Last night, I attended the grand opening of LifeBall, the biggest and most glamorous AIDS charity event in this part of Europe (www.lifeball.org). I was especially looking forward to see the fashion show by Agent Provocateur. But instead of leaving me feeling sexy, it left me with many thoughts: Is a lingerie show a good choice for a big public event? Is it ok to play with the aesthetics of S&M and pole dancing on an AIDS (which is, let’s not forget, a sexually transmittable disease) charity event? Is it ok to feed the audience female models wearing I-want-sex lingerie when we know that most of newly HIV infected Europeans are heterosexual women? I wasn’t sure what to think….

I was asked to write an article about sexism in advertisement. I am a bit scared of this article because I am not sure myself what to think about this topic. What is sexism in advertisement? Why is it bad? One thing I am afraid of is that we could, by trying to turn this world into a perfect politically correct place, create a sterile world with no joy. The same effect that the sexual harassment frenzy had on USA offices – I heard that male colleagues are now too scared to give compliments or show sympathy to the ladies. Not a place I would like to work in. And hey, if we wanted to be really correct we should ban advertisement all together – and instead of spending millions on advertising budgets and buying stuff we don’t need, spend the money to save lives and make this world a fairer place. If you ask me, I don’t think we should strip the world of advertisement off of pretty ladies (but do add some handsome gents as well, please). Art has always tried to fill the world with beauty. And (unfortunately) today, advertisement is the commercial art form par excellence. Images of beautiful people inspire us to look our best and to appreciate the other sex. The only concern I have is how natural and healthy their beauty is. As long as they don’t make me want to skip my dinner or consider the silicones again – great!

But then there is also the whole debate about the roles of women vs. men as presented in advertising. And the “sex sells” topic. Hmm, will be a fun article to write….