Launched by the Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault (MECASA) in 2009, the Backbone Zone aims to educate individuals on the harmful effects of homophobic and sexist language. To do this, the Backbone Zone gives individuals other words to use and encourages them to become active bystanders in the hopes of ending gender stereotypes and end sexual assault. The campaign features a series of seven posters; each features a harmful word accompanied by a photo on both the top and bottom of the image. The ad that we will examine specifically is this one:
Within the ad, the above photo depicts a pug with the caption “This is a bitch.” The inclusion of this shows us a few things: the first shows us the actual, dictionary definition of the word “bitch”, which is a female dog. The inclusion of the relaxed, unintimidating dog serves to create an emotional rise in the viewer. This emotional rise is one that tells the audience the dog in the photo is anything but a “bitch”, which is a word that society has given a negative connotation to.
The second image and caption combination used in the ad depicts a young woman, with a disdained look. The text below her image which reads “This is a girl who speaks her mind” shows us what she is, someone speaking her mind (nothing more, nothing less). Often times in society, we are told that a woman who is unafraid of speaking her mind is considered hostile, evil, and a “bitch”. This is simply not the truth. It is this sexist line of thinking that the Backbone Zone aims to remove from society.
The two seemingly unrelated photos used in the ad campaign serve to show the audience the ways in which society has transformed words that once held little to no negative connotation into words that can be used to hurt individuals emotionally.
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