Fiat Argentina withdraws sexist handbook from new cars
A sexist booklet supplied with new Fiat vehicles in Argentina has been withdrawn after an online outcry and criticism from women's rights groups that it was misogynistic.
According to Associated Press, the "Good Use Handbook" was distributed along with the operating manual in new Fiat cars sold in Argentina. In the booklet, the driver is assumed to be male, while "co-pilots" who are females "must at least have nice legs".
Describing the car's heater, the guide notes that a warm cabin might be useful for "keeping a pizza warm", but it can also be used "to coax a girl who [you] like to take off her clothes".
In the section entitled "Companions", the booklet recommended: "If a lady’s skirt is too short, we recommend that she travel in the back seat to keep our concentration. If the skirt is not that short but you tend to have a wandering hand, she should also travel at the back.”
Another part of the booklet, titled "Chauffeur with love", advises that to "behave like a gentleman, if your partner, girlfriend or squeeze travels with friends, you should become the chauffeur for each of them, taking the place of the alpha male, and dropping each one of them safe and sound at their resting place".
Around 12 pages from the pamphlet were posted on the Facebook page of Ni Una Menos or Not One Less, a group that recently organised protests in Buenos Aires to help combat violence against women. The pamphlet was reportedly created by ad agency Leo Burnett in 2015 and won a bronze award for design.
After an criticism on social media, Fiat's Argentine branch confirmed on Twitter, "We inform you that the [booklet] has been withdrawn from circulation". The company went on to say, "We're sorry ... it was never intended to cause disrespect".
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