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[DRAFT] The Scent of Sexism

A place to spoil daily issues for those who haven't had them yet, snigger at typos, and discuss ideas for new ones.
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San Laurenz
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[DRAFT] The Scent of Sexism

Postby San Laurenz » Tue Nov 23, 2021 4:52 pm

This is my first time making an issue. Hope y'all like it!

Description: Recently, personal products giant Duolever has been under fire for marketing its Pickaxe line of deodorants, body washes, and shampoos for men with TV and poster ads with scantily clad women swooning over a masculine model covered in Pickaxe. Several individuals stand in your office with comments on the issue.

Option 1: "This simply cannot stand!" says [@RANDOMFEMALENAME], leader of the feminist activist group Women Hating Injustices, No Exceptions. "This is the exact kind of objectification of women that my group stands against! It's an absolute crying shame and a bad statement to the name of [@NATION] that this stuff sells so well. I say we make this abhorrent corporation remove all labeling pertaining to women, and punish people that objectify women on products and in speech. That'll teach 'em!" She then proceeds to cross her arms and give you a judgmental stare.

Outcome: Pregnancy tests are under fire from the government for being marketed to women.

Option 2: "Bah, this old bat doesn't know what she's saying." says [@RANDOMMALENAME], Duolever's marketing director. "We sell personal care products for men. So we market to men. It's only natural we sell them their desires. It just makes sense! You should let companies market to people however they want. A freer market is the best market, I always say."

Outcome: The Giggles candy bar's new wrapper depicts a bloody occult ritual and the words "The Cult Classic".

Option 3: "This crackpot buffoon is the problem!" says male rights activist [@RANDOMMALENAME]. "It isn't women that are being objectified here, it's men! They treat us like our only goal is sex, and that's all we care about. The only way to remedy this is by ridding this nation of the negative depictions of men society has become so familiar with, and paying more attention to the struggles men face!"

Outcome: Teen dramedy "A Walk in the Night" is having been taken off air because the main villain is a man.
Last edited by San Laurenz on Thu Dec 09, 2021 3:50 pm, edited 5 times in total.

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Steelfeather Rapture 1
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Civil Rights Lovefest

Postby Steelfeather Rapture 1 » Tue Nov 23, 2021 7:03 pm

I tend to find that kind of advertising misandristic, personally. I call it the "sexbot male" memeplex: it reduces all male motives to sex. Imagine how misogynistic we'd think products were if they reduced all FEMALE motives to sex! It's the same for the one as for the other, I think.

Think about it like this: that kind of advertising literally reduces men to sex objects. It doesn't reduce women to sex objects, it reduces men that way. It's like saying men want to go into heat and draw women to them by their pheromones.
Last edited by Steelfeather Rapture 1 on Tue Nov 23, 2021 7:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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San Laurenz
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Postby San Laurenz » Tue Nov 23, 2021 9:57 pm

Steelfeather Rapture 1 wrote:I tend to find that kind of advertising misandristic, personally. I call it the "sexbot male" memeplex: it reduces all male motives to sex. Imagine how misogynistic we'd think products were if they reduced all FEMALE motives to sex! It's the same for the one as for the other, I think.

Think about it like this: that kind of advertising literally reduces men to sex objects. It doesn't reduce women to sex objects, it reduces men that way. It's like saying men want to go into heat and draw women to them by their pheromones.


I just found it a good subject to write an issue on, because it seems like something that would make a feminist group mad. And plus, I don't think a male rights group would be against that type of marketing. Is there anything you would like to say on the issue's writing?

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Steelfeather Rapture 1
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Postby Steelfeather Rapture 1 » Tue Nov 23, 2021 11:43 pm

San Laurenz wrote:I just found it a good subject to write an issue on, because it seems like something that would make a feminist group mad. And plus, I don't think a male rights group would be against that type of marketing. Is there anything you would like to say on the issue's writing?


I do rather dislike that kind of advertising myself. I stand on the misandry point, as a rare example of a sexually abused AMAB (Assigned Male At Birth) individual who was treated as very much a sexually predatory male wanting attention... but I'm an asexual and I was glad when people spreading a nasty rumor caused that attention to be withdrawn from me. I've experienced being sexually objectified and as a formerly active roleplayer who had many characters over years I've experienced objectification in both male-presenting and female-presenting circumstances. Products that try to simplify male motives down to sex strike me as sexually objectifying men. I'm kind of sad that you don't like the idea of seeing who would click a button opposing Axe for that quixotic rebuttal, because I'd be rather curious how well that exit gate would work in the NationStates statplayer cloud... especially if it actually used a line about men who use the product acting like they wish they could go into heat.

If that means I don't have anything to say on the issue's writing, then I guess I don't.
Please telegram me if you want me to be active in a thread... I'm shy, and the telegrams scare me less than the forum itself.

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San Laurenz
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Father Knows Best State

Postby San Laurenz » Wed Nov 24, 2021 10:20 am

Steelfeather Rapture 1 wrote:
I do rather dislike that kind of advertising myself. I stand on the misandry point, as a rare example of a sexually abused AMAB (Assigned Male At Birth) individual who was treated as very much a sexually predatory male wanting attention... but I'm an asexual and I was glad when people spreading a nasty rumor caused that attention to be withdrawn from me. I've experienced being sexually objectified and as a formerly active roleplayer who had many characters over years I've experienced objectification in both male-presenting and female-presenting circumstances. Products that try to simplify male motives down to sex strike me as sexually objectifying men. I'm kind of sad that you don't like the idea of seeing who would click a button opposing Axe for that quixotic rebuttal, because I'd be rather curious how well that exit gate would work in the NationStates statplayer cloud... especially if it actually used a line about men who use the product acting like they wish they could go into heat.

If that means I don't have anything to say on the issue's writing, then I guess I don't.


Could be an interesting option. I'll give it a go.

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Candlewhisper Archive
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Posts: 23650
Founded: Aug 28, 2015
Anarchy

Postby Candlewhisper Archive » Sun Nov 28, 2021 3:16 am

San Laurenz wrote:This is my first time making an issue. Hope y'all like it!

Description: Recently, personal products giant Duolever has been under fire for marketing its Pickaxe line of deodorants, body washes, and shampoos for men claiming that it will "make women want them" and "turn them into a ladies magnet". A group of people stand in your office with comments on the issue.


Cool idea. Maybe show more and tell less, for example describing how the women act in the adverts in some way that capture's the mind's eye. Something like "bikini clad models moaning with pleasure at the mere scent of a passing jock", or something like that.
Option 1: "This simply cannot stand!" says [@RANDOMFEMALENAME], leader of the feminist activist group Women Hating Injustices, No Exceptions, or WHINE for short.


Organisational acronyms are funnier if you don't point them out, IMHO.

Outcome: Women's shower gel brands are under fire for gender appropriation.


We can do better than this, I think. Maybe "tampons are under fire for marketed only to women".

Option 2: "Bah, this old bat doesn't know what she's saying." says [@RANDOMMALENAME], Duolever's marketing director. "We sell personal care products for men. So we market to men. It's only natural we sell them their desires. It just makes sense! You should let companies market to people however they want. A freer market is the best market, I always say."

Outcome: Companies are legally allowed to put racial slurs on their packaging.


Again show, don't tell. Maybe something like "Mighty White Bread has swastika packaging and the motto 'Because White Is Best'".

Option 3: "This crackpot buffoon is the problem!" says male rights activist [@RANDOMMALENAME]. "It isn't women that are being objectified here, it's men! They treat us like our only goal is sex, and that's all we care about. I implore you to fix this on behalf of all men, and pay more attention to the struggles men face!"

Outcome: Citizens are getting divorced over arguments over which gender has it worse.


Hmm, this option seems kind of doing the same thing as option 1, but for different reasons. Maybe keep it, but make the actions more distinct. Option 1 can ban the objectification of women, this option could ban men being depicted negatively.

Option 4: "Now, I think that I might have the perfect solution to all this!" says [@RANDOMFEMALENAME], mayor of [@CAPITALCITY] and mother of two. "My son uses this Pickaxe stuff all the time, and I think that it smells real nice. So what if we allow gender-specific and sexual marketing, except for both genders. Everyone wins!"

Outcome: Personal product corporations are selling the same product in two different packages, one for men and one for women.

Option 5: "Hey man, these body washes and shampoos, are like, totally uncool". Says local hippie [@RANDOMNAME]. "They're like, full of chemicals, and the factories like, destroy trees and harm mother nature. We should totally ban these synthetic atrocities from stores, and only allow pure soaps made of natural ingredients to be sold!"

Outcome: Yogurt and flax seed are more common in soaps than in food.


Eh, these options are weak, I suggest losing them.
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Candlewhisper Archive
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Anarchy

Postby Candlewhisper Archive » Sun Nov 28, 2021 3:16 am

Oh, and TG me when the issue is finished and submitted, so I can look out for it.
editors like linguistic ambiguity more than most people

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San Laurenz
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Founded: Nov 21, 2021
Father Knows Best State

Postby San Laurenz » Wed Dec 08, 2021 3:00 pm

Did the way to submit issues change? It used to be in the tab where issues appear and I can't seem to find the button anymore? Bit of a dumb question, but I have no idea.

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SherpDaWerp
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Benevolent Dictatorship

Postby SherpDaWerp » Thu Dec 09, 2021 1:04 am

San Laurenz wrote:Did the way to submit issues change? It used to be in the tab where issues appear and I can't seem to find the button anymore? Bit of a dumb question, but I have no idea.

There's a minimum population requirement of 250 mil - if you've got another nation that's older than this one, you can use that, otherwise you're probably gonna have to wait a few weeks.
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Outer Sparta
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Postby Outer Sparta » Thu Dec 09, 2021 1:46 am

I would still advise you to work on it to get some more feedback. Sometimes, it takes a long while to get feedback and stuff.
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Candlewhisper Archive
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Founded: Aug 28, 2015
Anarchy

Postby Candlewhisper Archive » Thu Dec 09, 2021 4:11 am

Good draft though, especially for a new player.
editors like linguistic ambiguity more than most people

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San Laurenz
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Founded: Nov 21, 2021
Father Knows Best State

Postby San Laurenz » Thu Dec 09, 2021 3:49 pm

Outer Sparta wrote:I would still advise you to work on it to get some more feedback. Sometimes, it takes a long while to get feedback and stuff.


Do you have any you'd like to offer?

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Outer Sparta
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Democratic Socialists

Postby Outer Sparta » Thu Dec 09, 2021 4:43 pm

San Laurenz wrote:
Outer Sparta wrote:I would still advise you to work on it to get some more feedback. Sometimes, it takes a long while to get feedback and stuff.


Do you have any you'd like to offer?

If the editor says it looks good and it definitely looks like you got all the fundamentals and options set. I don't have anything else to offer, but I guess now it's just a waiting game (since you're a new nation and you need 250 million to submit an issue). If anyone comes with any further suggestions, then feel free to listen, but I don't see anything else that needs to be added.
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Millenhaal
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Postby Millenhaal » Sat Dec 18, 2021 9:25 am

Waiting for feedback on issues is clearly an arduous process. Mostly I've been waiting for my population count to tick up so I can submit it, but if anyone has any way they think this should be polished, do let me know.
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Candensia
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Postby Candensia » Sat Dec 18, 2021 12:01 pm

Millenhaal wrote:Waiting for feedback on issues is clearly an arduous process. Mostly I've been waiting for my population count to tick up so I can submit it, but if anyone has any way they think this should be polished, do let me know.


As a new writer, it's best not to worry too much about small formatting quirks, but while you wait:

Effect lines should not be capitalized at the beginning, nor punctuated at their conclusion.

They should look like this:

Outcome: this is a really good joke
Last edited by Candensia on Sat Dec 18, 2021 12:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
The Free Joy State wrote:Time spent working on writing skills -- even if the draft doesn't work -- is never wasted.


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