Nothing reminds me that we’re living in a raunch culture faster than a(n increasingly common) giant pornographic sticker on the back of some guy’s car (thanks JET PILOT). We’re so ok with sexually objectifying women that this guy won’t be run off the road for sticking a huuuuuuuuge image on his car of a naked woman on her hands and knees with her bottom tilted to the sky. In fact this car can drive around everywhere in public space; in mine, my mother’s, and my daughter’s lines of vision.
Unfortunately I couldn’t find the JET PILOT sticker I’m referring to on-line before I got bored with looking, so I’ve included a less explicit porno sticker above instead.
If we have to tolerate these stickers on cars then I wish gay boys would stick similar images on their cars. Pictures of boys with sex-happy grins on their faces, naked, bent over, and submissive. Because if it is all just honky-dory to put our sexual objectification right out there on our cars, if we think everyone should have to just deal with it, no matter how uncomfortable we’re trying to make others feel .. then bring it on for the other boys too.
Would it be offensive to you boys with your JET PILOT stickers? Would you think, who is this gay boy thinking all men are just there for his fantasies? Would you find it aggressive, arrogant, threatening? Would you think, like hell I’m going to bend over for you? Would you think, what a sleazy, creepy loser? Would you think I hate you and I don’t even know you? Yep, cos that is what women are thinking about YOU.
I’ve never seen any of those, but I do see about a dozen Playboy bunny seat covers every time I walk into town. I swear that rabbit is stalking me.
At a lunch meeting in a boardroom in Osaka 7 years ago, I was brought a beautiful bento box made to meet my vegetarian diet, along with a leather drink coaster embossed with the icon I call “truckerporngirl” – the icon that inspired T&L to send the petrol tanker airborne in flames. I was both the only woman and only american in the room, so my euro colleague had less of a chance to understand the absurdity and offensiveness.
I find direct confrontation to be an effective tool, if it can be done safely. After all, it’s no accident that while what women fear most from men is physical harm, what men fear most from women is humiliation.
Thanks for the comments both of you. I agree with you Ritchie about the playboy bunny logo – its got this whole retro cool thing going on that makes it super popular, only none of the irony that is supposed to go with the appreciation of retro sexism.
kitchentable – I particularly like your closing comment, a great observation.
“… what women fear most from men is physical harm, what men fear most from women is humiliation”
Great observation, and an explanation for how domestic violence happens …
This is such a timeless post and so relevant for one of my own pet peeves, which is girls being subjected to the boy toy ‘screensavers’ of cellphones in school…humiliating, degrading cues sent to girls in supposedly neutral/public space environs which erode self-worth by sending a quick media message of ‘what girls are for’…
Nothing like a fun high five moment with a girl whuppin’ a kid in a co-ed basket ball game and feeling great about her skill sets and camaraderie only to have a boy towel off and pick up his cellphone with a provocative playboy postergirl and a misogynistic ringtone at the ready…
The smug message sent, “you’re one of us, not one of THEM” —Toxic freakin’ cues. sigh.
Hello there,
I would just like to add that I have the exact “pornographic” JETPILOT sticker, of which you speak, on the rear window of my BMW M3.
Thank you.
Kind Regards,
Jasmine.
Yep, that’s the sticker.
It’s the first amendment, get over it. Learn tollerance. When a gay man hits on me I politly say no thanks and move on. Men get objectified all the time so what makes feminist so special that they shouldn’t be. When I come across stupid sites like this I wander why women were ever given the right to vote.
It is not the first amendment, we live in Australia. Other things you have no idea about: how often women are objectified in comparison to men. Also this: “learn tolerance” …. “I wonder why women were ever given the right to vote”. Nice argument.
Get over yourself, you are not the centre of the universe.
Sorry, just venting, didn’t realize you are in Austrailia. I was married to a woman who became overly feminist. I treated her with nothing but love and respect and suddenly everything was my fault because I am a white man. Her girl friends advised me to leave because she was completely unreasonable. She is not a phyco “clinically”, just an overbearing femenist. It gets old and impossible to support from my side.
I never said I was the center of the universe or implied that I was. But I was married to a femenist and she thought she was like the other femenist I have had the misfortune of meeting.
Anyway, you have a nice life and I hope you can forgive and forget.
suddenly everything was my fault because I am a white man
No, everything was your fault because you’re a massive, attention-seeking, piss-taking douchebag.
Thanks for the apology, such as it was, and I gotta say your ex-wife sounds cool, are you still in touch with her? We’d like to hang with her.
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up very fast! What web host are you the usage of? Can I get your affiliate link on
your host? I wish my site loaded up as quickly as yours lol
Hey! This is my first comment here so I just
wanted to give a quick shout out and tell you I genuinely enjoy reading through your articles.
Can you suggest any other blogs/websites/forums that deal with the
same topics? Thanks for your time!
So Jasmine, I am genuinely curious…concerned yes, but still curious…what is it that made you want to put that sticker on your car?
Does your site have a contact page? I’m having a tough time locating it but, I’d like to send you an
email. I’ve got some recommendations for your blog you might be interested in hearing. Either way, great site and I look forward to seeing it improve over time.
[…] a co-ed dance, texting at a lunch table, or in after school enrichment co-existing with guys who have provocative visuals on their tennies, tees, screensavers, cells and misogynistic ringtones that make me want to weep […]