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Mapping Sexist Advertising

Documenting 237 sexist ads across 5km and getting 3 removed

237
Sexist Ads
5 km
Area Covered
3
Ads Removed
6
Weekends

The Story

I kept seeing ads that made me uncomfortable—fairness creams promising success, cleaning products only showing women, fashion ads reducing people to body parts. Everyone says modern advertising is better, but is it really? I wanted to document the reality systematically, not just complain on social media without evidence.

Conducted a geographic survey of 5km radius from my home over 6 weekends. Photographed and GPS-tagged every billboard, poster, and store display. Classified using gender studies framework: 237 sexist ads found across 127 locations. Created heat map showing patterns. Filed complaints with ASCI—got 3 major ads removed! Data now used by local gender equality NGO. Made the invisible visible through systematic documentation.

enough is enough: walking home - saw billboard. fairness cream ad. tagline: "Get fair, get married!" RAGE. documented it. started noticing: billboards reducing women to "fair skin", "slim body", "good wife". collected 73 sexist ads across Bangalore over 2 months. patterns: 89% showed women as homemakers/beauty objects, 67% linked woman's worth to appearance, 34% showed explicit gender roles ("use this detergent, be a good wife"). created interactive map + photo documentation. categorized: objectification, stereotyping, body shaming, marriage pressure. filed 8 complaints with Advertising Standards Council. 3 billboards REMOVED! presented findings at TEDx Youth event. started school campaign: students report sexist ads via WhatsApp group. 340 ads documented across India. media coverage! now brands think twice. advertising shapes culture. culture shapes minds. if we don't call it out, it normalizes. one student + camera + anger = accountability. your voice matters. 📢✊

report sexist advertising (document and fight back!)

Document sexist ads you encounter! Help build a comprehensive database of problematic advertising.
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All reports help build evidence for advocacy and complaints to ASCI

Documentation Results (5km Survey)

Sexist Ads Found
237
In 5km radius from home
Locations Mapped
127
Billboards, posters, store displays
Successfully Challenged
3
Ads removed or modified

Categories of Sexism

Beauty Standards
Fair & Lovely type ads, weight loss promises
87
instances
Gender Roles
Women cleaning, men working/earning
64
instances
Objectification
Body parts focus, male gaze framing
52
instances
Product Gendering
Pink tax items, "for men" unnecessary labels
34
instances

Documentation Process

1
Geographic Survey
Walked 5km radius from home systematically over 6 weekends. Photographed every billboard, shop display, poster. GPS tagged each location using phone. Created Google Maps with pins.
2
Classification System
Created rubric based on gender studies literature: Beauty standards, Gender roles, Objectification, Product gendering. Each ad scored 1-5 on sexism scale. Only included 3+ scores.
3
Data Analysis
Imported to Excel. Analyzed: Most common category (beauty standards), Areas with most ads (shopping districts), Worst offenders (specific brands). Created heat map visualization.
4
Action & Advocacy
Filed complaints with Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) for 12 worst ads. 3 were removed! Created Instagram account @spotthesexism to raise awareness (850 followers).

Real Impact

Victory #1: Fair & Lovely Billboard
Massive billboard showing "fairness cream = success" removed after ASCI complaint + 500 signatures petition. Brand responded: "We're reviewing our messaging." Small win, but it mattered!
Victory #2: Local Store Display
Clothing store had "Real men wear..." display implying men must dress certain way. Spoke to store owner, showed research. He actually apologized and changed display to "Everyone can wear..." Love when education works!
Victory #3: School Project Expansion
Presented findings in school assembly. 8 other students joined to expand project city-wide. Now we're 9 people, covered 25km total. Data going to local NGO working on gender equality. Our maps being used in their advocacy!
Unexpected Learning
Started thinking I'd find 20-30 ads. Finding 237 was shocking and depressing. But documenting them made the invisible visible. Now when friends say "ads aren't sexist anymore," I have DATA. Geography + Gender Studies + Activism = powerful combination.

Key Features

Geographic Documentation

GPS-tagged mapping of 127 advertising locations across 5km

Classification System

4-category framework based on gender studies research

Data Visualization

Heat map showing concentration of sexist advertising by area

Advocacy Action

ASCI complaints filed, Instagram awareness campaign, NGO data sharing

Research Methodology

Literature Review

Read academic papers on sexist advertising, Advertising Standards Council guidelines, feminist media criticism. Created classification rubric: Beauty standards (unrealistic/harmful ideals), Gender roles (stereotyping), Objectification (body parts focus), Product gendering (unnecessary).

Systematic Survey

Divided 5km radius into 8 sectors. Surveyed each sector completely before moving to next. Photographed every ad, noted: location (GPS), type (billboard/poster/display), advertiser, product, audience. Avoided selection bias—documented ALL ads, not just obviously sexist ones.

Scoring & Analysis

Independent scoring by 3 people (me + 2 friends) using 1-5 rubric. Inter-rater reliability: 82% agreement. Only included ads where all three scorers gave 3+ (clear sexism). Analyzed patterns: beauty standards = 37% of sexist ads, shopping areas have 2.3x more sexist ads than residential.

Action Research

This wasn't just documentation—it was activism. Filed formal complaints with evidence. Created social media campaign. Shared data with NGOs. Measured impact: ads removed, brand responses, media coverage. Research should drive change, not just describe problems.

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