The internet is exciting, in part, because it offers people an opportunity to produce as well as consume content. This is why it’s sometimes called “democratizing”; it spreads around the power to influence our collective conversations.

One reaction to the new Honda Fit She’s illustrates a form of resistance through the production of media content. The She’s is a 1950s throwback being marketed to women in Japan. In addition to coming in several shades of pink and the inclusion of a heart in the logo, it has pink stitching inside, windows that cut ultraviolet rays (to prevent wrinkles) and a special air conditioning system designed to improve skin quality (to erase wrinkles).

A website, called IdeasForHonda, has emerged in response. It mocks Honda’s stereotyping of women with satire, offering its own ideas for what women want. Here are some of the entries:



This is just part of a wider internet response to the She’s and this type of reaction has prompted companies to make changes. Recently, for example, Gap pulled a t-shirt with the phrase Manifest Destiny and we’ve posted about successful resistance to the Obama sock monkey, the Pretzel Crisps “You Can Never Be too Thin” ad campaign, Nivea’s “Re-Civilize Yourself” ads, and the Abercrombie push-up bikini for kids. Here’s to democratization.