Why the Bloomingdale’s “Spike your Best Friend’s Drink” aka date-rape ad is a problem…

So by now – you probably gather that I feel strongly in disfavor over the Bloomingdale ad. An ad that portrays A woman, laughing, head tossed back, focused on something over her right shoulder. A man stares at her, unsmiling. The caption reads: Spike your best friend’s eggnog when they’re not looking.

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Yes, I see it as a major issue and another proof of our #rapeculture. I have seen many comments from people stating things such as “Geez, lighten up, it says ‘spike’ a drink not drug it” or “but it says BEST FRIEND” – and here is my rebuttal to those two arguments.

Their defense: “SPIKING someone’s eggnog doesn’t generally involve roofies, It Involves a shot of brandy”

My rebuttal: No. Drink spiking is when alcohol or drugs are placed into someone’s drink without their permission. Note the “without their permission” part of that definition. I will concede that drink spiking does not always lead to sexual assault, but it is unfortunately common and often goes by unreported.

55% of female students and 75% of male students involved in acquaintance rape admit to having been drinking or using drugs when the incident occurred.
90% of all campus rapes occur when alcohol has been used by either the assailant or the victim.
As many as 70% of college students admit to having engaged in sexual activity primarily as a result of being under the influence of alcohol, or to having sex they wouldn’t have had if they had been sober.

Their Defense: “But it says BEST FRIEND, if you can’t trust your best friend to not rape you with a shot of brandy… well, that says more about you and your friends than it does the advertisers.”

My Rebuttal: This defense I take particularly personally. I am a rape survivor and my rapist was my then husband who felt that I was his best friend. Sexual assault has no bearing on relationship status with the attacker. It’s not uncommon for a person to be raped by someone he or she has been dating for a long time, or by a former lover, or by a spouse.