Mexico Addresses Machismo -- Sort of

The famous piggyman behavior [1] of the Mexican male has been met with disapproval by the big brains in Mexico City, who have decided that something must be done to lessen the everyday harassment [2] that half of women workers [3] suffer ["Sex dolls fight Mexican machismo" [4]].

President Vicente Fox acknowledged on Wednesday that Mexico has to do more to overcome widespread machismo.

"Our society still has a long way to go in overcoming hangovers from the past, eradicating prejudice and changing habits," he said.

However, Mr Fox has himself caused offence [5]recently by joking that women were just "washing machines with two legs".

But you have to wonder about the message being sent when the primary image is that of sex dolls. The bizarre ad campaign shows inflatable sex dolls in workplace situations, with the warning that "Sexual harassment is a crime." (Really? In Mexico [6]?!)

Doesn't dressing a sex doll as an office worker convey the idea that the local secretary is a whore [7]? (Link includes image.)

Perhaps something is lost in cultural translation, but the ad campaign appears to have all the psychological insight of Mexico's racist stamps [8] of last year.