Anti-binge drinking ad aimed at women falls flat
With the school year approaching, an anti-binge drinking ad found in the women’s washroom of York University caused a stir on social media this week over accusations of sexism.
The controversial poster depicts a woman looking at her phone in shock, viewing Instagram photos of young adults drinking alcohol, accompanied by the caption: “Don’t try to keep up with the guys.”
The bottom of the poster reads, “It’s not just about keeping an eye on your drink, but how much you drink.”
The ad, produced for a York Region campaign against substance abuse, was criticized for “victim blaming” women who are sexually assaulted.
Rawan Habib, president of the York Federation of Students, was critical of the poster.
“This advertisement plays into, and supports, rape culture, rape myths about women and sexual violence,” she said. “Promotion of responsible drinking should not be gendered.
“When we’re discussing sexual violence, oftentimes the blame falls on women — they are held responsible for the violence they experience.”
York Region has ended the campaign and will remove the poster. Ann Ramkay, a manager in York Region’s public health division, apologized for the poster.
“As soon as we received some negative feedback, we immediately pulled the campaign,” she said.
The campaign included two social media messages and the poster before it ended.
“For anyone who did take offence to the campaign, we do offer our sincerest apologies,” Ramkay said, adding that women were involved in creating the poster.
Ramkay said the purpose of the campaign was to raise awareness about “the dangers associated with excessive alcohol consumption and binge drinking.”
“It was primarily targeted to women because . . . even when women drink the same amounts as men, women absorb and metabolize alcohol differently,” she said.
“Women are at greater risk for alcohol-related harm because they often weigh less, have more fat tissue, less water in their bodies and lower levels of enzymes that break down alcohol.”