Is This Dress Sexist?
Or, rather, is the marketing of the frock based on sexist stereotypes? It’s sold as a “get-out-of-jail-free card” for women who need forgiveness. (Image courtesy of Réalisation Par)
Have you ever, as an adult, tried to talk yourself out of a punishment? Maybe it was a speeding ticket or even that time you tried to sneak into a movie theater without paying, but truth is, both men and women may attempt it from time to time. So when an Australian dress company began promoting a dress made specifically for helping women use their sexuality to get out of trouble, we were left scratching our head.
The dress, created by Réalisation Par and called “The Diane-Red Star,” is described as a “get out of jail free” card because “men love sundresses.” According to the listing, the Diane dress is every woman’s solution for making men turn a blind eye to basically anything you do to make them angry. Here’s the original listing, on the company’s website:
Image courtesy of Réalisation Par
“This is the dress that makes them forget why they were even mad at you in the first place and the only thing that really matters is: If you’re bad at being good, you better be damn good at getting out of it. Trust us. You’re welcome,” it reads.
The advertisement did mention that “we women dress for ourselves and ourselves only,” but taking the rest of the wording into consideration, it’s pretty clear that it just fortifies sexist conceptions that women have fought so long to diminish. While the intentions behind the listing may have been innocent and even humor-based, it’s definitely sending the wrong message to both women and men everywhere.
As writer Kat George noted in Oxygen, "To be a woman in a public space is a provocative act in itself, without any of those hyper-sexualized accoutrements — ask any woman who has even been catcalled, stalked or sexually assaulted just for being a woman in the wild.” But, she added, “By selling the idea that women must be consciously provocative in a very specific sense designed to satiate male desire is just another way of distracting us from the radical, dangerous, revolutionary act of simply being female.“ According to Kat, every time we buy a Diane dress, or something that promotes similar stereotypes, we just reinforce this negative mindset.
Bella Hadid didn’t seem deterred by the dress’s marketing angle when she was seen in it in Beverly Hills in May. (Photo: AKM-GSI)
Although some people seem perfectly happy with the dress — including Bella Hadid, who was seen sporting it on the streets of Beverly Hills last month. We don’t know if Bella saw the marketing messaging, but she seems to be loving the flowing summertime frock.
Whether or not you believe this dress listing is sexist or just a funny way to promote fashion, it’s safe to say it’s not how women should be perceived in the real world. So take it with a grain of salt, people. OK?
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