If you’re looking for forward thinking people who don’t use ridiculously misogynist advertising, perhaps a brand of deodorant which is used primarily by teenaged boys isn’t the best place to find it. Unfortunate though that is. Though the latest gimmick of the Axe deodorant brand (Lynx in the UK and, apparently, Australia) seems to take the proverbial cake.
It makes sense to cash in on the fact that XCOR are developing a suborbital spaceplane coincidentally called the Lynx, and it makes sense to make a competition to give a lucky winner the chance to ride one high up into Earth’s thermosphere. What’s not ok about this is the fact that, as might be disappointingly expected, the competition seems to be aimed exclusively towards men. Because, you know. It’s not like there are any female astronauts, are there? Yes, that was sarcasm.*
Hey Lynx/Apollo - women are astronauts too. Don't bring sexism into space ow.ly/hdFsW #inspace (plus RT)
—
Kate AG (@SpaceKate) January 29, 2013
Understandably, quite a few people I follow on both Twitter and Tumblr were rather dismayed by this. However, the internet can sometimes be rather a marvellous place…
Meet Molly Pfaff. Because even though the advertising is all about finding brave “men” and has catchlines like “leave a man, come back a hero” the competition is indeed open to anyone, gender notwithstanding. Since entering, her tumblr post has accrued over 13000 notes, winning her over 11000 votes in the competition. She’s currently ranked at number 3.
After all the nonsense about them trying to “recruit a few brave men”, would you like it if the winner of this competition was, in fact, not a man at all? Because I think it would be beautifully poetic. If you agree, then vote for her here!
While you’re at it, consider voting for Justine Ezarik, presently ranked at number 4, too.
Honestly, in a world where those of us with any sense are trying to break the shackles of this patriarchal system which rules us, reinforcing the idea that certain occupations are “for men” are actually very harmful. Let’s all keep sexism out of space, shall we?
*I assure you, it’s impossible for you to read that sentence with as much sarcasm as I’d like to convey.
I almost never leave comments, however I browsed a great deal of responses on
Sexism does not belong in space | Supernova Condensate.
I actually do have 2 questions for you if you do not mind.
Is it only me or do some of the responses come across like they are written by brain dead people?
:-P And, if you are posting on other online social sites, I
would like to keep up with everything fresh you have to post.
Could you make a list of all of all your shared sites like your linkedin profile, Facebook
page or twitter feed?
Hi everyone….Molly is one of the student workers where I work, and she would be an excellent choice for this opportunity.
Vote for iJustine, https://www2.axeapollo.com/en_US/29044/justine-ezarik
I tried but pparently you can only vote through Facebook and I don’t have one. Instead I’ll boost the signal.
I just voted for her. Thanks for the heads up!