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Diesel
220 West 19th Street
New York, NY 10011
(212) 755-9200
Our Gallery of Offenders is for educational purposes, and to give our web site visitors the chance to contact media-makers directly to tell them what they think. The items are mostly chosen from the U.S. mainstream media available in the last year, using an independent process. We are never making fun of models/actors themselves, but the environment they exist within. Please submit your picks on our Contact page.
archive page 8: Diesel tells all to “Be Stupid.”
Questions to Consider:
- What is this ad saying about women? About men?
- What kind of action or attitude is this ad encouraging?
- What product is this ad selling?
What We Think:
In this ad, Diesel is encouraging women to take actions that would gain them the title of “having the balls.” I don’t think it’s too much to say that having balls is indicative of being male, or at least masculine. Masculine traits are preferable over feminine traits, even for women. In order to be more masculine and thus more respected, women should compensate for their — forgive me — lack of balls, by doing stupid things, like flashing their breasts at security cameras. Further, since having brains and being smart is not a desired attribute, women (and men) are encouraged not to pursue their intellectual development.
–Juliet Weintraub
