Re: An Open Letter to Brinks Home Security

["Mark Leuck" <m..leuck@xxxxxxxxx>]

"Anonymous" <xor@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:b0e6a35f44e38d5cee1ba8f4ef60b22d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Dear Brinks Home Security,
>
> Everytime I watch TV, I see several of your ads in regular rotation.
Usually, your ads feature a single or married white female who is at home
alone, with her husband, or with her children. All of the sudden, panic
strikes! A burglar smashes the window, and the woman screams in terror!
>
> What I find troubling here is that any male would-be-victims (if any are
shown at all), aren't distressed, and sometimes, these male victims just
aren't shown at all. What message does this convey? To me, it says that
women are afraid of burglars and SHOULD CONTINUE TO BE AFRAID because it
will financially benefit Brinks when women are kept in perpetual fear. To
me, it says that Brinks believes that women are the only ones who are
victimized by violence, and that men are either above it, or they are
completely capable of single-handedly defending themselves and their
families. Lastly, Brinks is perpetuating the myth that women need male
protection, and that "getting a man" (boyfriend, husband, and then Brinks)
is the only way women can stay safe! Isn't this a bit of a sexist double
standard that Brinks is capitalizing on?
>
> My response to the spatial patriarchy women experience is this: Women are
victimized, hurt, and murdered MOST OFTEN by their live-in husbands and
boyfriends. They are also hurt often on dates with men they already know.
Being hurt, victimized, and murdered by A STRANGER actually happens much
less often that these acquaintance/husband/boyfriend attacks happen. Why
doesn't Brinks show this reality in their commercials? Because it wouldn't
financially benefit the "home security system" industry!
>
> Brinks feels the need to perpetuate the myth of "perpetual female
victimhood/male protection" because Brinks won't profit if they say the
truth, which would be something like this: "You are a female. You have a
husband, a live-in boyfriend, or you date men who you sometimes invite into
your home. You might as well not even bother getting a home security system
since you are sleeping with the most risky person every night." Nobody would
sign up for their service, I guess, if they said it that way.
>
> In conclusion, Brinks Home Security TV commercials are unrealistic,
sexist, and misleading. I'm sick of these ads!
>
> - A Dissatisfied Lady who Carries Pepperspray Instead

Talk about being fucking picky