feminist actions to belive otherwise.
Considering men's rights to govern their own body is never under threat, men are not underpaid for their work in the majority of professions, men generally don't get killed for refusing advances, men have always had a right to education, to vote, to lead, to own things, to marry without their father's permission, to work without their spouse's permission, that men who rape women still don't nearly get blamed enough for their acts when the women instead are ostracized, I'd say that feminism has pretty good incentive to focus first on women's rights. That needs to include fighting against racism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, ageism, and sexism at large. How about, instead of freaking out about women gaining rights, you actually worry about the large number of issues that men ACTUALLY face, like difficulty to seek help for physical and emotional pain, the toxic imperative of performing masculinity in an aggressive manner or be shunned, which too often turns them into mass shooters?
It WAS always about the rights and privileges of women, because it was started by women who were being put down by society - it was a reaction against sexism, but it was never at the expense of anything else. I've read old feminist manifestos and essays and there's usually a good amount of emphasis put on how this about making women equal to men, not better than or above them, as many men during the early days of, say, the suffragette movement feared. The idea of making feminism equal to "equality in general" seems like generalizing the movement too much (and it's not like a person can't be both a feminist and support other things), though there are many modern feminists who treat it like it's meant to be directly relevant to all other forms "fighting for equality".
Found the MRA/MGTOW