I’m young, I’m a woman and I’m a “creative”. I work at Livity, a youth marketing agency that puts young people at the heart of what we do. More than 70% of the staff the company employs are women (even at leadership levels) and from diverse ethnic backgrounds. But even here, I am the only female member of the creative department. It begs the question: why are women not going for those creative roles in marketing? Is it because this area of agency life is male-dominated? Or are there mind-forged manacles at play? Are women deliberately limiting themselves because of soft-power subjectification?
In the spirit of #DoingDifferent (the central theme of this year’s Best Awards), our creative director planned a day of inspiration for his team of creatives, so we headed to Somerset House to be inspired by the Guy Bourdin exhibition there. He was a fashion photographer for the likes of Vogue and various fashion brands in the 60s, 70s and 80s.
The exhibition opens with Bourdin’s famous Walking Legs, which show off the showiest of shoes. The mannequin legs were positioned with such accuracy that even though there was no body attached to them, you could see her. She could be you. Bravo, Bourdin: an advertising win.
As the exhibition moved on, “real” women appeared. Yes, Bourdin’s photographs are breathtakingly beautiful, strikingly powerful and, of course, his subjects are stunning, but that’s just it; they’re not women – they’re objects. Bourdin’s intricate sketches show how much detail went into staging his photographs – and yet he chose to repeatedly photograph women in vulnerable positions, as props draped over other props.
Every now and then, there was the presence of man. Never fully shown, he lingered over the woman exposed, but in the frame nevertheless, whether by shadow or glimpse of hand. I couldn’t help but feel that being shown women who appeared to be dead or injured in highly sexualised photographs could only have been designed to evoke a sense of sexual violence. But this was for Vogue. These are pictures designed to sell to women. But when did a victim of sexual abuse become aspirational for women? I was confused.
As I smiled at a particularly famous photograph, one of my fellow creatives approached me to talk about how beautiful the photography was. I smiled again, nodding along. We walked together for a few steps and reached a photograph that I found particularly disturbing. I decided to start the conversation – the one that we really should be having. I spoke aloud the questions that were racing through my mind. But to my dismay, he said… nothing. He walked away.
He wasn’t the only one. I was incapable of holding the conversation; it had become monologue. I gave up on the subject. Is misogyny that ingrained in modern society? Was it something I said? Were they blinded by the overly sexual imagery, too infatuated to see the dangers of it? Or did they simply overlook the misogyny to appreciate the craft? “But it was being used for advertising, guys.”
Our creative director turned a corner and our paths met. To my shock, and sheer delight, he asked me: “Don’t you think these photographs are disturbingly violent?” Thank God, I thought – someone who understands. What if he hadn’t been able to see these images from that perspective? The discussion continued at drinks afterwards and, while some remained unconvinced, at least the conversation had started. Society’s somewhat subconscious indifference to misogyny was forced into conscious scrutiny.
That’s exactly why diversity is so important: to add perspective. What if my creative director or myself weren’t there and off the back of this creative day of inspiration, a group of men returned to the offices without recognising that this exhibition was potentially violent and misogynistic? So, I encourage every woman who’s considering a career in the creative industries to go for it. You’re needed.
The reason why I steered my career towards marketing is because I want to challenge the conversation about women in the media – in advertising. I’m sick of the role they have been given. I exist to reclaim that role. It’s always been something deeply important to me. Today, I’m lucky enough to use my voice in harmony with all the other great female and male voices of the millennial rejection of the traditional construct.
Farihah Ferdous is a copywriter at Livity
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