If you've ever seen a beer commercial, you know how misogynistic this industry can be in their marketing campaigns. In response, advertising collective 65|10 has created Cerveja Feminista, a feminist beer (yes, it exists!) that aims to change the way the beverage is marketed. How? By addressing the sexism that often comes served with your favorite brew. This Brazilian group got their name from statistics about women in the advertising industry in Brazil: 65 percent of women in Brazil feel they are portrayed inaccurately in advertising; additionally, women only make up 10 percent of advertising executives in the country."We are advertising creatives working in a very sexist environment, and we started to grow uncomfortable with it," says Thais Fabris, one of the group's co-founders, to Fast Company.
The collective felt that beer advertisements were the most pressing form of misogyny in today's marketing industry — so they created Cerveja Feminista (which actually translates to "Feminist Beer" in English) in order to disrupt it. "The typical Brazilian beer ad — and we're talking about big brands with big money here — shows a seminaked standard-beauty woman being harassed by men," Fabris told Fast Company. Many of the beer companies' very names are sexist, too: Fabris cites as examples "Fatlicious" and "Forbidden Lady." They call this industry dangerous for women, since it normalizes sexual harassment.
Hence, the creation of Cerveja Feminista. Every aspect of the new the beer was created with gender equality in mind, right down to the ale inside the bottle: It's an Irish red chosen because of its neutrality. Since light beer is usually associated with women and darker brews with men, they chose something that doesn't bring up any gendered connotations. The beer's bottle has a simple design with the name of the company, a symbol for gender equality, and a straightforward definition of feminism. They think including this will help to bust any myths people have about feminism: As Fabris put it, "Many people still think feminism is the direct opposite of machismo, meaning it is about feminine supremacy over men.... For us, it is about equality." They are hoping that the beer can act as a conversation starter and get people to talk more about sexism in everyday life.
I personally really connect to this idea — even though it may seem like creating a feminist beer won't really solve any of feminism's goals, the point 65|10 is illustrating is this: Sexism is a part of every facet of our culture, and we need to interrupt that in order to create change. Despite stereotypes, feminist activism isn't always about picketing or going to rallies; it can include any action that furthers the cause of gender equality.
Popular campaigns like Who Need Feminism have promoted thousands of people to proclaim why feminism is important in their lives — so in that spirit, here are four reasons that I need feminist beer:
1. Beer Ads Are So Sexist It Hurts
Like 65|10 has pointed out, beer advertising is incredibly misogynistic. Don't believe me? Check out this list of the most sexist beer ads of all time. We needed Cerveja Feminista long before 2015!
2. I'm Tired of Hearing About How Masculine Drinking Beer Is
If you have ever ordered beer at a bar, particularly if it was a strong ale, you've probably had the bartender make some sort of comment about how manly you're being at least once. Simply put, this is really annoying. Why is a beverage tied at all to gender? This beer may finally be the answer to the gender policing that exists around alcohol.
3. Beer Companies Often Don't Acknowledge That Women Drink Beer
Young women represent one of craft beer's strongest supporting demographics, but the marketing that exists around them is geared almost entirely towards men. Jessica Miller, a beer writer, offers this example of beer commercials: “Women are still predominantly cast as non-beer drinkers — type-cast as uninterested in beer, or even less interesting than beer, as in this Amstel commercial." Yikes.
4. Bottle Labels Openly Objectify Women
There are several cases of beer companies creating labels that sexualize women, which can make them very obviously uncomfortable to be around. Who wants to drink from a bottle that shows hostility to them? It's time beer companies sell the beer and not use women's bodies in the process.
Images: beerbase/Instagram; Cerveja Feminista; Getty Images; Giphy (5)
