Keeping up with the tradition of sexism in advertising, Volkswagen India has come up with a video advertisement which strengthens the stereotype that women are lousy drivers. This 32 second advertisement very subtly suggests that the said car will provide women with the ‘confidence’Â that they need to drive without fearing for accidents.
What troubles me is how these advertisements are ‘normalising’ the culture of stereotypes around women and how we have stopped being bothered with them. Am I being too unreasonable when I ask why did they choose to show a daughter? Is it really just a father caring for his daughter? Is it not a selective bias? We often brush these aside as ‘harmless’ humour, the question is – ‘at whose expense’ and ‘why the need’? Why do men have to be projected in a superior light and women need to be patronized all the time? I am not being ‘unreasonably’ critical, as many would probably suggest. We have to be very critical of such attempts to create and strengthen patriarchal stereotypes that patronize women. The casual chuckle or grin, or the playful teasing that most men might indulge in after watching this is not totally ‘harmless‘ and we have to understand that. It perpetuates a culture of establishing male dominance, acts as an ego boost for men. It is precisely this notion of superiority and power that we need to dismantle. Watch the video for yourself and tell us how you feel.
Thanks to @apoorvtiwary for bringing this to our notice
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