Portrayals of Lesbians in Advertising

The Role of Lesploitation in Commercials

Sex sells. Everyone knows it. The trend has always been that an attractive, scantily clad woman and a bit of suggestive copy can sell anything. Beers, cars, vitamins, sunglasses, sneakers, cell phones - women have been reduced to objects to hock just about anything.

But the latest "it's hot because it's taboo!" trend in advertising is the girl-on-girl kiss. Some say it's a step forward - when society glamorizes same-sex behavior, it provides visibility to lesbians, or at least lesbian experimentation. More visibility leads to more acceptance.  

On the other hand, some say all this lesploitation is damaging to society's perceptions of lesbians. When people see girls kissing each other to attract male attention, it reinforces unpleasant stereotypes about lesbians - i.e. that no woman is really satisfied in a relationship with a woman, and just "hasn't met the right man yet."

The latest example of this phenomenon is the newest French Connection UK (FCUK) "Fashion Vs. Style" advertising campaign. In the commercial, two women, one labeled "fashion," one labeled "style," have a sexualized, special-effects-filled catfight. Classical music plays while Fashion and Style tear off each others' clothes and show off kicks and gymnastics. One woman thrusts her opponent's face into her breasts. One woman pins the other to a metal fence and kisses her, just before a retaliatory head-butt.

The ad has apparently sparked quite a controversy, partially because of the female-female sexuality, partially because of the implied link between violence and sexuality.

According to the UK's Sunday Mirror, the commercial generated more than 100 complaints after just one showing. Advertising standards chiefs have been asked to decide whether the ad is too extreme to be seen on television. British TV has already restricted the ad show that it can only be shown after 9pm. They describe the commercial as "the raunchiest ad ever shown on British TV."