You may have heard about the Topman T-shirts that were withdrawn from sale after it was pointed out that they were offensive and vilely misogynist. They're so awful, in fact, that it's bizarre anyone thought they were fit to sell. Here's the T-shirts in question, in case you've been lucky enough not to see them:
The first T-shirt dehumanises women to the point of being animals. And the second seems to advocate violence - the excuses are textbook domestic abuser.
I saw these being tweeted and tweeted myself to say they are horrifying and should be withdrawn. Topman eventually did, and released a statement on their Facebook. I "liked" the page long enough to say:
But the last part, "[t]here's nothing "funny" or "light-hearted" about casual misogyny or domestic abuse", has been quoted in The Metro and the online version of an article about the T-shirts in The Guardian. More of my comment ended up on Yahoo News' report. It just seems rather sad that all I did was state the obvious, and yet stating something as obvious as that is deemed highly quotable.
I said what I did, aimed at the other commenters on the Facebook, who really couldn't see why anyone could possibly have a problem with these T-shirts, and came out with the tired bullshit that certain men (and indeed, certain women) come out with when faced with "feminists" - get a sense of humour. Sorry, but I must've missed the joke.
The comments left online at Yahoo and now on a revolting piece of patronsing, misogynist crap at The Daily Telegraph (which even misses the point about Slut Walk, just for extra points...) demonstrate a couple of things:
1. why Topman thought that they could sell these T-shirts
2. why it was so important we stood up (men protested about these T-shirts as well as women) and said these items were wholly objectionable.
Over and over again, the commenters think these T-shirts are funny, when they're not. But these are the very people who would buy them, hence Topman thinking it was worthwhile selling them - there's a market for T-shirts which extol violence and misogyny. I won't go through the comments and paste them here because I will end up frothing at the mouth with rage, but the amount of fail they contain is... well... entirely predictable. This is, after all, the internet, where morons can type whatever they like. The comments are, in general though, quite disturbing.
It's as if Bernard Manning hadn't died at all and has created umpteen internet aliases, where he can say things like "Why are women complaining about these T-shirts when they should be cooking my dinner?" Feminists are called "boot-faced", "anti-feminine", "the hairy nipple brigade." One delightful prick on The Telegaph's piece said "I would love to find out who the women are who have complained. Then I could go and beat them." This comment has been online now for 33 minutes and no moderator has removed it. This man is in effect threatening violence on all of us who thought these T-shirts were objectionable, and guess what? No one seems to mind. Ho ho ho, how funny, violence towards women, HILARIOUS. Pass me a needle and thread, I fear my sides have split....
And this is why it's important we stood up. Men and women, standing up and saying, through the power of the interwebs, that we don't find these T-shirts funny - in fact, we find them highly objectionable and they should not be on sale. We need to say this because we live in a society where some people don't see anything wrong with dehumanising women. Letting T-shirts like this go on sale and not saying anything would mean we were merely giving in, giving up, saying "well, that's how things are." We need to initiate a culture shift, and this is how. Ellie O'Hagan at The Guardian summed it up well, "misogyny is now so commonplace, it's mundane."
If we step aside from the feminist angle for a moment, there's something else about the red T-shirt up there which is rather disturbing. Because of the options it gives, the one with the tick is "I was drunk." When we walk to work through puddles of booze-induced vomit in the morning, the ho-ho-ho, I'm not responsible for my actions, I was drunk angle really isn't that funny at all.
Another thing to mention though, is that the red T-shirt doesn't just affect women. Women aren't the only victims of domestic abuse (as I said up there). There is a very real problem with men who are victims of it, and they have great difficulty in coming forward about it. Making jokes about domestic abuse on a man's T-shirt will only make it more difficult for these men to find help.
The commenters and commentators who've failed to see why some T-shirts have got people so riled up need to appreciate that it's not just the T-shirts in and of themselves that we object to - they're symptomatic of the culture they have come out of, a culture which dehumanises and which needs to change.
I saw these being tweeted and tweeted myself to say they are horrifying and should be withdrawn. Topman eventually did, and released a statement on their Facebook. I "liked" the page long enough to say:
Thank you for seeing the light. The T-shirts were highly objectionable and quite frankly, a relic from a past I thought we'd escaped from. The red one which basically sounds like reasons for spousal abuse is horrendously offensive to anyone (male, female, adult or child) who has been a victim of abuse, or just basically anyone (which should basically be every living human) who thinks people shouldn't live in fear of abuse. There's nothing "funny" or "light-hearted" about casual misogyny or domestic abuse.As of today, this comment has 14 likes.
But the last part, "[t]here's nothing "funny" or "light-hearted" about casual misogyny or domestic abuse", has been quoted in The Metro and the online version of an article about the T-shirts in The Guardian. More of my comment ended up on Yahoo News' report. It just seems rather sad that all I did was state the obvious, and yet stating something as obvious as that is deemed highly quotable.
I said what I did, aimed at the other commenters on the Facebook, who really couldn't see why anyone could possibly have a problem with these T-shirts, and came out with the tired bullshit that certain men (and indeed, certain women) come out with when faced with "feminists" - get a sense of humour. Sorry, but I must've missed the joke.
The comments left online at Yahoo and now on a revolting piece of patronsing, misogynist crap at The Daily Telegraph (which even misses the point about Slut Walk, just for extra points...) demonstrate a couple of things:
1. why Topman thought that they could sell these T-shirts
2. why it was so important we stood up (men protested about these T-shirts as well as women) and said these items were wholly objectionable.
Over and over again, the commenters think these T-shirts are funny, when they're not. But these are the very people who would buy them, hence Topman thinking it was worthwhile selling them - there's a market for T-shirts which extol violence and misogyny. I won't go through the comments and paste them here because I will end up frothing at the mouth with rage, but the amount of fail they contain is... well... entirely predictable. This is, after all, the internet, where morons can type whatever they like. The comments are, in general though, quite disturbing.
It's as if Bernard Manning hadn't died at all and has created umpteen internet aliases, where he can say things like "Why are women complaining about these T-shirts when they should be cooking my dinner?" Feminists are called "boot-faced", "anti-feminine", "the hairy nipple brigade." One delightful prick on The Telegaph's piece said "I would love to find out who the women are who have complained. Then I could go and beat them." This comment has been online now for 33 minutes and no moderator has removed it. This man is in effect threatening violence on all of us who thought these T-shirts were objectionable, and guess what? No one seems to mind. Ho ho ho, how funny, violence towards women, HILARIOUS. Pass me a needle and thread, I fear my sides have split....
And this is why it's important we stood up. Men and women, standing up and saying, through the power of the interwebs, that we don't find these T-shirts funny - in fact, we find them highly objectionable and they should not be on sale. We need to say this because we live in a society where some people don't see anything wrong with dehumanising women. Letting T-shirts like this go on sale and not saying anything would mean we were merely giving in, giving up, saying "well, that's how things are." We need to initiate a culture shift, and this is how. Ellie O'Hagan at The Guardian summed it up well, "misogyny is now so commonplace, it's mundane."
If we step aside from the feminist angle for a moment, there's something else about the red T-shirt up there which is rather disturbing. Because of the options it gives, the one with the tick is "I was drunk." When we walk to work through puddles of booze-induced vomit in the morning, the ho-ho-ho, I'm not responsible for my actions, I was drunk angle really isn't that funny at all.
Another thing to mention though, is that the red T-shirt doesn't just affect women. Women aren't the only victims of domestic abuse (as I said up there). There is a very real problem with men who are victims of it, and they have great difficulty in coming forward about it. Making jokes about domestic abuse on a man's T-shirt will only make it more difficult for these men to find help.
The commenters and commentators who've failed to see why some T-shirts have got people so riled up need to appreciate that it's not just the T-shirts in and of themselves that we object to - they're symptomatic of the culture they have come out of, a culture which dehumanises and which needs to change.
You write so well...
ReplyDeleteCouldn't agree more, health professionals being encouraged to ask about domestic violence routinely - I think it takes an average of 36 beatings for someone to open up. There is nothing funny about it. My 17 yr old niece has recently been physically beaten by her boyfriend of 4 yrs for the 2nd time, thankfully she's ok & was able to tell her dad. Anything that encourages or ok's violence &/or disdain is NOT ok.
You know what it comes down to for me? How would I feel if it were my baby girl? If that makes me too sensitive, then come take it up with me and my Louisville Slugger.
ReplyDeleteWhat utter nonsense. The red shirt is not about women at all, it’s about the previous night out with mates.
ReplyDeleteIdiotic searching for offence and misogyny where none exists.
Mrs Sock: yes, it was interesting that in the Metro, they had a short piece beside it highlighting the proliferation of abusive and violent relationships amonst the under 20s. I was surprised the Metro would do that, to be honest, but it underlined a point, that abuse isn't funny - it's a grim reality for many.
ReplyDeleteSwank76: Being sensitive is fine! ;D
Anon: Well done for hiding behind anonymity. You do know posting anonymously automatically makes your point invalid, right?
So you think the "what breed is she?" T-shirt is great too? Look at the language used on the red T-shirt:
"you provoked me" - when is that not used in a non-violent way?
Even if you want to read it as being about "a night out with mates" (and I think it's stretching it a great deal to view it thus), "you provoked me"? - it's still advocating drunken, unpleasant behaviour.
And as I forgot to mention in my blog initially, it was a charity supporting victims of domestic abuse who highlighted these T-shirts initially. And also, if Topman really thought the T-shirt wasn't about violence (towards women?) why were they so hasty to withdraw them from sale? Topman itself didn't say "well, actually, it's about a night out with mates." They seemed suspiciously silent saying what the T-shirt actually *meant*.
Also - searching for it??? I didn't have to search for it - it was right there in front of my face.
Ah, the lovely annonymous posts.
ReplyDelete"I hate you" "You provoked me" "I was having a bad day" "I didn't mean it"
About the previous night out? So it's making light of drunken violence in clubs, is that what you're saying. And are you saying that is ok?
Firstly those reasons on the list are not something you would say after a fight with a random. They are things that domestic violence perpetrators say to cover up their tracks, to make their partner take them back, to make their partner feel like they have no right to complain. They are typical excuses for domestic violence. A subject matter that is not something to take light of.
Secondly "idiotic" you are also trying to silence and make Helen feel like she has no right to complain. Rather than making a succinct argument for why your point of view has validity.
Instead I urge you to take a step back for a second, read it with the eyes of someone who has suffered domestic violence. Imagine being beaten or mentally degraded by someone you love. Imagine thinking about leaving but never feeling like you have the right too... Because they're sorry, they were drunk, they were having a bad day, they didn't mean it.
Now, if you have any empathy can you see how commercial products making light of these situations can be harmful to others? And I'm not just talking to women although statistically in the UK 1 in 4 women will experience some form of sexual violence by their adult life.
Reconsider your stance, put yourself in the survivors shoes and try to avoid making flippant insults that belittle someones opinion. As you can see although I disagree with you, I am discussing it, I'm not insulting you, I'm picking out the flaws in your argument and trying to help you see another point of view.
Loved the Telegraph guy going on about 'The Feminists' I think it is about time these men just described themselves as ' the women haters'. Surely unless you actually do believe women are inferior you should naturally be, male or female, a feminist.
ReplyDeleteIf I found myself near someone with one of those t-shirts on I'd give them a right mouthful. Not my fault, having been provoked...
i'd buy a Topshop t-shirt that said "PAY YOUR TAXES".
ReplyDeletebut it would probably shrink and fade after one wash anyway...
How absolutely disgusting but it doesn't surprise me. There seems to be more nastiness and casual violence towards women today than I was aware of when I was younger, in an era which was supposed to be more sexist and feminism was more obvious. Perhaps it's just that people seem to think it is acceptable to be vile and ill mannered to anyone they feel like in general, but it's not on.
ReplyDeleteWhere I come from people are still fairly human to one another, but from what I've read and heard from others it's very much otherwise in many places.
I am sick of this kind of behaviour and the stupid women who collude in it.
Anyone who thinks that this kind of behaviour is ok is a fool, an unpleasant fool, and ought to be ashamed of themselves.
Agree. "You provoked me" does not sound to me like an apology for embarrassing fellow males through being drunk. Helen, if the world made sense, journalists would turn to you to get quotes from feminists instead of bothering with Germaine Greer. (Don't get me started.)
ReplyDelete