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Our beauty brand, LUX, is launching a campaign to highlight the impact of casual sexism faced by women in their everyday lives by inviting men to experience it first-hand for themselves.
Whether on the street or in the workplace, women are constantly judged on the way they dress, walk and speak. From catcalls to inappropriate compliments, everyday sexism is shockingly commonplace – and is causing women to self-edit their beauty and how they express their femininity as a result.
Although the problem exists on a global scale, many people who catcall don’t consider that they are doing or saying anything wrong. Nor are they aware of the damaging impact that seemingly offhand comments like ‘Hey beautiful’ or ‘Cheer up, you look prettier when you smile’ may have on women’s self-worth.
The new LUX campaign – titled ‘In Her Shoes’ and launching first in Egypt – aims to spark a conversation and bring about real behaviour change by giving men the opportunity to, quite literally, walk in women’s shoes.
It leverages City Walks – a fast-growing platform where users can take a virtual stroll through different cities around the world – to offer a glimpse of the casual sexism that women encounter by doing something as simple as taking a walk.
When users visit the platform, they can click a button that allows them to toggle between experiencing the walk as a man or as a woman. While men can enjoy an uninterrupted ramble, soaking up the sights and sounds of the city, the female perspective is very different. Crossing a bridge or wandering down a side street attracts unwanted attention, with users subjected to casually sexist remarks like ‘Stop here, I wanna talk to you’.
To build on the campaign and transform the perpetrators of sexism into allies, feedback was collated from male users who have experienced the LUX ‘In Her Shoes’ as a woman. It encouraged viewers to reflect on the experience and how women must feel as a result.
‘In Her Shoes’ is underscored by LUX’s pledge to inspire women using content, partnerships and activations to help them rise above everyday sexist judgements and express their beauty and femininity unapologetically. As Global Brand VP Severine Vauleon says: “LUX has been celebrating beauty and femininity since 1925. We understand that beauty is a woman’s armour, her source of strength. It is hers to express, unapologetically. We will continue to help women everywhere fight casual sexism at home, in the workplace and in wider society.”
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