ASCI issues guidelines on harmful gender stereotypes advertisement, Check details

ASCI guidelines on Gender Stereotypes: The self-regulatory body ASCI has issued a new guideline regarding advertisements on June 8, 2022. In this, it will be forbidden to show Gender Stereotypes beliefs. Along with this, jokes cannot be made about one's physical appearance or gender. 

The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) said that according to its rules, no ad can make fun of anyone on the basis of race, caste, creed, gender or nationality.

The action was taken by the ASCI after the recent alleged controversial ad by perfume company Layer's Shot. "Advertisements must not include gender stereotypes that are likely to cause harm or serious or widespread offence," the guideline said.
The guidelines are:

1. While advertisements may feature people undertaking gender-stereotypical roles e.g., a woman cleaning the house or a man going to an office, or displaying gender stereotypical characteristics e.g., a man being assertive or a woman being sensitive to others' needs, they must not suggest that stereotypical roles or characteristics are:
always uniquely associated with a particular gender;
the only options available to a particular gender; or
never carried out or displayed by another gender(s).

2. While advertisements may feature glamorous and attractive people, they must not suggest that an individual's happiness or emotional wellbeing depends on conforming to these idealised gender-stereotypical body shapes or physical features.

3. Advertisements should not mock people for not conforming to gender stereotypes, their sexual orientation or gender identity, including in a context that is intended to be humorous, hyperbolic or exaggerated.

4. Advertisements should not reinforce unrealistic and undesirable gender ideals or expectations.

5. An advertisement may not suggest that a person fails to achieve a task specifically because of their gender e.g., a man's inability to change nappies; or a woman's inability to park a car. In categories that usually target a particular gender, care must be taken to not depict condescension towards any other gender or show them as incapable of understanding the product or unable to make decisions. This does not prevent the advertisement from showing these stereotypes as a means to challenge them.

6. Where an advertisement features a person with a physique or physical characteristics that do not match an ideal stereotype associated with their gender, the advertisement should not imply that their physique or physical characteristics are a significant reason for them not being successful, for example in their romantic, social or professional lives.

7. Advertisements should not indulge in the sexual objectification of characters of any gender or depict people in a sexualised and objectified way for the purposes of titillating viewers. This would include the use of language or visual treatments in contexts wholly irrelevant to the product.

8. No gender should be encouraged to exert domination or authority over the other(s) by means of overt or implied threats, actual force or through the use of demeaning language or tone. Advertisements cannot provoke or trivialise violence (physical or emotional), unlawful or anti-social behaviour based on gender. Additionally, advertisements should not encourage or normalise voyeurism, eve-teasing, stalking, emotional or physical harassment or any similar offences. This does not prevent the advertisement from showing these depictions as a means to challenge them.