Is this shampoo demeaning to women?

Tom Elliott posed the question to listeners on Thursday afternoon.

The shampoo bottle was spotted in caller Eddie’s local supermarket with the label “dumb blonde”.

“You cannot typecast someone based on their physical appearance,” Tom said.

Social commentator and feminist Eva Cox weighed in on 3AW Drive.

“No it’s not all right, because it just reinforces the idea that if you’re blonde you’re dumb,” she said.

She said she had an issue with labelling and sub-labelling groups.

Ms Cox said she had heard an interview with the owner of a fish and chip shop in Queensland that’s attracting attention today, for naming her shop The Battered Wife.

The former police office and family violence victim stands by the name.

“She is very serious about trying to stop women being battered, and I think she deliberately used the name of the shop in order to publicise the fact this is something that’s wrong,” Ms Cox said.

“In a sense she made a political judgement, and I think it’s quite a shrewd one.”

Click PLAY to hear more on 3AW Drive