Frankly Speaking With Cindy Gallop

The former advertising exec and women’s rights provocateur speaks to Jackie Frank about sexist ads, quotas and how porn is good for all of us

- Jackie Frank

JACKIE: To what extent did you experience sexism in your early career?

CINDY:

I began working in advertising in 1985 in London, and I was a ferocious, ambitious young account person. But it’s a bit like that saying “a fish doesn’t know what water is.” When you are surrounded by sexism and bias you just think that’s the way the world is. Looking back, egregious things were happening around me, but you just kind of got on with it.

JF: You don’t hesitate to speak up against sexism in business today. What empowered you?

CG: When I left the corporate advertising world in 2005 to work for myself, I was able to see how very sexist and biased not only advertising is but every industry.

JF: So many advertisements talk down to women or trade in stereotypes. What can be done to change this?

CG: The Advertising Standards Authority in the UK recently announced that it’s going to actively examine and filter out ads that stereotype, objectify or feature negative depictions of women. But that is not where the problem lies. At the top of the advertising industry, like every industry, is a closed loop of white guys talking to white guys about other white guys. That is especially the case in the creative department. So, what we do not need is white male creatives being very careful about how they show women in advertising. We need women creating and approving advertising, and instantly the problem of stereotypes goes away.

JF: That makes sense.