While "the war on women" might be the dramatic political catchphrase of the moment, it's hard not to get on board with the notion — especially when sexism trickles down into your commute. Women are the unlikely (and, if we're trying very hard to be generous, perhaps unintentional) target of Metro's new ad campaign, as reported today by DCist. In an advertisement placed inside the Metro Center station, two women are having a thought-bubble conversation. The first rattles off a random statistic about how far Metrobuses travel in between (commute-destroying) breakdowns. The second responds with, "Can't we just talk about shoes?" Zing.
It's beyond infuriating that Metro would green-light an ad that employs the sexist trope of a woman's love for shoes overtaking her ability to hold an intelligent conversation. For what it's worth, we'd rather Metro spend its precious budget on, you know, fixing escalators and finishing up track work than trying to convince us that it's problems — i.e., broken-down buses — aren't all that bad. Oh, and for the record, when was the last time you had more than a 30-second discussion about shoes? We're going to stick it to Metro, in our own imaginary way, and pretend that Lady #2 is actually a brilliant cultural historian who's writing a dissertation on the importance of shoes in society. (You know, those things you rely on when you have to run to catch a bus or wait forever on a subway platform.)
(DCist)
Photo: Via DCist.