Third-party advertising material has been included on the shEqual website to educate the advertising industry and the public about the harmful impacts of certain types of gender portrayals in advertising, in particular: under-representation of women in advertising in general, and women of diverse backgrounds in particular; use of gender stereotypes; and sexualisation and objectification of women.
Women’s Health Victoria acknowledges that copyright in third-party advertising material shown on this website remains the property of the copyright holder. In most cases this will be the brand owner. Women’s Health Victoria has made every effort to acknowledge copyright owners and include attributions where possible.
The interactive feature on the Get Real page is intended to mimic the effect of being surrounded by sexualised and stereotyped advertising in our daily lives, in order to demonstrate the cumulative impact of viewing this kind of advertising. While each individual ad may not – on its own – have a significant impact on women’s health and wellbeing and attitudes towards women, each ad needs to be considered in the context of the broader advertising landscape, and the culture of gender inequality and violence against women in which it is viewed and interpreted. Australia’s advertising watchdog, Ad Standards, does not take into account the cumulative impact of sexist advertising when deciding on complaints about individual ads.
To read more about shEqual’s mission, visit About us.
To read WHV’s research into the impacts of sexist advertising, click here.
Refer to our Copyright policy for more information.
Third-party advertising material included in the Get Real interactive feature
Miracle Ham, Aldi, 2019
Rihanna Rogue Fragrance, Parlux Fragrances, 2014
Smokin’, Jagger and Stone, 2020
Now Open, American Apparel, 2012
Olympea & Invictus Aqua, Paco Rabanne, 2015
Website screenshot, Billabong, 2017
Valentine’s Day, Natan, 2014
Bodyguard, Honey Birdette, 2019
Get in my pants, General Pants Co, 2014
Into Rubber, UltraTune, 2018
Early Learning Centre cleaning toys, Mothercare, 2017
Mariner Watches, 2019
Victoria Beckham, 2018
Clorox, no date
Burberry Body Fragrance, Burberry, 2011
Cara Delevingne, Mulberry, 2014
Heat Dryer, LG, 2020
Look like a girl, Bic, 2015
Say no to sugar, V Energy, 2014
Julianne Moore, Bulgari, 2015
Mothers’ Day, Mr Clean, 2011
‘The strangler’, Duncan Quinn, 2008
Hand sanitiser, Dettol, 2019
ScrubnWipe, Pine O Cleen, 2012