Nothing Good Good About This
This week two prominent brands in the golfing world released an advertisement to market their new driver club. Although the ad has been taken down and half-hearted apologies have been made, the effects are still lingering. To sell a golf club, the ad depicted violence against women as a marketing ploy and a sales pitch. Their true message is that violence against women is justified for something as inconsequential as touching his golf club.
Let me be clear – this behavior is never okay, and we as a society should have zero tolerance for these behaviors and attitudes. Regardless of whether you are a golfer or not, we should all be offended that of the thousands of dollars invested, countless hours spent and multiple eyes reviewing this ad that physical violence was the best possible storytelling path they could have taken to sell a golf club. Violence against women is never a joke, whether in an advertisement or in real life.
Some explain this ad – these actions – as nothing serious or that the ad was clearly meant to be taken as a joke. It was not! What is not a joke is that one in three women in Texas will experience abuse in her lifetime. Right now, you may know someone who lives with the trauma of the physical abuse they endure behind closed doors. You may know firsthand that this is no laughing matter.
Some may also explain that not all men are abusive and it is unfair to assume so just based off this ad. While we agree that not all men are physically violent, the ad highlights another dangerous trend - the violence of silence. Besides the man pushing the woman down, in the background we also see four men watching from afar - doing or saying absolutely nothing. They stood idly by as the perpetrator domineered over her and demanded compliance. To this explanation, we want to reiterate a popular phrase: “the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
At Genesis, we see women every day that have been yelled at, pushed, slapped and punched. We encourage men and women to speak out, hold abusers accountable, and be a part of efforts to end violence against women.
Making light of violence perpetuates the behaviors that make it prevalent in our society today. Words, videos, ad campaigns matter. Taking these behaviors lightly normalizes them in our society. We are teaching young men that this behavior is ok and teaching young girls that this behavior is somehow to be tolerated. In abusive relationships, we know that abusive behaviors escalate, often ending in lethality. Our culture cannot follow that same trajectory of escalation when it comes to normalizing harmful behaviors.
We must hold brands to the standard of accountability that we would set for ourselves or our children. We all have the power of the vote and the power of the purse and we should demand better from the products we endorse and purchase. Without accountability from brands who negligently hold up this narrative, or a societal reckoning where we declare abuse is not to be made light of, we are complicit in the continuation of violence.
We encourage you to say or do something:
Men: It is critical that you join the mission to end domestic violence and hold other men in your circles of influence accountable when dangerous rhetorics like this ad are shared on the golf course or in any other setting. It is for this very reason that we created Genesis HeRO’s (He Respects Others), an auxiliary group for men to be a part of the movement.
Let’s all ask ourselves: Would this ad be appropriate if it were my mom, my daughter, sister, aunt, etc. who was the butt of a joke rooted in physical violence? If you condone this behavior when it’s done in open view, like a golf course, would you also condone it when it’s done to the women in your lives behind closed doors?
If this ad makes you angry: There are ways that you can channel that frustration into real change. Before choosing to support these products and companies, consider taking that approximate $650-$700 cost of the club and donate it to Genesis. A donation of that caliber to Genesis means that a woman and her children have a safe place to stay at our shelter tonight. She would have warm food and clothing, and access to life-saving services that help her heal from abuse at no cost to her.
If you are a survivor: Please know that there are people and places like Genesis who do not view abuse as something to joke about, and that help is available to you. If you or someone you know is in an abusive relationship call or text our 24-hour helpline at 214.946.HELP (4357).
This post was written by Genesis Chief Executive Officer, Jan Langbein.