In 1971, this ad from cigarette brand Virginia Slims told women they were superior to men. That’s right… superior. And how did they go about selling said superiority? With a list of 20 biological ‘advantages,’ which range from the obscure to the downright laughable, unless, of course, you actually believe that a lesser inclination to “defective tooth enamel” gives our gender some sort of edge. So have a chuckle and know that yes, we have “come a long way, baby,” when the fight for true equality holds far more weight than manufactured superiority.
Taken straight from the actual ad copy:
“Women are more resistant to…
1. starvation
2. fatigue
3. exposure
4. shock
5. and illness than men are.”
“They are also less inclined than men to…
6. congenital baldness
7. Albinism of the eyes
8. improperly developed sweat glands
9. color blindness of the red-green type
10. day-blindness
11. defective hair follicles
12. defective iris
13. defective tooth enamel
14. double eyelashes
15. skin cysts
16. shortsightedness
17. night blindness
18. nomadism
19. retinal detachment
20. and white occipital locks of hair.”
WOW… lucky us… on ZERO counts!