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Jac de Molay
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Detroit
Sep 2001
time: 05:33
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http://www.ljworld.com/section/archive/story/159681
quote:
Protesters fail to see humor in 'Boys Are Stupid' shirts
New York — The T-shirts and pajamas are meant to be funny, with cartoon captions like "Boys Are Stupid -- Throw Rocks At Them." But some protesters, encouraged by a fathers'-rights talk show host, are unamused and have pressured three retail chains into dropping the merchandise.
The products in question -- an array of girls' clothes and accessories -- are manufactured or licensed by David & Goliath, a T-shirt company based in Clearwater, Fla.
Its chief designer, Todd Goldman, has created a series of cartoonish graphics used on the merchandise with what he intended to be humorously anti-boy themes. "Boys Are Smelly -- Throw Garbage Cans At Them," says one. "The Stupid Factory -- Where Boys Are Made," says another.
"I have a very quirky, sarcastic sense of humor," Goldman said. "Most people just love the cartoons. If a few people don't like them, they don't have to buy them."
The graphics have been in use more than two years but only recently came to the attention of Glenn Sacks, a commentator who is host of "His Side," a weekly radio show aired in Los Angeles and Seattle that is sympathetic to the fathers' rights movement and often at odds with feminists.
"I'm sorry if I sound like a humorless zealot, but I just don't see the humor in it," Sacks said.
At Sacks' urging, listeners and supporters have contacted targeted retailers by e-mail and other means, urging them to stop selling the David & Goliath products. At least three retail chains -- Seattle-based Bon-Macy's, California-based Tilly's and Claire's Stores Inc., an international chain -- say they will no longer carry the contested items.
Goldman thinks the idea that he's promoting violence is ridiculous. "If you look at the violence in rap songs, in video games -- that's what they should be concentrating on, not a cartoon T-shirt," he said.
Like many targets of consumer protests, Goldman said the controversy about his products had boosted sales, especially over the Internet.
"It's the best advertisement I can ask for," he said. "We're one of the hottest junior lines out there."
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Contrary to what a few people around here want to believe about political correctness as some bogieman invented by the Right, here's a classic example of how it's sterilizing American society.
Of course, the mass media can peddle all the violence it wants through movies, video games, and cartoons. But (oh no!) perish the thought that somebody comes up a quirky, silly campaign that "boys are icky".
It always takes one uptight, thin-skinned, PC fussyfart to ruin the fun. And shame on the stores for giving in and discontinuing the products. 
""The Stupid Factory -- Where Boys Are Made," 
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Drogue
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Omnipresent conscience
Oct 2002
time: 05:33
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quote:
Originally posted by Osweld
But really, when i first read about it I didn't like the sound of it. However, after I looked up the image to see what context the words where used in, I think it's 'quirky' or silly enough to be funny, and certainly not able to be taken seriously. |
By a 5 year old? Or a 10 year old? Remember these t-shirts are aimed at children:
quote:
My bold
"We're one of the hottest junior lines out there." |
I think the "The Stupid Factory - Where Boy's Are Made", though tasteless, would be acceptable. However it should also be acceptable the other way, regarding girls. The ones that purport violence against boys are not ok. Whether or not it was intended that way, it could well influence a young girl, who doesn't know any better, to throw stones at boys.
Azazel 
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Jac de Molay
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Detroit
Sep 2001
time: 05:33
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quote:
Originally posted by chegitz guevara
And that's political correctness how? In the typical ideology ascribed to "PC," volence and derrogatory comments about boys would be okay, since boys are males, and males are the oppressors. PC is almost universally described as a left-wing ideology, and yet it seems that people across the board, politically, find this distasteful. |
PC, regardless of ideology, seeks to neutralize statements or expressions that are deemed stereotypical or offensive to the select few, and it cuts both ways. Another good example of this are, say, university Writing manuals for students that attempt to influence all essay writing to exclude gender or racial descriptions that might possibly be deemed offensive. I also consider this case an apt example.
quote:
guess in this case, there's a group of people who believe that they have the right to be free from being offended. That's the jist of political correctness, isn't it? |
And what gives them the right to take away others' enjoyment of the humor they find in the shirts? Let the free market make these decisions- If they don't sell, pull 'em. I don't need some sanctimonius pokenose dictating what products I should/n't be exposed in the open marketplace.
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Drogue
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Omnipresent conscience
Oct 2002
time: 05:33
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Osweld: It is telling them to throw stones. Even if it's meant as a joke, I don't give 5-10 year olds the credit of being able to see that. Not the vast majority at least.
A cartoon character dropping an anvil on someone's head is:
a) Not an instruction. It's just showing it as something funny, not telling kids to go and do it.
b) Not violent acts on humans. It's easier to decern it as a joke when it's a cat and a mouse, or a roadrunner, as opposed to a human.
c) On TV, as opposed to on a t-shirt, worn in public.
That is why I think the "Boys are Stupid" or the "Stupid Factory" one's are fine. However saying "Throw Stones At Them" is not. In the UK, if a child actually did throw a stone after seeing that, the makers could be charged with Incitement of Violence. They told a kid to throw stones at someone. Add to that the sexual discrimination, whereby they are told to throw stones at boys, and I can understand why people have a problem with it.
Would you think it's ok to sell t-shirts in Israel saying "Jews are stupid - throw stones at them", and then be annoyed that people protest about it. Sure, the situation isn't as volatile, but it's selling them to young children, who are impressionable and haven't got the maturity to know the difference between joke and statement. We have banned advertisments designed to attract children, because they can be easily manipulated. I think these t-shirts go even further.
Last edited by Drogue on 02-02-2004 at 21:24
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