The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board has an ad out that seemingly implies that if a woman drinks too much, she could get raped, and that’s her fault. That is already a very problematic stance, but the fact that it is an ad for the people who sell the people of PA their liquor makes it even worse. The ad tells of a series of events (His place, wasted, bathroom, passed out, date rape) and says, “See what could happen when your friends drink too much.”

PLCB spokesperson Stacey Witalec told City Paper, “We have gotten lots of feedback, both positive and negative, on the campaign. First and foremost our intention was never to offend anyone with the images but to bring about a greater conversation about the dangers of binge and problematic drinking. We did a lot of work with focus groups and a lot of research for this campaign, and heard from our target — individuals 21 through 29 — that these are scenarios they have faced and their friends have faced.” But Siobhan Brooks, assistant professor of women’s studies at Temple University doesn’t see it that way. She tells City Paper, “It’s victim blaming. It implies that it’s ultimately the female’s responsibility…instead of interrogating men and male culture around date rape … if you do drink too much, the message normalized is that date rape will be a natural outcome. It reinforces the ideology that rape is natural for heterosexual men to do towards women.”

So here were present another reason why the outdated, out-of-touch, PLCB should not be selling us our liquor.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 7th, 2011 at 3:55 pm.