Update: The demands to this petition were met February 18th. This petition will be removed February 26th. Feel free to record your comments before then. Thanks for all the support. Petition: We, the undersigned, respectfully demand that the distasteful Virgin Radio ads be immediately removed from the streets of our Capital city. Background: The ads, which originally drew my attention as I suspected it was advertising a social support service, feature pregnant and troubled young women between the ages of 16 and 22 with a caption reading: "Lock up your daughters; the Gods of Rock are now in Ottawa". Excuse me! Lock up your daughters **** View photos of ads here: http://picasaweb.google.ca/lcsparling/VirginRadioOttawafeat=directlink While Virgin Radio attempts to create humour and irony by featuring ads of pregnant women, these adverts are anything but funny. Through statements that openly promote female subjugation and condone the sexual objectification and ravaging of women, this ad series sets the feminist struggle for ownership over our bodies and our choices back decades. The ads: 1) Support the notion of women as property that can and should be supervised, controlled, and even locked up; 2) They suggest that controlling women is the solution to teen/unwanted pregnancy; 3) They imply that women are not educated enough to make informed decisions about sexual health. 4) And, not only are these ads a slap in the face of all women, but they are also insulting to men as they portray men as sexual predators and potentially rapists; notice that no effort is made to suggest that the pregnant young women were not raped. 5) These ads reinforce the idea that all good music is produced by men. 6) Lastly, did Virgin know that portraying women of colour would be crossing a line Or do they only see white I find it incredibly exhausting to see that this type of blatant ignorance and inexcusable tolerance for sexism exists in Canada's capital. Tolerance for these types of messages needs to end. Yet, Advertising Standards Canada approves the content in these ads! MOST IMPORTANTLY, please take the 3 minutes required to also submit a complaint to Advertising Standards of Canada. This is the most direct way to end these types of harmful portrayals: http://www.adstandards.com/en/consumerSite/howToSubmitAComplaint.asp If you don't see the link between these ads and the violence they encourage take a minute (actually 6) to watch this preview of Jean Kilbourne's "Killing Us Softly 3". http://www.youtube.com/watchv=_FpyGwP3yzE&feature=related (Note: Know that your signature is complete when the request for donation pops up. Donations are optional.)

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