High Girls Are Slutty

This is one of those Above the Influence commercials. Was I naive to expect the same people who brought you SLOMMING would make an ad that makes sense? Perchance. But this ad isn't just stupid. It's dangerous, because teenagers (who they admit based on the very name of their campaign are influenced easily) might actually be getting the wrong message here.

This ad seeks to tell kids to be above the influence of drugs. What the ad does say, quite intentionally in my view, is that if you're a victim of a crime (in this case, having a naked picture of you sent around to random people without your permission), that's your fault, cuz you were high. Be above the influence of drugs, but don't be above the influence of sending a naked picture of someone to all your friends and telling them to pass it on. In fact, this ad encourages that behavior. I mean, hey, somebody's got to teach those high, slutty girls a lesson.

But this angle isn't old for anti-drug commercials. Jessica Valenti mentions one in the "Blame (and Shame) Game" chapter of her book Full Frontal Feminism. I remember this one well and became extremely pissed off whenever I saw it. This commercial featured a teenage girl on the couch smoking a joint. She progressively gets higher. She's sort of zoned out a bit when a boy around her age sits next to her on the couch and gropes her. The girl says no, but the boy doesn't listen. "Marijuana lowers your inhibitions." The end. Did they mean that your use of marijuana lowers others' inhibitions to the point that they'll assault you? No. They meant that if you're high, someone who knows what they're doing will take advantage of you. And even if you're inhibitions aren't lowered enough to not even know when you don't want to be groped or slept with, tough shit, girly.

And the real kicker: These campaigns are funded by the federal government.