The hypocrisy of sexism

Oh dear, it seems I'm in a ranty mood this evening.

But don't blame me, blame Bertolli.  They decided to reinstate one of their previously ran tv ads and it really got my goat.  No I don't have any gripe with olive spread, in fact I prefer it to the products that are clearly not butter and no one ever said they were...

But seriously, on what planet are we when we don't recognise blatant sexual harassment just because it is being directed at a male? 

Let's view this commercial from the other side of the looking glass:

Three older gentleman are sat having a picnic overlooking a beautiful beach setting.  Cue lovely young, slim, attractive girl emerging (alone) from the ocean in a bikini.  Scratch that, put her her a frumpy neck-to-toe bathing suit, makes no difference.  The men gawk, elbow each other and participate in leering at the poor woman who notices the uninvited attention and tries her best to ignore it.  She looks away and wraps herself in a towel as she attempts to extract herself from her costume, a perfectly acceptable practise given her recently concluded swim. The men are shamelessly leering as she struggles to manoeuvre her nudity with concealment. The men now give their dog a little kick and send it on its way to wrestle with her towel.  Just as the poor young women is against her will ripped from her towel, and thus her dignity, one of the men produce a camera.  They snap a souvenir picture of the woman's violation of privacy and humiliation to savour and drool over later.  They even have the audacity to laugh amounst themselves, oh what fun they're having at the young woman's expense.

Can you imagine if this advert got aired? Can you imagine the sheer volume of complaints, voicing outrage at the terrible treatment of a vulnerable lone woman at the mercy of these lecherous, disgraceful and perverted men?  They would say how inferior and primitive this kind of attitude is, that women are not objects to be leered at or gawped over. It would be widely agreed that such behaviour cannot be tolerated, promoted or participated in especially in this day and age where we are supposed to be all equal regardless of reproductive organs (ignoring the fact that women are still sometimes paid less than their male counterparts, but that's a whole other rant for another day).

So why on earth is it ok the other way around? The answer it is isn't ok.  It isn't acceptable and it isn't flattering. As long as we are still treating each other in this manner on the basis of gender, we will never improve as a species.  I don't even know what this vile harrasment and sexism has to do with an olive spread?! Will a healthy, olive-spread rich diet now turn me into a pervert later in life?

Please advertising standards agency, tell me I'm wrong to be so outraged. Tell me I don't at least have a valid point...