Deja Vu Advertisements Are Degrading, Disturbing
The other morning while reading the paper, my husband suddenly looked up and said, “Hey Jen, listen to this: Deja Vu Amateur Night! Tonight’s your night. See what your wife or girlfriend can do in front of a crowd. Bring her down and cheer her on.” I laughed, thinking he had made it up, thinking that not even Deja Vu could be that disgusting. Cory showed me the paper, though, and there it was, large as life.
Although we wanted to laugh at how unbelievable it was (as usual - who doesn’t laugh at those ads? They’re such a joke, right?) we soon realized that these ads are no joke.
Feeling angry and sad, we began to talk about what bothered us so much. Cory was upset about the assumption that this would be an acceptable way for him to treat me. He felt that it was being taken for granted that men would be interested in this sort of “entertainment.”
I was angered by the disregard for the woman’s feelings. The phrase “tonight’s your night” kept replaying in my mind. Tonight is whose night? My night, to go down to the ‘Vu and make my man proud? Or is it my husband’s night, to drag me down and show me off in some contest of flesh.
Cory was really disturbed by the loss of humanity involved. “The women who are degraded and objectified aren’t the only losers,” he said. “The men who reduce women to sex objects lose as well; they lose a human being.”
This conversation was really good for us because it made us realize how deeply disturbed we have been by the Deja Vu ads. We’ve laughed at them, not because they’re funny, but because it’s easier to laugh than to get angry and have to do something about that anger.
The ads affect us as a couple. They are divisive and ugly to us as two people who are doing our best to love and honor one another. They are hurtful and offensive to us - a man and a woman trying to build a relationship based on mutual respect and trust.
We want to urge anyone else who has been bothered by these ads to let The Spokesman-Review know how you feel. We shouldn’t have to cancel our subscriptions in order to not be subjected to this kind of degradation.
MEMO: Your Turn is a feature of the Wednesday and Saturday Opinion page. To submit a column for consideration, call Rebecca Nappi/459-5496, or Doug Floyd/459-5466.