Jezebel 
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New York, 2:49 PM
Mon Nov 9
40 posts in the last 24 hours
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10/23/09
Then I thought... wait, I don't like how women are treated in general. :/
Factual inaccuracies aside, I don't know if Muslims would appreciate the ad. I can't say one way or the other, but I imagine strict Muslims might not think it's so great.
I guess I really don't know. #lingeriesaudi
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Lingerie is about being seen, whether it is seen or not, and the thrill of wearing sexy undergarments is the excitement you get knowing that if someone DID happen to see, they would see something really spectacular. (I was a pro at this in high school. I'd wear garters and all that shit on dates and then make sure at some point to bend over or flash some thigh and then pretend to be completely unaware that I had offered a glimpse.) And I'm not making a value judgement at all or trying to say that sexy-underpants can't make a woman FEEL empowered, but the power come from the knowledge that she is wearing something that is sexy precisely because it has been deemed sexy by the male gaze. There doesn't need to be a male present to illustrate that.
And I like that it is expressing the idea that women, even muslim women (shock!) have a legitimate sexuality to be expressed. But in the end it is an advertisement and is just as dependent on the influence of the male gaze as a victoria's secret ad. It may be a little more sophisticated, but its stemming from the same place. #lingeriesaudi
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The message I got was that she dressed in lingerie for herself, not because it promised to please men or because she would be showing it to anyone. Rather, I thought it effectively conveyed the idea that the right undergarments can make a woman feel confident and good about herself, regardless if anyone sees it. That said, my first reaction was, "Whaa...a lingerie ad geared towards women? Why, I have never heard of such a thing!"--That's a good thing. #lingeriesaudi
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10/23/09
A few years ago, maybe Christmas time, they went so far as to have some model writhing in a bed with satin sheets. I may be totally wrong, but I think that's pretty clear image directed at men, who don't buy the lingerie. I guess the intellectual leap is that you, as a woman, are supposed to aspire to that and therefore, men will want to sleep with you.
I thought the beauty of the advertisement above was that it sort of tricks you into believing that it is a standard lingerie ad. The twist in the end made me personally, breathe a sigh of relief and actually smile--which I've never done at a lingerie commercial.
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I like it. That woman, up until the 40th-second of that commercial, could have been any woman, in any country. I felt united with her-- if only in the fallacy of the commercial. #lingeriesaudi
10/23/09
We've talked about this before, how lingerie is often sold as a way for women to turn men on, but here, it was just for her.
I totally get what you're saying about "under the veil" and all that, and I think it's a valid point. But still, lingerie for the wearer's enjoyment over the beholder's enjoyment (despite this being a commercial) is still a good message, I think. #lingeriesaudi
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10/23/09
But, in the context of the "action" it just seemed like the woman was genuinely enjoying getting dressed and admiring herself. Often in commercials like this there is a boyfriend in the background, or the implication that the woman is waiting for a man to arrive, at which point the lingerie will be taken off again.
I just didn't get the sense that that was what was going on here. #lingeriesaudi
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Empowering to women? Not to me. #lingeriesaudi
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