“Victoria’s Secret Apologizes for Fashion Show Gaffe”

Taken from: http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/the-exchange/victoria-secret-apologizes-fashion-show-gaffe-194400804.html

November 12, 2012

The annual Victoria’s Secret fashion show taped last Wednesday caused a minor stir last week — but not because of any sexy underwear on display.

Model Karlie Kloss (pictured at left) set off some controversy when she walked the runway wearing a Native American headdress (also called a war bonnet), a culturally insensitive faux pas that led the company to pull the footage of the offending outfit from its planned Dec. 4broadcast.

Several Native American groups called the lingerie company out for the blunder. Native Appropriations, a blog covering imagery of indigenous cultures, accused the retailer of “egregious cultural appropriation, stereotyping, and marginalizing of Native peoples.” Ruth Hopkins, a columnist for a Native American news site, wrote that “after years of patronage and loyalty to the Victoria’s Secret brand, I am repaid with the mean-spirited, disrespectful trivialization of my blood ancestry and the proud Native identity I work hard to instill in my children.” Putting a headdress on a white model is particularly offensive, she wrote, because among the Sioux tribe, war bonnets are exclusively worn by men, with each feather symbolizing an act of valor.

The $12 million show, which had musical performances by Rihanna, Justin Bieber and Bruno Mars, showcased plenty of not-meant-to-be worn ensembles, including circus-themed outfits and a $2.5 million “fantasy bra.” Last year the show averaged nearly 10.4 million viewers, up from 8.9 million in 2010, according to Horizon Media. (This year’s show was taped on Nov. 7 and is set to air Dec. 4.)

Kloss, who walked the catwalk in a leopard bikini, turquoise beaded jewelry, high-heeled moccasins, and a floor-length feathered headdress (with the word “Thanksgiving” projected on a screen behind her), issued an apology via her Twitter account on Sunday: “I am deeply sorry if what I wore during the VS Show offended anyone. I support VS’s decision to remove the outfit from the broadcast.”

Victoria’s Secret, owned by Limited Brands (LTD) also apologized on Twitter, and issued a statement: “We are sorry that the Native American headdress replica used in our recent fashion show has upset individuals. We sincerely apologize as we absolutely had no intention to offend anyone. Out of respect, we will not be including the outfit in any broadcast, marketing materials nor in any other way.”

Whether the controversy will put any kind of dent in Victoria’s Secret’s sales is questionable. By apologizing and pulling the offending clip from the show, the company addressed the goof quickly, so the damage will likely be minimal, says Brad Adgate, director of research at Horizon Media. With a presence in nearly every shopping mall in the country, it’s the biggest specialty retailer for intimate apparel. In 2011 Limited Brands sales sales increased $751 million to $10.364 billion, while Victoria’s Secret Stores sales rose $601 million to $6.121 billion.

The lingerie seller isn’t alone among big-name retailers accused of insensitivity. There was a fair amount of anger aimed at American Apparel, which sent an e-mail blast to customers during Hurricane Sandy for a 20% off sale for people living in the affected states, with a tagline that read “In case you’re bored during the storm.”

The headdress gaffe also — oddly — comes soon after the band No Doubt pulled its music video last week after getting complaints that it was insensitive to Native Americans. In the video for “Looking Hot,” band members dress up in stereotypical cowboys and Indians attire.

“Hollister Models Mock Asians At Opening Of South Korea Store”

Taken from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/09/hollister-model-twitter-south-korea-racist_n_1868342.html

September 9, 2012

It looks like Hollister has a new problem on its hands. And, no, it’s not another case of bed bugs or people getting lost in their dimly lit stores. This time, the mass retailer is facing racial discrimination accusations from their recently opened South Korea outpost.

For the grand opening of the first Hollister store in Korea in Yeouido, models dressed as lifeguards were flown in to take photos with customers — you know, the same drill we get stateside. Something we don’t see during the store openings here in the states? Models flipping their middle finger and mocking the customers. Lee Hyung-Judescribed the offensive actions on the English Korean news site koreaBANG:

“Images of models making ‘squinty eyes’ faces, flipping their middle finger to photographers, and mocking Asian pronunciation of English appeared on their Twitter accounts.”

Hollister had brought in four models for the marketing event that lasted from August 30 until September 2, according to koreaBANG. But, customers soon discovered that a couple of the models had posted offensive pictures to their Twitter accounts. One photo features a Hollister model standing in front of Gyeongbokkung Palace, squinting his eyes and making peace signs with his fingers. When one commenter remarked on how many Asians had liked the photo, he responded, “Hahahaha they ruhhvvvv itttt!”

To make matters worse, it was discovered that a third model had flashed his middle finger during the photo session at the store opening and went on to post his own mocking photos on Twitter, according to koreaBANG. Local papers have been covering the controversy, and Korean customers have started to threaten boycotts. Hollister was quick to respond with an apology on their Facebook page:

“In summary, the company terminated the couple of associates involved. On behalf of our more than 80,000 associates around the world who cherish our core values and our culture of diversity and inclusion, we sincerely apologize for the offense caused by these unauthorized, ill-considered actions.”

“GOP Senate candidate says he ‘misspoke’ with ‘legitimate rape’ comment”

“If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.” What a horrible and ignorant thing to say. A painful story to read in the morning. 

Taken from: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/gop-senate-candidate-says-misspoke-legitimate-rape-005818070.html

 

August 19, 2012

Sen. Claire McCaskill is probably having a pretty good Sunday. Her opponent in the Missouri Senate race, Republican Rep. Todd Akin, has spent most of the day backtracking after saying that victims of “legitimate rape” cannot biologically become pregnant and thus do not need access to legal abortions.

“First of all, from what I understand from doctors [pregnancy after rape] is really rare,” Akin told KTVI-TV in defense of his stand that rape victims should not be allowed to access abortions. “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”

Akin said that even if a rape victim does somehow become pregnant, “I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be on the rapist and not attacking the child.”

A parody account mocks Akin. (Twitter)

Akin’s comments sparked a big backlash on Twitter, where the hashtag “#legitimaterape” soon became one of the most popular terms on the site. A parody account bearing Akin’s headshot mocked the Congressman for his comments. McCaskill, meanwhile, also went on the attack. “As a woman and former prosecutor who handled hundreds of rape cases, I’m stunned by Rep. Akin’s comments,” she wrote.

Akin said in a statement that he “misspoke” in the interview. “In reviewing my off-the-cuff remarks, it’s clear that I misspoke in this interview and it does not reflect the deep empathy I hold for the thousands of women who are raped and abused every year,” he said. He later wrote on Twitter that “all of us understand that rape can result in pregnancy & I have great empathy for all victims. I regret misspeaking.” (Indeed, a study in the American Journal of Obstetricians and Gynecologists found that rapes result in more than 32,000 pregnancies each year.)

McCaskill’s campaign spent $2 million to run ads that boosted Akin as the “true conservative” during the three-way primary race for the Republican nod, which he won by six percentage points. McCaskill considered him the weakest potential challenger and wanted him to win the primary, the New York Times reported. The Democratic senator is trailing Akin by about 8 points in the polls, according to TPM’s Polltracker.

“Voula Papachristou Expelled From Olympics: Greece Boots Track Star Over Racist Twitter Message”

Taken from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/25/voula-papachristou-greek-olympic-racist-tweet_n_1701410.html

July 25, 2012

Voula Papachristou has been expelled from the Greek Olympic Team for a racist twitter comment, according to the Associated Press.

The website Keep Talking Greece translated the offensive tweet by Papachristou (@papaxristoutj):

“With so many Africans in Greece… At least the West Nile mosquitoes will eat home made food!!!”

Papachristou tweeted an apology in English on Wednesday:

I would like to express my heartfelt apologies for the unfortunate and tasteless joke I published on my personal Twitter account. I am very sorry and ashamed for the negative responses I triggered, since I never wanted to offend anyone, or to encroach human rights.My dream is connected to the Olympic Games and I could not possibly participate if I did not respect their values. Therefore, I could never believe in discrimination between human beings and races.

I would like to apologize to all my friends and fellow athletes, who I may have insulted or shamed, the National Team, as well as the people and companies who support my athletic career. Finally, I would like to apologize to my coach and my family.

The Greek Olympic Committee released a statement, confirming the expulsion of the track and field athlete who had been set to compete in the triple jump. Per the BBC, the committee stated that Papachristou has been “placed outside the Olympic team for statements contrary to the values and ideas of the Olympic movement.”

“Texas A&M Students Form Human Wall To Block Westboro Baptist Church Protestors From Soldier Roy Tisdale’s Funeral”

This story definitely made our day in light of the tragic shootings in Aurora, Colorado. The students at Texas A&M prove that students can really make a difference. May they continue to be incredible upstanders.

Taken from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/06/texas-am-students_n_1653002.html

July 17, 2012

Hundreds of Texas A&M students gathered this week to form a human wall around the funeral service of a soldier to protect his family from Westboro Baptist Church protesters, KBTX.com reports.

Texas A&M alum Lt. Col. Roy Tisdale died on June 28 during a safety briefing at Fort Bragg, N.C. Tisdale was killed by another soldier who then fatally shot himself. Tisdale had served in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

In the days after the soldier’s death, word spread that Westboro Baptist Church members were planning to protest Tisdale’s funeral. Described as a “homophobic and anti-Semitic hate group” by the Anti-Defamation League, Westboro Baptist Church regularly stages protests around the country. According to KBTX.com, the group, which is based in Kansas, frequently targets military funerals because of “a belief that God punishes soldiers because of America’s tolerance of gays.”

When Ryan Slezia, a former Texas A&M student, heard of the group’s plans, he hatched a plot to foil their efforts. ”In response to their signs of hate, we will wear maroon. In response to their mob anger, we will form a line, arm in arm. This is a silent vigil. A manifestation of our solidarity,” he wrote on Facebook, inviting others to join him in a peaceful protest.

On Thursday, as Tisdale’s funeral was held at the Central Baptist Church in College Station, Tex., hundreds of students and alumni responded to Slezia’s invation, linking arms to create a human barricade surrounding the church’s entrance.

Most wore maroon — A&M’s school color. One participant tweeted that over 650 people showed up, creating a formidable “maroon wall.” “We are standing here quietly. We are here for the family,” Lilly McAlister, a Texas A&M student, told KBTX.com. ”We are positioned with our backs to them. Everyone has been told there’s no chanting, no singing, there’s no yelling anything back.”

The hundreds gathered were prepared for a potentially aggressive confrontation, but the protestors from Westboro Baptist Church never showed up.

One participant tweeted:

Erica Peaslee@erica_peaslee

#MaroonWall at Central Baptist. No sign of Westboro …. hope they aren’t too intimidated. pic.twitter.com/LCDrTrH1

Tisdale’s body was peacefully laid to rest after the funeral at the Aggie Field of Honor — a cemetery for Texas A&M students and staff.

“Ashton Kutcher’s Popchips Ad Pulled After Racist Outcry”

Taken from: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2012/05/ashton-kutchers-popchips-ad-pulled-after-racist-outcry/

May 3, 2012

Perhaps brownface and offensive accents aren’t the best way to sell potato chips. Earlier today, an advertisement for Popchips starring Ashton Kutcher as an “Indian” man looking for love was taken down following an online outcry. While Popchips appears to have removed the ad from their Facebook page and YouTube channel, unofficial versions can still be seen.

In the ad, the “Two and a Half Men” star plays a Bollywood producer named Raj. He talks about his dating virtues in a sing-song accent with his face painted brown. Popchips, a potato chip snack, are not mentioned at any point. Three related ads feature Kutcher playing a diva, a hippie, and a biker.

Indian-Americans quickly bashed the ad and Kutcher, who serves as the brand’s “president of pop culture” and developed the $1.5 million ad campaign with Popchips’ CEO, the ad agency Zambezi, and Alison Brod PR.

On his blog, tech entrepreneur Anil Dash called the ad “a hackneyed, unfunny advertisement featuring Kutcher in brownface talking about his romantic options, with the entire punchline being that he’s doing it in a fake-Indian outfit and voice. That’s it, there’s seriously no other gag.”

He added, “if you find yourself putting brown makeup on a white person in 2012 so they can do a bad ‘funny’ accent in order to sell potato chips, you are on the wrong course. Make some different decisions.”

The indie hip-hop band Das Racist called out to Kutcher’s Twitter handle: “Hey @aplusk, what’s with the racist brownface video you talentless, pretending to care about sex trafficking piece of s**t?”

Dash later blogged that Popchips CEO Keith Belling offered him a “sincere and contrite” apology over the phone.

As for an official response to the outcry, a Popchips representative told ABCNews.com, “The new popchips worldwide dating parody featuring four characters was created to provoke a few laughs and was never intended to stereotype or offend anyone. At popchips we embrace all types of shapes, flavors and colors, and appreciate all snackers, no matter their race or ethnicity. We hope people can enjoy this in the spirit it was intended.”

Belling also apologized on the company’s blog, writing “i take full responsibility and apologize to anyone we offended.”

Kutcher has yet to tweet about or otherwise comment on the controversy

“Racist Hunger Games Fans Are Very Disappointed”

Hunger Games fever has taken over the world, and I guess I should not be surprised of the thoughts and sentiments expressed in the following article, but reading statements like “Kk, call me racist but when i found out rue was black her death wasn’t as sad,” just made me so upset. 

Taken from: http://jezebel.com/5896408/racist-hunger-games-fans-dont-care-how-much-money-the-movie-made

March 26, 2012

The good news? The Hunger Games made $155 million at the box office its opening weekend, making it the third-best debut in North American box office history. The bad news, however, reflects a level of idiocy that we weren’t really expecting.

As CNN reports, “Only Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 and The Dark Knight — both sequels, with the strength of a franchise behind each — recorded bigger opening weekends.” Plus, unlike those two flicks, Hunger Games was written by a woman and stars a woman — a true lady-centric blockbuster franchise.

Now as you may know, Katniss, the main character in the book and film, was described as having “straight black hair” and “olive skin.” It’s a post-apocalyptic world, so she could be a mix of things, but some pictured a Native American. Blonde-haired, blue-eyed Jennifer Lawrence won the part and dyed her hair dark.

But when it came to the casting of Rue, Thresh, and Cinna, many audience members did not understand why there were black actors playing those parts. Cinna’s skin is not discussed in the book, so truthfully, though Lenny Kravitz was cast, a white, Asian or Latino actor could have played the part.

But. On page 45 of Suzanne Collins’s book, Katniss sees Rue for the first time:

…And most hauntingly, a twelve-year-old girl from District 11. She has dark brown skin and eyes, but other than that’s she’s very like Prim in size and demeanor…

Later, she sees Thresh:

The boy tribute from District 11, Thresh, has the same dark skin as Rue, but the resemblance stops there. He’s one of the giants, probably six and half feet tall and built like an ox.

Dark skin. That is what the novelist, the creator of the series, specified. But there were plenty of audience members who were “shocked,” or confused, or just plain angry.

The tumblr Hunger Games Tweets has collected a smattering of Twitter postings, with the goal of exposing “Hunger Games fans on Twitter who dare to call themselves fans yet don’t know a damn thing about the books.” What people are saying is disappointing, sad, stomach-churning, and just plain racist.

This young woman considered the movie “ruined.”

This girl wants to know why they “made all the good characters black.” Good people cannot possibly be black. Black people are villainous. Duh.

“Stick to the book dude.” Read the book again, carefully this time, dude.

At least this person had the good sense to hate himself.

The actress Amandla Stenberg literally looks like a tiny angel, but this movie-goer equates blonde with innocence. A little black girl is not automatically innocent, no. Only a little white girl. Actually, only a blonde.

The posts go on and on and on. It’s not just a couple of tweets, it’s not just a coincidence. There’s an underlying rage, coming out as overt prejudice and plain old racism. Sternberg is called a “black bitch,” a “nigger” and one person writes that though he pictured Rue with “darker skin,” he “didn’t really take it all the way to black.” It’s as if that is the worst possible thing a person could be. As the person who runs the tumblr writes:

Here’s what scares me…

All these… people… read the Hunger Games. Clearly, they all fell in love with and cared about Rue. Though what they really fell in love with was an image of Rue that they’d created in their minds. A girl that they knew they could love and adore and mourn at the thought of knowing that she’s been brutally killed.

And then the casting is revealed (or they go see the movie) and they’re shocked to see that Rue is black. Now… this is so much more than, “Oh, she’s bigger than I thought”. The reactions are all based on feelings of disgust.

These people are MAD that the girl that they cried over while reading the book was “some black girl” all along. So now they’re angry. Wasted tears, wasted emotions. It’s sad to think that had they known that she was black all along, there would have been [no] sorrow or sadness over her death.

There are MAJOR TIE-INS to these reactions and the injustices that we see around the world today. I don’t even need to spell it out because I know that you’re all a smart bunch.

This is a BIG problem. Think of all the murdered children. Think of all the missing children that get NO SCREEN TIME on the news.

It is NOT a coincidence.

THIS is the purpose of my blog… and to also point out shitty reading comprehension. LOL

“‘Don’t Re-Nig in 2012′: Maker of Racist Anti-Obama Sticker Shuts Down Site”

Taken from: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/03/dont-re-nig-in-2012-maker-of-racist-anti-obama-sticker-shuts-down-site/

March 16, 2012

A photograph of a bumper sticker that features a racist play on words lit up Facebook, Twitter and the blogosphere Thursday, adding to what is already shaping up to be one of the most vicious and negative presidential races in history.

The sticker reads “Don’t Re-Nig In 2012″ and sits above a smaller text that reads: “Stop repeat offenders. Don’t re-elect Obama!”

The design seems to have originated from a site called Stumpy’s Stickers, which has since been dismantled. The site featured similar stickers for sale, including a picture of an ape that reads, “Obama 2012″; a drawing of the Confederate flag with the message “If this flag has offended you, then it made my day!”; and another that features members of the Ku Klux Klan and reads, “The Original Boys In The Hood.”

ABC tried to access the website Friday morning, but the email address has been suspended, and the person(s) responsible for the website has not been identified.

The photograph went viral when it was posted to Facebook on Thursday afternoon.

“Chardon High School Shooting: One Dead, Four Injured”

Taken from: http://gma.yahoo.com/chardon-high-school-shooting-one-dead-four-injured-140607604–abc-news.html

February 27, 2012

One student has died following a shooting this morning at Chardon High School in Ohio. Four others were injured and the shooter is in custody.

“There is one deceased student,” Chardon Police Chief Tim McKenna said at a news conference. “That’s the sad news for all of us today.”

Police will not yet identify the gunman, saying only that he has not yet been charged and that he is a juvenile.

The gunman opened fire with a handgun just before 8 a.m. in the school cafeteria where students were eating breakfast, authorities and witnesses said.

The shooter was chased out of the building by a teacher and later turned himself in to a passerby, authorities said. Police have not yet confirmed whether the gunman was a student at the school, but junior Heather Ziska told the Associated Press she just a few feet away when he opened fire and she recognized the shooter as a fellow student.

The suspect is in custody at Geauga County Safety Center, according to ABC News’ Cleveland affiliate WEWS.

“Our prayers go out to the five victims and their families,” a choked up School Superintendent Jospeh Bergant said at news conference. “It’s a horrible tragedy.”

Geauga County Sheriff Daniel McClelland praised the reaction to the shooting. ”A prompt entry was made into the school. They went into the school and located the victims. It became readily apparent that the shooter had fled already,” McClelland said. “The individual was apprehended some distance from the school and had fled on foot.”

The officer said police created a security perimeter to make sure the gunman could not return and a search, including a K-9 unit, was launched for the suspect.

Two students were taken by ambulance to Hillcrest Hospital and three were taken by helicopter to MetroHealth Hospital, according to WEWS.

Parent Teresa Hunt told WEWS that she was texting with her daughter during the lockdown and her daughter said she heard five shots fired in the cafeteria about 7:30 a.m. Her daughter texted that students were scared and that four people had been shot.

Chardon student Evan Erasmus told WEWS that a student had tweeted that he was going to bring a gun to school, but that no one took him seriously.

The Chardon Fire Department was called to the school at about 7:45 a.m. in response to a report of “several people shot,” according to Inspector William Crowley of the Chardon Fire Department.

Multiple law enforcement agencies, including a SWAT team, rushed to the school.

The superintendent immediately canceled classes at all schools in the district. Students who were still on school buses were being dropped back off at their homes and parents were called to pick up their children that were already at school. The Chardon School District sent a voicemail to parents that schools are closed and high school students are being moved to the middle school, according to WEWS.

Parents received the following message: ”As of 9:00 AM the alleged sole CHS gunman is in custody and Chardon High School students are being moved by safety forces to Maple Elementary. Parents or legal guardians can pick up their students up any time. Chardon Middle School students are also being released to parents.”

Ohio Gov. John Kasich tweeted around 9:30 a.m., “Pls pray for wounded Chardon HS students, their families, and their community; appears things under control now.”

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has eight agents on their way to the scene and they are expected to trace the firearm.

Chardon is a village in Geauga County, about 35 miles east of Cleveland, Ohio.

“Oscar’s Racist Black Actress Joke: Are You Serious?”

Taken from: http://news.moviefone.com/kim-kane/oscars-billy-crystal-racist-joke_b_1304234.html

February 27, 2012

I had to literally rewind my tivo during the 84th Annual Academy Awards to confirm Billy Crystal’s offensive joke about black women in Hollywood. Post Octavia Spencer’s Supporting Actress win for The Help, the Oscar host returned from commercial break:

I loved that movie (The Help)… when I saw it, I wanted to hug the first black woman that I saw. Which from Beverly Hills is about a 45 minute drive.

Tweeters responded:

@moviefone: Billy Crystal: Race and old jokes. Yep, this is what you wanted, Hollywood.

@sonshinewiley: Billy crystals comment was both offensive and prejudiced regarding black women in Hollywood! #NoBueno #Oscars

@VanObserver: Billy Crystal makes a really weird #racist joke after Octavia Spencer’s win for The Help.

@mytitleguy: RT @patstagepage: RT @MadeFromClay: Yo… did anyone hear that terribly racist joke by Billy Crystal a few minutes ago? yep – the world did.

@jimmymcarthur: A fine way to set the tone Billy Crystal. Follow up a win for The Help with an inappropriate racist joke. #oscars

@Khalv612: Billy Crystal is not funny!!! The racist joke was just uncalled for?!

@thewanderingjew: Will Billy Crystal apologize for the racist joke? #oscars

@JohnTrowbridge: Billy Crystal will kill this buzz with a slightly racist joke #oscars

@Avemarie80: Me too @suzieq23: Was that a racist joke Billy Crystal gave after that great win…… Ughhhhhhh”. I thought so too!! Awful.”

How were Oscar writers comfortable enough to write a joke like that? A host has a script — and especially in the case of a big awards show like the Oscars — there are several “copy check points.” Crystal ultimately delivered (he could have refused), but I believe the scriptwriters understood how highly inappropriate that joke would be. But they just didn’t care enough to leave it out, and every message has meaning.

It bothers me that none of the writers stopped to think about the feelings of the other black actors and actresses in the room. It bothers me that some in the audience were so de-sensitized that they laughed out loud. It bothers me that no one considered the sensitivity of the situation — Octavia Spencer had just won an Academy Award for playing a maid, a role she’s defended to those who feel blacks are rewarded with Oscar only when their character is subservient/enforces a stereotype onscreen. It bothers me that no one will be accountable for writing such insensitive copy. It bothers me to think about struggling black actors and actresses who fall in love with an industry that lets them down. It bothers me that I’m writing this blog in 2012… that society is still recovering from the damage done by bigots who advocated racial segregation. It bothers me that the Academy would go so far as to emphasize the sentiment that black women are invisible in Hollywood, as far as they’re concerned.

While Oscar writers found humor in all this, I didn’t get the joke.

“Twitter Talks Back to Sexist Super Bowl Ads”

Taken from: http://motherjones.com/mixed-media/2012/02/super-bowl-2012-ads-sexist-not-buying-it

February 6, 2012

The Super Bowl is more than a game—it’s a chance to see some of the most expensive, over-hyped, and, yes, sexist commercials on television. But not everyone cheers when bikini-clad women fawn over nerdy office workers. This year, when advertisers used stereotypes and sex to hawk cars, flowers, and candy, viewers came up with a Twitter hashtag to broadcast their disgust:#NotBuyingIt.

According to Miss Representation, the organization that launched the hashtag, women make up about half of the Super Bowl’s audience and they’re more likely than men to tune in for the ads, rather than the game. Miss Representation notes that while they wield more household purchasing power than their male partners, 90 percent of women think advertisers don’t understand them. Super Bowl ads do an especially good job of missing the point by acting as though dudes are the only ones watching.

Thankfully, Twitter provides a place to talk back. Jenn Pozner, founder and executive director of Women In Media & News and author of Reality Bites Back: The Troubling Truth About Guilty Pleasure TV, says social media has “really changed the game” when it comes to challenging sexist advertising. “Last night, feminist media critics with a combined reach of literally hundreds of thousands replaced ‘mindless entertainment’ with active sharing of critical feedback and commentary,” she told me.

Shelby Knox, women’s rights organizer at Change.org, urged pissed-off viewers to create anonline petition to take it beyond the Twitter-verse. “If enough voices object to an ad, then its makers will get the message that it’s not welcome on TV and it didn’t resonate with consumers,” she wrote on the site. The five ads below managed to outrage a lot of tweeps who are totally #NotBuyingIt.

Check out the videos and the twitter responses here.

“Papa John’s Apologizes For Racial Slur Customer’s Receipt Refers To Her As ‘Lady Chinky Eyes’”

Taken from: http://www.wsoctv.com/news/30162103/detail.html

January 8, 2012

Papa John’s Pizza fired a cashier at one of its New York restaurants and apologized to an Asian-American customer for a receipt that identified her as “lady chinky eyes.”

“We were extremely concerned to learn of the receipt issued in New York,” the company said in a statement posted on its Facebook page Saturday.

Minhee Cho, a communications manager at non-profit investigative journalism group ProPublica, posted a photo of the receipt on her Twitter account Saturday morning and by the afternoon it was picked up by a local newspaper. Along with the receipt, Cho tweeted “just FYI my name isn’t ‘lady chinky eyes.’” The receipt had been viewed online almost 200,000 times by Sunday afternoon, according to the counter on the Twitpic page.

Cho did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment, but her boss did. ”This blew up far beyond Minhee’s expectations,” ProPublica spokesman Mike Webb said in an e-mail. “She has reporters coming to her apartment and that’s annoying. So she wants it to blow over and she has nothing more to say.”

Cho was a customer Friday night at the Papa John’s on Broadway in Manhattan’s Hamilton Heights neighborhood, according to the receipt.

“This act goes against our company values, and we’ve confirmed with the franchisee that this matter was addressed immediately and that the employee is being terminated,” the pizza company said. “We are truly sorry for this customer’s experience.”

“Mom faults authorities in suicide of daughter who tweeted about abuse”

Taken from: http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/15/us/texas-teen-suicide/index.html?hpt=ju_c1

November 16, 2011

The mother of a Texas teen who killed herself after reportedly sending more than 140 tweets detailing years of sexual abuse spoke out on Tuesday, faulting law enforcement for failing her daughter.

Before 18-year-old Ashley Billasano took her life last week, she poured her heart out on Twitter. She reportedly sent 144 messages in six hours, touching on allegations of sexual abuse, the pain it caused and her long struggle for justice. According to one tweet, the final straw for Billasano was a phone call telling her it was unlikely her alleged abuser would ever be prosecuted, according to the Houston Chronicle.

By Tuesday, Billasano’s Twitter messages had been removed. ”She gave up. She felt like nothing was ever going to happen, nobody was ever going to believe her,” Billasano’s mother, Tiffany Ruiz Leskinen, told CNN’s Brooke Baldwin. ”It was almost as if they were treating her like she was the one under investigation instead of her being the victim. She felt like they were really insensitive to what had gone on,” she said, referring to officials working the case. “They say that they did what they could to protect her, but they let her back into the home where she was abused.” Billasano was not living with her mother at the time of her death.

However, Dayna Blazey, assistant district attorney at the Travis County district attorney’s office, defended authorities’ handling of the investigation. She told CNN’s Baldwin that she was not aware of anyone in her jurisdiction telling Billasano a criminal case was not being pursued. ”The status of the case is that it’s still open; it’s still pending. At this point, what we have to do is we have to go back and we have to look at the evidence that we have in this case, in light of knowing that Ashley is not going to be available to testify,” Blazey said. “Our hearts go out to Ashley and her family.”

Similarly, Texas Child and Protective Services said that it was looking into Billasano’s case. ”Earlier this year, Child Protective Services (CPS) conducted a thorough, five-month investigation, interviewing 11 individuals who we believed might have had relevant information to share with us. As a result of that investigation, we were unable to confirm that abuse had occurred,” spokesman Patrick Crimmins said in a statement. ”However, because of Ashley’s death, we are taking a second look at the case and our focus will be to ensure that any remaining children in the household are free from abuse,” he said, confirming that her death was a suicide.

On Tuesday, Billasano’s mother described her daughter as beautiful, outgoing and loving. ”She was really accepting and driven. She knew what she wanted out of life,” said Ruiz Leskinen. She said her daughter had dealt with bullying and bulimia and was sexually abused for years by a man who “was supposed to be the very one to protect her.” Before her torrent of tweets, Billasano had struggled to talk about the abuse, her mother said, in part because she feared no one would believe her.

Shortly before killing herself, Billasano addressed a message to anyone paying attention to her Twitter account, according to the Houston Chronicle. ”That’s the story of how I came to be who I am,” she wrote, the paper reported. “Well, the condensed version. I’d love to hear what you have to say. But I won’t be around.”