Is the new Axe ad featuring 'headless breasts' sexist? You decide

Axe ad featuring headless breasts because 'they are what a man notices first on a woman' branded 'sexist' by female viewers

By TAMARA ABRAHAM
DAILYMAIL
August 23, 2012

A television commercial for Axe has been branded 'sexist' because the female character in the ad is depicted as a headless pair of breasts on legs.

Designed to promote a men's hair product, the concept of the ad, set in an office, is based on the idea that men notice breasts first on a women, while women notice a man's hair before anything else.

In turn, the male character, who admires his amply-chested co-worker from afar, is a thick head of hair on legs.

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Sexist? Axe's latest television commercial has sparked controversy because the female character is depicted as a headless pair of breasts

Office romance: The ad is set in a workplace and the two characters are depicted as co-workers

Almost there... Their attempt for alone time in an elevator is thwarted when other people crowd in

[...]

But the ad, though intended to be humorous, has prompted a backlash from viewers, who consider it to be sexist.

One Twitter user, Hilary Paige Smith, wrote: 'Once again, another appalling display of terrible, sexist marketing from Axe. Don't date guys who smell/act like this.'

And Katherine Vong, of Trendhunter, added: 'Axe has once again turned to stereotypes and gender biases with its latest Axe Office Love commercial, which essentially represents females as a giant pair of breasts, no head required.'

Others, though, see the humour in the concept.

AdRants writer Steve Hall said: 'All the brand has done, and always has done, is celebrate the carnal desire that is ever present between man and woman. It's an innately human desire. It's a fact of life.'

 
At last! Finally the two characters' human versions are revealed when they lock eyes at a bus stop

Finale: As the pair approach one another, the tagline appears, reading: Hair. It's what girls see first

Video:

Published on Aug 20, 2012 by AXE

Bigger breasts, bigger cancer risk

Women with bigger breasts DO have higher risk of breast cancer, finds genetic study

• Link may be sex hormone oestrogen that can trigger the growth of mammary glands and tumours
• Study is the first to identify genetic variants linking breast size with cancer

By CLAIRE BATES
DAILY MAIL
July 4, 2012

Women with larger breasts are more likely to develop breast cancer, say scientists.
A study of more than 16,000 women found those with a larger bra size were at greater risk of the disease.

Link between breast size and cancer 

due to estrogen that can trigger the 

growth of mammary glands and tumors.

The link could be down to the sex hormone oestrogen that can trigger the growth of mammary glands and tumours.

The researchers found seven genetic factors significantly associated with breast size - three of which are strongly correlated with mutations already linked to breast cancer.

Dr Nicholas Eriksson said: 'One of the variants is known to regulate the expression of the oestrogen receptor gene which plays a vital role in breast growth and in the majority of breast cancer cases.

'Another one of these mutations is located in a region of the genome that often shows abnormalities in people with a certain subtype of breast cancer.'

He used data from his California-based personal genetics company 23andMe to make the first concrete link between breast size and breast cancer risks.

His findings published online in BMC Medical Genetics are based on the participants answers to survey questions including bra cup size and bra band size and comparing them with genetic data on millions of mutations.

Dr Eriksson said: 'Social norms and preferences aside, it turns out that breast size matters - but not quite in the way you think.

'The paper shows genetic factors influence whether women have double As or double Ds.
'This might sound a bit frivolous at first but our research uncovered surprising connections between the genetics of breast size and the genetics of breast cancer.

'All of our data was self-reported by female 23andMe customers of European descent who have opted into research and filled out an online survey.

'We specifically asked about bra cup size as an approximation for breast size using a 10-point scale ranging from 'Smaller than AAA' to 'Larger than DDD.'

His team also took into account age and breast-related surgeries including augmentation or reduction.
 
Women can be scanned for breast cancer using a mammogram machine. Women aged 50 to 70, who are registered with a GP, are automatically invited for screening every three years

Dr Eriksson said: 'Most of the genetic factors we identified for breast size lie in regions of great importance for breast cancer.

'These findings show some of the same biological pathways underlie both normal breast growth and breast cancer.

'This isn't a huge surprise if you think of cancer as unrestrained growth. But the relationship between breast size and breast cancer is complicated.

'Some studies have found that larger breast size as a young woman is associated with a slight increase in breast cancer risk, but only in women who were lean at a young age.

'The genetic factors we found aren't enough to explain this association, but support the idea that breast size and breast cancer are related.'

The analysis also controlled for age, genetic ancestry, breast feeding status and pregnancy history.

While breast size is heritable the study is the first to identify genetic variants linked to differences.

Dr Eriksson said: 'These results provide insight into the genetic factors underlying normal breast development and show that some of these factors are shared with breast cancer.'

He added: 'While the topic of breast size raised a few eyebrows when we first put out the survey - some thought it was too personal or couldn't be serious science - this paper demonstrates important scientific insights can come from the most unlikely of places.

'Although the connections between these genetic factors - breast size and breast cancer aren't fully understood - our findings give clues to the function of some of these genes and regions that might be useful in combating breast cancer.'

Everyone loves a bigger cup-size(larger breasts) but now it may be harming women`s health

The downside of a DD-cup: Cancer risk on the rise as average woman's breasts are larger than ever before
By CHRIS MURPHY
DAILY MAIL
June 7, 2012

Breasts are getting bigger, and sadly that is a bad thing.

According to a new book, an author said the trend is damaging women’s health.

Breasts: A Natural and Unnatural History by Florence William, found breasts are developing in girls earlier than at any time in recorded history, revealing that the biology of breasts is changing - and not for the better.


Growth spurt: Florence William's book Breasts: A Natural and Unnatural History, reveals that the biology of breasts is changing - and not for the better. Image credit: Alamy

The author details a number of alarming trends that may be contributing to the high rate of breast cancer in the U.S. - today and in years to come.

Women’s breasts are expanding with their waistlines, Ms William told USA Today.

The average U.S. bra size has grown from a 34B to a 36C in just a generation. That’s troubling, given that weight gain has been associated with an increased risk of postmenopausal breast cancer.

Girls also are hitting puberty earlier than ever before - another trend that increases their long-term breast cancer risk.

About 15per cent of all American girls begin developing breasts at age seven, according to an influential 2010 study in pediatrics.

Breasts today are also under assault from pollutants, Ms William says.

Because chemicals such as PCBs and mercury are stored in fatty tissue, they tend to end up in breasts - and breast milk.

'Breast-feeding, it turns out, is a very efficient way to transfer our society’s industrial flotsam to the next generation,' she writes.

'Our breasts soak up pollution... Breasts carry the burden of the mistakes we have made.'

While nursing her second child, Ms Williams had a sample of her own milk analysed.
It contained perchlorate, an ingredient in jet fuel, as well as chemical flame retardants, at levels 10 to 100 times higher than in European women.

Ms William says she believes in breast-feeding, and spends considerable time in her book noting its benefits for a baby’s brain, body and immune system.

But she notes that many industrial toxins will persist in our bodies - and our children’s bodies - for years, long enough for today’s baby girls to pass them on to their own children.
'What happens in our environment is reflected in our breasts,' she says.

'If we really care about human health, we need to care about our planet.'

Though a science expert herself, the author can't say with confidence whether such contaminants are directly to blame for breast cancer or health issues relating to breasts, she told ABC that her personal experience was a 'great way to tell the story first-person'.

Cancer rates have doubled since the 1940s with one in eight women likely to have breast cancer in her lifetime, according to the author.

The fact that breasts develop and change right up to the last trimester of a pregnancy helps explain their constant vulnerability.

'Our bodies are intimately connected to the world around us,' she writes. 'If we live in an environment filled with pollution, these things will and do affect our health.'