Adam Pugsley | Contributor
Featured Image: A poster in York’s Student Centre was taken down after being condemned for targeting women. | Courtesy of York Region via Twitter
An anti-drinking advertisement found in the women’s washroom of York’s Student Centre last week has been removed after critics deemed it to be sexist and insulting towards women. The poster was part of a larger campaign by York Region which aimed to draw attention to the dangers of substance abuse.
“Don’t try to keep up with the guys,” read the poster. The text was shown alongside an image of a woman looking at her phone in shock. Below, staged Instagram posts by a user named “collegegirl” depicted a night of binge drinking, which included the hashtags “#makingfriends” and “#bingedrinking.”
A third Instagram post by the user “collegeguy” showed a seemingly intoxicated woman laying in a bed with the hashtag “#mykindofparty” written in the photo’s description.
“It’s not just about keeping an eye on your drink, but how much you drink,” read the bottom of the poster. No such advertisement was found in the men’s washroom.
“It’s distressing that such a poster would end up at any postsecondary institution, sports arena, concert venue, airport, or any public space,” says Cheryl van Daalen-Smith, an associate professor of York’s School of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies. “That being said, there isn’t necessarily a formal screening process for these sorts of things.
“These types of posters, despite good intentions to prevent sexual assault, are focusing on the responsibilities of the would-be assaulted individual, which perpetuates rape myths and also fails to recognize that men, too, are sexually assaulted. It’s not about teaching or imploring young women that they need not ‘keep up with the boys.’ It’s not about telling young women to limit their alcohol intake or watch their drinks or they’ll place ‘themselves’ at risk.
“It’s about consent. Period,” adds van Daalen-Smith
Despite the fact that the Student Centre is a part of York campus, it is run independently, rather than by the York administration. Janice Walls, advisor and deputy spokesperson of York Media Relations, released the following statement: “We were made aware of a concerning York Region advertisement that appeared in the Student Centre. As a university with a commitment to safety and equity, we were troubled by the content of the advertisement.
“We have a strict postering policy that applies to all buildings operated by the university. Since the Student Centre is operated independently we were not consulted about the advertisement. We have been informed by the Student Centre that they instructed that the ad be removed.”
York Region released a statement on their Twitter account in an attempt to make their objective clear.
“Our intent is never to offend,” read the statement. “Instead, the goal of this campaign was to raise awareness about the dangers associated with excessive alcohol consumption and binge drinking. Alcohol consumption seriously impairs judgement, awareness and caution—this is why so many injuries and deaths are related to excessive consumption of alcohol.
“This campaign was primarily targeted towards women, because we want to raise awareness that even when women drink the same amount as men, they absorb and metabolize alcohol differently. Women are at greater risk for alcohol-related harm as they often weigh less, have more fat tissue, less water in their bodies, and lower levels of enzymes that break down alcohol.”
Although the intentions behind the campaign were innocent, York students also shared the concern that the poster promoted a biased message.
“Initially the ad itself didn’t seem to me as significant an issue as to shut down an entire campaign, but because the campaign was intended solely for women, especially those attending frosh week, the ad became sexist,” said Deanna Mataro, a third-year Environmental Science major at York.
“The idea that men don’t require a similar ad for binge drinking is a bit misogynistic, given that some women’s metabolism and physical abilities could allow them to easily outdrink their male counterparts.
“This is the cause of poorly planned campaigning and is something I think could’ve been fixed without having to perpetuate any presumptions that girls always have to ‘keep up with the guys,’” adds Mataro.
