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The Pack bans the heart

 

Demonstration
against the Jean-Paul Goude's visual
Soldissimes
Galeries Lafayette Feb. 9, 2002

The Pack demonstrates in front of the Galeries Lafayette against the Jean-Paul Goude's visual Soldissimes.

Violence of the sales season by the Pack

La violence des soldes par La Meute

On the billboard for the sale season of Galeries Lafayette, Laetitia Casta smiles, brandishing a little heart. This smile cannot erase the signs of violence that she wears: an eye surrounded by a large dark blue mark, a shirt collar pulled at two-thirds, disheveled hair, rumpled clothes, unbuttoned wrist, untied shoelace.

Sur l’affiche pour les soldes des Galeries Lafayette, Laetitia Casta sourit en brandissant un petit cœur. Ce sourire ne peut effacer les signes de violence qu’elle porte : œil entouré d’une grosse tache bleu foncé, col de chemise arraché aux deux tiers, cheveux ébouriffés, vêtements froissés, poignet déboutonné, lacet dénoué.

Laetitia Casta
by Ellen von Unwerth
Kitchen Lingerie Story 1998

Ellen von Unwerth

Do you imagine in a boxing fight, one of fighters says:
"Please, wait for one second. The time that I untie the lace of one of your gym shoes in order that you could stumble."

Other pictures in the series due to Jean-Paul Goude use the beauty or the Laetitia Casta's nakedness illustrating other sexist stereotypes. The billboard for the sales season plays on the theme of violence: one wants us to believe that clients have pulled the goods with fists. Similarly, another department store C & A chose a commercial with two women fighting for a piece of clothing. What contempt for their customers in this image of shrews, in this mise-en-scene of violence between women!

Les autres photos de la série due à Jean-Paul Goude utilisent la beauté ou la nudité de Laetitia Casta en illustrant d’autres clichés sexistes. L’affiche pour les soldes joue sur le thème de la violence : on veut nous faire croire que des clientes se sont arraché des marchandises à coups de poing. De même, un autre grand magasin, C & A, a choisi une publicité avec deux femmes se battant pour un vêtement. Quel mépris pour leurs clientes dans cette image de mégères, dans cette mise en scène de violences entre femmes !

In the subway, in the streets, thousands of billboards make commonplace images of abused women. These campaigns, that are imposed to us in the urban landscape, are, in themselves, a violence.

Dans le métro, dans la rue, des milliers d’affiches banalisent ainsi des images de femmes agressées. Ces campagnes, qui nous sont imposées dans le paysage urbain, sont en elles-mêmes une violence.

The reality: in France there are at least two million women victims of a husband or a violent partner; how many women are also victims of rape or violence committed by other men! How many girls molested by boys at school or in the street!

La réalité : il y a en France au moins deux millions de femmes victimes d’un mari ou d’un compagnon violent ; combien de femmes aussi sont victimes de viols ou de violences commis par d’autres hommes ! Combien de filles brutalisées par des garçons à l’école ou dans la rue !

For all those who suffer sexist-based violence, for all those who denounce them, a black eye and torn clothing are not a laughing matter. It is unacceptable to use them as a selling argument. Humor cannot be an excuse to pass a message that trivializes violence and reinforces sexist stereotypes.

Pour toutes celles qui subissent des violences sexistes, pour toutes les personnes qui dénoncent celles-ci, un œil au beurre noir ou des vêtements déchirés ne sont pas un sujet de plaisanterie. Il est inadmissible de les utiliser comme argument commercial. L’humour ne peut pas servir de prétexte pour faire passer un message qui banalise la violence et qui renforce des clichés sexistes.

On April 24, 1999, many of us demonstrating in front of the Galeries Lafayette in Paris, that showed off in three windows live mannequins in underwear.

Le 24 avril 1999, beaucoup d’entre nous manifestaient devant les Galeries Lafayette, à Paris, qui exhibaient dans trois vitrines des mannequins vivantes en sous-vêtements.

On February 9, 2002, we will come one, come all to demonstrate in front of the Galeries Lafayette to say NO to the normalization of images of violence, NO to sexist advertising, YES to an anti-sexist law!

Le 9 février 2002, nous viendrons en nombre manifester devant les Galeries Lafayette pour dire NON à la banalisation des images de violence, NON à la publicité sexiste, OUI à une loi antisexiste !

We ask the Galeries Lafayette managers for stopping their sexist advertisings.

Nous demandons aux responsables des Galeries Lafayette de cesser leurs publicités sexistes.

Why not demonstrate against the violence of women when they talk to their lady friends or in the forums
about their rivals in their love affair or when they are jealousy of another woman.
I know this sexist cliché was too easy but it is also a reality.

The Pack does not like the Jean-Paul Goude's humor
in this visual --not to be taken at face value-- about the frenzy of the sales season.

The Pack superimposed their just fight against the violence on the women to promote their actions.

What target? 
The heart or
the blue make-up?

The news media titled by the masquerade "Laetitia Casta with black eye"
but not by the tautology "Laetitia Casta with blue eye,"
probably a nuance in the color of mascara.

It is a question of target.
The Pack attracted the attention of news media on the Laetitia's make-up.

Laetitia Casta
derived work 
from Jean-Paul Goude's Soldissimes

In their manifesto, the Pack preferred to paste on the little heart
their important message:
"Au moins 1 femme sur 10 est victime de violences conjugales en France"
[At least one woman out of ten is victim of conjugal violences in France]

The Pack banned the reason of the heart
like if they had added the sign "Wrong Way" above the little red heart
not above the blue make-up of Laetitia Casta!


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