An advert for a horse food supplement called “Slut Mix” has been banned after the advertising watchdog labelled the product’s name “sexist” and “highly offensive”.
The product for horses bills itself as being able to help a female horse, which is “constantly in and out of season, aggressive and temperamental”, as well as noting the name of the product “does attract a fair bit of attention”.
The item can still be bought online despite the Advertising Standards Authority ruling the name is offensive.
The watchdog was alerted after a person complained the name was sexist and propagated damaging stereotypes of women, after they saw the product advertised on the LeMieux’ website.
LeMieux Ltd responded by noting it was simply a third-party stockist of the product and said the name came from the manufacturer.
Manufacturer Herbal Mix responded to the complaint by saying horse trainers use the word “slut” when talking about a “problem” horse and said it did not mean to cause offence. The firm also noted it had been selling the product in 15 countries for more than two decades.
LeMieux Ltd has now changed the name of the product on its website to “Mare & Mix”.
A spokesperson for the Advertising Standards Authority, which regulates ads in the UK, told The Independent: “The ASA noted that the advertised product was a nutritional supplement for horses and that consumers would understand that the users of the products were horses.
“However, the term ‘slut’ was a well-known negative stereotype of women and was commonly used to refer to women who had or were perceived to have many sexual partners, in a derogatory way that passed judgment on those behaviours.”
Dr Jessica Taylor, a psychologist who specialises in sexual violence and victim-blaming, told The Independent the ad “speaks to the developers’ attitudes and beliefs about women and their sexuality”.
She added: “The term slut is not used for animals or horses. They weren’t thinking about horses. They were thinking about women. If I was working for that company, I would be thinking: ‘I know what you think of women’.
“Here we are trying to address global and national misogyny and then we have got horse supplements called ‘Slut Mix’ like it’s par for the course.”
Dr Taylor, who also focuses on the unjust pathologisation of women in mental health services, noted it was very common for people to deny that sexism exists, but products such as this one demonstrate how entrenched misogyny is.
“Misogynistic slurs are one of the only forms of slurs which are normalised and accepted. If you bring it up you are seen as a rabid feminist,” she added.
The Independent has contacted a spokesperson for Herbal Mix for comment.
