…Onlookers, even if they enjoy the photos, often suspect that a woman who poses in lingerie, or naked, with a firearm is just doing it to bait followers and thirst-trap men. These women are seen as hypersexual and out to exploit their own bodies, and they’re not often an affiliation mainstream gun companies want to have.
Vox, 2019
In the June 19th Vox featured article, The Hired Guns of Instagram, writer Kaitlyn Tiffany discusses a fascinating marketing trend. And yessiree, it opens a Pandora’s Box: gun activism, presidential politics, female exploitation, the pros and cons of influencer marketing, and when consumerism transgresses from right to wrong, if ever.
As you can see from the images from the article, tactical companies are paying Instagram influencers to serve as lifestyle marketeers of their product. In their IG accounts, which are personal and not business accounts, they cannot explicitly “brandish” a firearm. However, the definition is loose, and the only cut and dried rule is no pointing the weapon at a person or the camera. Instead, they casually pose in pajamas, casual-ware or less… while carrying an assault rifle. The various hacks used to get around Instagram and Facebook rules and guidelines are grey, and even former FB employees say the standards are ambiguously enforced.
Sure, it’s easy to point fingers and say this marketing channel is ridiculous. But this isn’t a new phenomenon. Bikini-clad models have been used to sell a thousand types of widgets, and our entire US capitalistic economy is predicated on the idea of aspirational dreams. Whether clean teeth, deodorant or Thousand Island dressing, the message is the same: BUY OUR PRODUCT and your life will be dramatically improved. For both sexes, there’s the implied idea that use of the product in the ad makes you a winner in life, and and woo-doggie, your endorphins fire like the fourth of July.
Here’s the conundrum: at what point does the grey line become blatantly wrong? In other words, when does food porn or travel porn become porn-porn? For example, when I first saw the pics in the Vox article, I rolled my eyes. I’m not anti-gun, but like to think I’m anti-stupid. Any heavy-handed marketing tactic may elicit a “Come on!” from me. Of course that’s subjective to my tastes. But is there an underlying truth that dictates my visceral response, and is it wired in all of us? I wonder if one measure is our first nanosecond reaction? If I immediately think “WTF, how stupid is that!?” Is that a solid barometer for when something crosses the line? Look at my book promotions below. The first I created for this post. It seems ridiculous, I would not try to connect any sort of concept of a sultry woman in relation to my book. Seems obviously contrived and wrong. But the video below IS one of our marketing videos. We also have a male version. Seems ok and representative of us targeting both genders, and purposely youthful due to the content. But look how close the line is between the two images. If the teasing smile is removed from the first image, is it then suitable?
The Narrow and Wide Gates
I have an open profile; they feel like they can go on and complain about my pictures. I don’t think I’m doing anything wrong. To each his own.
Kimberly Matte Vox article
The Vox article opens the door for a discussion of your marketing truth is yours, mine is mine, all in relation to lifestyle. Or is there one bigger truth that sets the marker for all directions of life? Does it matter in relation to an IG influencer article?
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
Matthew 7:13-14
To ensure I’m not cherry-picking scriptures to make a point, that particular chapter of Matthew is filled with many lessons from Christ. He’s saying be sure you know who is the appropriate authority to guide your decisions. Yes, even in relation to your social media feeds. He concludes the chapter with “everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.”
How do I know when my moral compass is no longer pointing north? When it “feels” wrong? Doubtful my feelings are a good measure, they change with the wind. Our emotions are wonderful, particularly with love, but they can also be quite fractured: “She’s only violent when she drinks… but God I love my little peach. She’s a doll.”
If you’re a Christ follower, you point to the Bible as the foundation for truth; and the Vox article is an excellent runway for a discussion of pluralism (diversity of stances). Or is there a singular guiding view formulated by God? In I’m Not Hitler, I ask the century-old question in one chapter, but reframe it in the form of “Who’s the boss?” We like to think we make the rules, but are we smart enough for the quest? Or do we need a higher power — a boss — to serve as final authority? The question might sound moronic, but ask several friends if they think God is in charge, or them. You’ll quickly see how people make up their own minds on what they feel is right, with no outside authority other than personal peccadilloes.
Even my use of scripture may make some people roll their eyes. Plenty of folks think the Bible is just an old fairy-tale, a less interesting version of Lord of the Rings. Possibly. Or it might be the guidepost for all things; the absolute truth on morality, parenting, service, eternity, and whether a new Lexus + Crest 3X a day will make me a winner.
See ya next time. ML