U.K. pulls sexist “Stay Home” ad
“Stay Home. Save Lives”. An advert that went viral on social media and was withdrawn a few hours later after a huge backlash.
The British government has withdrawn today a sexist ad urging people to stay at home during the COVID pandemic, after it was criticized for stereotyping women and gender roles.
The advert (above) features four illustrations; in three of them, women are depicted cleaning the house and looking after children, while the only man featured is lounging on a couch.
The infographic was withdrawn, but only after it had gone viral on social media and received criticism for being “sexist”. Critics said the ad was “heteronormative”, “reinforces the view that it is a woman’s job to homeschool, clean, do the childcare” and looks “like a scene from the 1950s”.
The government said the ad did not reflect its view on women. “It has been withdrawn”, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman Jamie Davies told reporters in London on Thursday. “It does not reflect the government’s view on women”, he added.
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