Topman T-shirts show misogyny is now so commonplace, it’s mundane
Summary of story from The Guardian, September 15, 2011
A comment piece in today’s Guardian newspaper deplores the state of a society in which misogyny is so commonplace that a top UK high street retailer deems it acceptable to print jokes about it on its T-shirts.
Topman, the men’s fashion chain, owned by Philip Green’s Arcadia group, included in its latest range of T-shirts one with the slogan ‘Nice new girlfriend – what breed is she?’
Another read ‘I’m so sorry, but’ and gave a list of options to select from, including ‘You provoked me’ and ‘I was drunk’.
In rather half-hearted wording, Topman yesterday issued the following statement on its Facebook page: ‘We have received some negative feedback regarding two of our printed T-shirts.
“Whilst we would like to stress that these T-shirts were meant to be light-hearted and carried no serious meaning, we have made the decision to remove these from store and online as soon as possible.
“We would like to apologise to those who may have been offended by these designs.’
The Guardian column commented: ‘The normalisation of misogyny is so commonplace, it’s almost mundane […] The objectification and dehumanisation of women is such an inescapable part of popular culture that it necessarily plays a part in the daily interactions of men and women.’
The printing of T-shirts comparing women to dogs is mainstreaming the objectification of women. The second T-shirt is mainstreaming the acceptance of domestic violence as commonplace.
‘It’s arrogant of Topman to think its clothing exists in a vacuum where these issues don’t exist,’ claims the Guardian piece, adding, ‘It’s irresponsible to produce sloganeering T-shirts without any consideration of how those slogans might be interpreted.’
Sadly, a number of comments that were posted in reply to Topman’s Facebook retraction only seemed to support the thinking (or lack thereof) that resulted in the production of these T-shirts.
“If you don’t like them, don’t buy them.” “Some people can’t take a joke.” “Grow the fuck up.” “What about freedom of speech?”
And one of my particular favourites:”Don’t pander to the sensitivities of a minority of humourless, and frankly inane, people. They aren’t your consumers, and they certainly shouldn’t be your concern.
“Your concern is clothing, not accommodating the political agendas of people ‘offended’ by slogans on shirts.”
Another classic comment from the comments following the Guardian article:
‘Actually, I think these T-shirts would be an excellent warning system for women. You wouldn’t go near the arsehole who actually bought this and wore it, would you? It would save you actually having to have a conversation with the idiot.’
That is true. Same goes for some tattoos.
Oh please! It wasn’t that long ago another retailer was selling t-shirts that said ‘boys are stupid’ and other degrading slogans.
If radical feminists can give it, they should be able to take it.
Which retailer was that, Kris?
Kris – are you implying that radical feminists sold t-shirts that said ‘boys are stupid’?
I love it when people refer to women as a ‘minority’.
What the retailer didn’t understand is that many women shop for men’s clothing for their father, brother, husband, friend, and they will shop elsewhwere. Hard to believe they don’t consider the impact on women who might consider shopping in their store.
It’s not like all the male customers are going to find the shirts hilarious either.
I like these suggestions for women’s t-shirts: http://bechillcomedian.tumblr.com/post/10210717495/alternative-topshop-t-shirts