D&G Advertising Controversy

Hey everyone, sorry I haven't posted in a while. My birthday was on Friday, and I've been wrapped up in all of my plans. And even though it's a bit late, I'm going to do a blog post over the Milan fashion shows within the next couple days, just because I assume that people want to hear what I have to say about the collections.

Now, to the point of today's post. Now, I'm sure you read the headline and cringed while thinking to yourself, oh no, not again. Though this particular "controversy" is really nothing special compared to every other one we hear about, it's one that I have a particularly strong stance about.

The information below is from EiTB24. I got the heads-up about the article on The Fashion Spot.

Dolce & Gabbana angry at advertising campaign controversy in Spain

Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana has branded Spain as being 'behind the times' for demanding it withdraw a controversial advertising campaign, a newspaper reported on Friday.

Dolce & Gabbana plans to pull the advertisement, which shows a man holding a woman to the ground by her wrists while a group of men look on, following complaints from consumers' groups. "We will only withdraw this photo from the Spanish market. They're a bit behind the times," La Vanguardia newspaper quoted the Milan-based fashion house as saying.

Dolce & Gabbana, known for their risque clothes and adverts, declined to comment on the matter.

Spain's Labour and Social Affairs Ministry branded the campaign as illegal and humiliating to women, saying the woman's body position had no relation to the products Dolce & Gabbana were trying to sell.

"One could infer from the advertisement that it is acceptable to use force as a way of imposing oneself on a woman, reinforced by the passive and complicit manner of the men looking on," the ministry said in a statement.

Dolce & Gabbana defended the campaign as art in comments reported by La Vanguardia. "What has an artistic photo got to do with a real act?" the paper quoted the firm as saying. "You would have to burn museums like the Louvre or the paintings of Caravaggio."

The fracas follows criticism from Britain's advertising watchdog last month about another Dolce & Gabbana campaign showing models brandishing knives.

The British Advertising Standards Authority upheld more than 150 complaints from people concerned that the pictures glorified and condoned violent crime. In that case, the company said the ads were heavily stylised and mimicked early 19th century art.

Now, I don't have a picture of the ad, but you can go to either of the links above the article and see it if you haven't yet.

My opinion on the issue? First of all, I think it's pretty ridiculous that some people, no matter what the intended purpose of the artwork, have to twist the facts and infer things that are apparently only obvious to the select few. When I look at that ad, I think, okay, it's D&G, theres a gorgeous girl and a bunch of guys, and they're all presumably wearing the new designs (except most of the males are shirtless I believe). Yes, you would notice that the girl is being pinned down, but to a normal person, that doesn't automatically make you think that it's advocating rape, or in the least, rough sex. Besides, if you see this in a magazine, most likely a fashion magazine, you would realize that the purpose of the picture is to advertise a clothing line, nothing more, nothing less.

I'm sorry if that was a little harsh, but I get worked up over issues of artistic censorship, which is exactly what Spain is doing with this advertisement. And they say the U.S. is bad...

Anyways, once again, I would like outside opinions. Even if they're different from mine, maybe you can help me understand the rationale behind this.