Ogilvy & Mather Dubai’s head of art Christopher Hunt used Google autocomplete to reveal the ubiquity of sexism in a powerful ad campaign for UN Women. With prompts like “women shouldn’t” and “women need,” he showed that many searchers are interested in taking away women’s rights to drive, work, and vote. They also believe that women should be controlled, disciplined, and put in their place. Pasted over the mouths of women, it’s chilling stuff.
The Cut had to wonder: If the tables were turned, would autocomplete reveal widespread reverse sexism? The queries of women who aspire to deceive men, cuckold them, trick them into getting us pregnant, steal all their money and then slowly poison them?
Bad news. There’s a worldwide prejudice against their shorts. On the plus side, a sexist lyric about women tops the list of things they should not do.
As for how to reconcile their required prayer with their license to hit women, that’s between them and their god and Google.
Their needs boil down to women! Lots of ‘em. Unless these are the searches of us women, googling because we want to understand.
They need us, they don’t need us, we’re living in a Best Coast song.
Not with a search history like this they can’t.
