Zephyrnet Logo

Sexism in Cannabis Culture: Part 2

Date:

Sexism in Cannabis Culture Part 2

Hello and welcome back to Sexism in Cannabis Culture. Last week we had a look at marketing and the way in which professional women are treated in the industry. We talked about why it is that the marketing tactics found in the cannabis industry are not only harmful to women but make it uncomfortable for them to participate in community events. They are made uncomfortable by the naked women licking bongs or whatever is slathered all over the merch, but they are also made to feel uncomfortable by the men attending the events. Several female CEOs talked about the sexual harassment they have experienced under the guise of networking, and even in one case how her 22-year-old daughter was treated like hired entertainment. This week we are going to start with a topic I could easily write a whole article about, the internet has dubbed it “Meat Gate”. 

Meat Gate

At a Las Vegas cannabis convention, the edible company Altai decided to do something that has been considered disgusting, unhygienic and incredibly sexist for decades. In fact, I think what they did was worse than the cliche as it had none of the elegance but is still a stupid practice. They decided, that in 2016, it was appropriate to use a woman as a food plater. Of course, many of us are likely aware of the old fashioned serving of sushi on a woman that was the bizarre practice of businessmen of the 80s. But, much like oddly proportioned suits and excessive public cocaine use, we had very much thought that this practice was firmly in the past. As I say, she was not used for presenting sushi to the guests, but deli meat. The model, clad only in a bikini and a towel, lay on a table completely covered in slices of meat. I’ll give you a minute to really take that in. How the company felt this was appropriate at all is beyond me as well as most of the attendees of the conference.

If any good has come from this horrifically tasteless display it is that it has drawn a lot of attention to the levels of sexism still present in the cannabis community. The images alone that were shared of the poor woman lying there, her arms, breasts, stomach and legs completely covered in slices of meat with only a towel covering her genitals were enough to spark rage. As the image and story spread across social media more and more people called for a boycotting of Altai Brands. Obviously, a large amount of the uproar came from the women in cannabis who were disgusted by essentially being told that they were not welcome as participants, only as set dressing. I probably don’t have to say it, but yes Altai Brands is a male-led company. 

We can probably take a wild guess at how the company responded when all the biggest names in cannabis journalism denounced them as disgusting sexists. That’s right, they copy and pasted the same statement in reply to every comment clamouring for their head on a platter, ironically. I won’t bore you with the entire statement but suffice to say they said they regretted the poor decision, that it didn’t demonstrate the respect they have for women (that bit made me laugh out loud), and basically said that it won’t happen again. One can only hope. I don’t know if anyone else has that scene from South Park where the head of BP says he’s “very very sorry” pop into their head but I certainly do. Personally, I think that the ability to do something like this in the first place shows nothing but a total lack of respect for women in general and as members of the cannabis community. I take issue with it simply being labelled as stupidity or a mistake. 

Unfortunately, this complete cluster fluff happened 6 years ago now and we are still experiencing issues. Acts like this certainly draw attention to the problem but the reactions are either short-lived, specific to this calamity, or simply performative. It’s not enough to get angry at a company that does something obviously sexist and generally mad. We need to be focusing on the subtle sexism, the engrained anti-woman attitude that still exists in the cannabis community to this day. 

Going Forward

Ok, I did accidentally use up most of my word count on Meat Gate but as a final wrap up let’s have a look at how the cannabis industry can change. Of course, the first thing that needs to go is the gross boy’s club attitude that penetrates every corner of the business side of the industry. There are a few ways that we can accomplish this including changing the marketing to be less gender-specific. No more over the top large-breasted blondes wearing nothing on all of our merch. We need cannabis products to speak to women as well as men if we are to get anywhere. 

We also need to invest in better HR support in cannabis companies as currently women are being repeatedly silenced. 

However, I will say that there are some positives on the horizon, with many sources claiming that cannabis is increasingly becoming female. Despite how women have been treated there are still thousands of us flocking to the cannabis industry. This is partly because the women who have been in from the ground floor and have experienced sexism first hand, are creating safe spaces and support networks for women new to the community. The last few years have seen a huge increase in message boards and other community networks solely for women in cannabis. Female-led companies are paving the way for women in cannabis and the more of us there are, the harder it will be to keep us quiet. 

So in summary the cannabis community has been a hard one for women to break into. But, as usual, it’s not that easy to keep us down. So let’s look to the future of the cannabis community, that future is female. 

Writen by Tasha Porritt

Newsletter Sign Up

Make sure you never miss another Vault promo – sign up for our newsletter at https://www.cannabis-seeds-store.co.uk/the-vault-newsletter

Remember: It is illegal to germinate cannabis seeds in many countries including the UK.  It is our duty to inform you of this fact and to urge you to obey all of your local laws to the letter.  The Vault only ever sells or sends out seeds for souvenir, collection or novelty purposes.

Photo by Dimitri Bong on Unsplash

spot_img

Latest Intelligence

spot_img