Has anyone seen this commercial?
It sickens me. It's a commercial for a contraceptive called Beyaz, during which several women are canvassing a trendy little boutique picking out life priorities. The most horrific scene is when the stork approaches one woman and she puts her hand up to it as if to say, "Oh no...I couldn't possibly!" The ad, of course, is not supposed to be horrific. It's supposed to be visually and emotionally appealing to the 21st Century empowered woman! But to an infertile devout Catholic who is open to life and actually views children as - GASP! - blessings from God, this is nothing short of appalling.
Though I suppose it shouldn't be, as 21st Century women have been conditioned into thinking that babies are nothing more than accessories, to have whenever it's convenient for us, as long as they don't interfere with our, you know, important life plans like traveling to Paris and buying a house.
Except that contraception has done everything but empower women. It has turned us into objects. It has taught men that we can be used. It has taught society to devalue and dehumanize women and unborn children. It has perpetuated the God-less, and love-less instances of sex. It has removed the intrinsic beauty and purpose of sexuality. Janet Smith analyzes this wonderfully in her article, "The Social Footprints of Contraception" so I won't go on.
So I guess it shouldn't be so surprising to see ads like this. Don't get me wrong...every birth control commercial makes me queasy. I can't stand the fact that contraception is pushed so heavily on our culture. It is, of course, the reason for so many unexpected and teenage pregnancies, failed marriages, and abortions. But this one stood out so glaringly as anti-life and anti-baby that I couldn't help but vent about it!
Reflections of a STAY-AT-HOME Catholic, sports fanatic, pro-life activist, intermittently-avid fitness buff, political junkie, MOM...and then some. None of which I stay home for.
Hate It. Its so sad even good Christian women have been fooled and desensitized. I was sitting in my obs office the other day staring at essure ads. Oh and after 16.5 hours of labor with Leo with no pain meds, the nurse asked me if I wanted my tubes tied!!! How is that even legal??!!
ReplyDeleteNow, I have been known to call my babies accessories. I wear them, they Are adorable and with the Right wrap, they cover all my problem areas ;)
Well said! That commercial is terrible. They all are. Especially that one where the kids are playing in the back yard and are causing a little trouble for their parents. Thank goodness we can take birth control so we don't wind up with anymore of those brats! At least they don't play that one with the synchronized swimmers anymore. That one was just annoying.
ReplyDeleteAnd Beth, that's too funny! If only there was a wrap to cover my backside ;)
Birth control commercials are getting worse by the day.
ReplyDeleteMakes me sad for the children of these folks.
Amen, sister! It is sickening and just sad.
ReplyDeleteI did a post on the Essure commercials that I think you might agree with:
http://littlecatholicbubble.blogspot.com/2010/04/i-hate-essure-commercials.html
(Back when my font was really small.)
Keep speaking the truth.
Ugh...
ReplyDeleteWow. I hadn't seen this. I'm glad you posted it. So so sad.
ReplyDeleteUgh, yes, I hate this commercial too. And as a mother, I was offended. As if I can't go to Paris, or buy a house, or go to grad school because I have a child. And children ruin everything, as we all know. Please.
ReplyDeleteThanks for writing about this.
Wow, I hadn't seen this one...it was pretty bad.
ReplyDeleteI saw the new mirena commercial last night and it SICKened me. "I couldn't possibly imagine another child, this one's awful", "oh wait, yes I could", "oops, he acted up again, forget that idea!" wow. and the list of side effects going on in the background were horrible.
Ugh! I haven't seen this particular commercial, but I hate all of them too. I especially hate the one with the woman who has a few kids misbehaving at the grocery store and she says, "Oh I just couldn't imagine having any more kids! So please inject me with some kind of hormone cocktail which will make me infertile for five years! Thanks Big Pharma!" or something to that effect. Vomit.
ReplyDeleteBarf. All those types of commercials are just terrible.
ReplyDeleteWow. Babies are just accessories... and apparently men are too. For some reason my link keeps freezing on the part where one woman tries to select her favorite "Ken doll," and another woman comes by and snatches him off the display case. Can you imagine if this commercial had men selecting women off a shelf? "As a man, you know having plenty of choices is good... "
ReplyDeleteAh yes, the kids playing in the yard commercial. I had forgotten about that. It's such a flippant and materialistic attitude towards children and life in general.
ReplyDeleteBeth - HA! Good point!
Leila - great post, thanks for linking! My feelings exactly!
MM - YES! Mirena is another horrific one. All of theirs make me want to vom.
Sarah - GREAT point!!! If men were choosing women as though they were accessories (not to mention choosing them by how they look), this ad would be pulled faster than you can say "Beyaz!"
ReplyDeleteSaw this commercial twice and HATED it just as much both times!!! UGHHH.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting - I'll be sharing this for sure!
So sad. Pope Paul VI truly was a prophet when he predicted that contraception would turn women into objects as well as encourage rampant selfishness and materialism.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this!! I bet a lot of people think this ad. is oh so cute.
ReplyDeleteToo funny about the synchronized swimmers one! I would actually get kind of nauseated when that one would come on the air.
Ugh, that commercial was just nauseating. But great post!
ReplyDeleteThe bizarre twisted thing about this ad to me is the fact that supposidly part of why I should use this pill is that it contains the B vitamin Folate ~ hence B-yaz, which protects against neural tube defects in babies ~ ya know in case you do get pregnant while using the pil.
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I noticed the bit about the Vitamin B/folate too. Why in the world advertise that it contains folate when folate is recommended for women who WANT to be pregnant?
ReplyDeleteThe scene with the stork was almost painful to see. So sad.
Hi! Found your blog through mutual blogger friends and just had to comment that I agree. The commercials are just too much to handle. Seriously, as if life can be so perfectly planned and assembled as a shopping trip. God's plan is perfect (albeit sometimes painful). Where's the commercial saying that? I actually change the channel when the beyaz and mirena commercials come on.
ReplyDeleteHi M and Thankful! Glad you stopped by and thanks for commenting!
ReplyDeletethat commercial fires me up. but did u listen to it? i didnt watch it....coz i tend to watch tv but not watch tv. hahaha but the put folate in it to prevent nueral birth defects in woman who r in their reproductive years....ummmm help me coz if ur on the pill ur trying not to get pregnant so why is folate helpful. man do they think we r stupid?!
ReplyDeleteUgh. I haven't seen this one before...but I have to change the channel when I see bc commercials in general now. I guess that's the good thing about only watching off our dvr or Net.flix :). Get to miss that crap.
ReplyDeleteThe worst part of the commercial for me (besides her saying no to the stork), was when the women was obviously choosing a trip to Paris over having a child. People obviously DO view having kids as owning an accessory. The next stage in life, the next fancy car to buy, the next THING they need to accomplish...and if they aren't "ready", then their baby just sits on the shelf with the other baubles until they're "ready". Sick.
Perhaps the commerical is supposed to make women think about things in life they may want to do BEFORE having a child. Why is wrong to want to go to Paris before having a baby, or a decent place to live?
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely better to get pregnant at a young age so the state welfare system can support the young mother, and the baby.
It's funny that you say a commerical is pushing women to think one way yet you spend your time pushing just as much.
I choose birth control pills because I knew I didn't want kids. I have no desire to be someone's mother. I think knowing that is using my brain, a wonderful blessing that God gave me, the ability to think.
ReplyDeleteHi Anonymous! The problem we find with the commercial is how having a baby - a life, a blessing from God - is "just another option." As important as picking out a handbag at a boutique. It's an understatement for me to say that giving life to a child is so much more than that.
ReplyDeleteYou said, "It's definitely better to get pregnant at a young age so the state welfare system can support the young mother, and the baby."
Except you forgot one very important option: not having sex. Having unprotected, unmarried sex and using birth control while having unmarried sex are not the only two options available to young women. And 54% of women who have abortions were on some form of birth control when they got pregnant.
You also said, "you spend your time pushing just as much." I'm not sure what I'm pushing. My blog is mainly about my struggles with infertility. I just happened to post about a commercial I found heinous. But I have considered branching out...maybe now I will! Thanks for stopping by!
Great post!! As you know... this one boiled my blood as well. Argh.
ReplyDeleteOh to Anon: Her "pushing" one way or another is not the issue here. There is a better option for women without the dangers and degradation that birth control inflicts on women.
ReplyDeleteAs Nicole addressed: A baby is always a potential result of sexual intercourse, even if it's "protected." A baby is never the result of not having sex.
I don't know your situation and you don't know mine. But I do think it's clear that God does give you free will and a brain. That doesn't make birth control right or the best option.
about these kinds of ads----at the end, they have to say that bc gives heart attacks, strokes, etc- so sad- that women will pay extra for organic veggies yet ingest chemicals every day
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