It's subtle, almost subconscious messages like this one that are the most dangerous

I saw this image on a billboard: http://imgur.com/uazG0 , as part of the Conservative Party's election campaign. At first it seems harmless. But it sends a very clear unwritten message: In modern Britain, a family is a mother and her kids. No mention of a father, he is not required.

Some people may say that this is an over reaction, but it is subtle things like this repeated again and again which have a huge impact on the public consciousness. If the idea was more clearly expressed, say a billboard actually saying, "In modern Britain, a family is a mother and her kids. Dads are obsolete" then people can object to that idea. It's much harder though, to object to an idea presented so subtly, as it's almost like there's nothing obvious to fight. The idea sneaks in through the back door as it were.