Bird’s Eye View: Blonde Moments

I’m writing this article at the end of January, hoping that 2017 turns out to be a better year than the last.  2016 was a crazy year, for sure.  But putting celebrity deaths, momentous political change, and my inexplicable wait gain over the Christmas period aside for a minute, let’s look back to a couple of items of women-related beer news that caught my eye in 2016.

Mallorca brewery Sargantana came out with a beer aimed specifically aimed at women called…… Woman.  Marketed in a very attractive purple bottle with the slogan “For you Woman, you’re special”, the beer is a ‘lighter, softer, less alcoholic’ brew for the ladies.  Really???  The brewers call it an ‘exquisite’ ale.  So is it just women that want exquisite beer?  Don’t blokes demand that too?  And am I such a delicate little flower that I can only sup light, soft beers? (are you having a laugh?).  Sargantana also released a beer called Queen especially for the LGBT community.  It has a very nice rainbow design on the label.  Lovely.

I was more impressed by the story of the Brazilian brewery that launched Feminista Red Ale, a brand that aims to challenge the sexist marketing of beer. The packaging is simple, with a symbol for gender equality on the label.  The brewery chose an Irish red ale instead of a lighter, softer, ‘feminine’ beer usually associated with women (see above!).  Founder and creative director Thais Fabris explained the thinking behind it: “The typical Brazilian beer ad shows a semi-naked standard-beauty woman being harassed by men.  She is either the waitress in the bar, a girl on the beach, or a prize the men get for drinking that beer.  The effects of the messages we create go way beyond driving sales, they drive behaviour.  Grab a feminist beer, join the conversation and make a toast to equality."  I’ll certainly drink to that.

It’s been a while since we’ve had overtly sexist images on our beer pumps locally (please tell me if you know otherwise), and I think nationally we’ve seen a decline in the offensive marketing of ale.  But it still exists.  I recently came across Broxbourne Brewery’s Cowgirl Gold and Gardener’s Delight (a bottled cider).  Both display images that many women will find offensive, and let’s be honest, it’s all a bit 1970s, isn’t it?  I don’t mind a bit of Carry On humour (“Nurse Bell?  Ding Dong!”), and I appreciate there is a fine line between what is funny and what is offensive, but marketing based on gender stereotypes that offend, objectify women, and encourage harassment have no place in today’s leisure industry. 

I did spot a lovely pump clip the other day in The Beehive, Norwich, for Posh Blonde, a 4.3% golden ale from Grantham’s Oldershaw Brewery.  The image featured an elegantly turned-out woman with a fine hat and black gloves.  Admittedly, the woman is a blonde and she is holding one of those ‘girly’ stemmed glasses I can’t stand, but hey, it looked classy.  And cool.   Oldershaw have a whole range of Blonde ales, and I must say, the pump clips are all very tasteful.  Just like their beers.

Here in Norfolk we have some wonderful women in the beer industry.  Let’s drink a toast to them all. 

Cheers!

(first published in the Norfolk Nips March 2017)