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Tuesday 02 March 2004
General Idiocy
Throw Rocks At Boys Unless you have been living under a rock, you are probably aware that a company called David and Goliath produces T-shirts that say things like “Boys are stupid — throw rocks at them”. I don’t really have a problem with these shirts as such. They’re idiotic, but the cartoons are cute, and they’re perfectly matched to the requirements of their target market, which would seem to consist largely of pre-teen girls. However, these shirts, and the reaction to them, illustrate something about the state of civil society in America. These are some of the designs available on the shirts: Now, every once in a while, you’ll see a man wearing a T-shirt that advertises the wearer’s belief that women are stupid, or that they’re bad drivers, or that they’re only good for sex. These men tend to be fat, uneducated, and rural. They also almost have to be homosexuals, given how difficult it must be to meet women while wearing a shirt like that. They are not, in short, worn by people in the cultural mainstream. These David and Goliath T-shirts, though, are sold in malls, and I’ve seen clean-cut little midddle-class girls wearing the things while out and about with their normal-looking parents. Clearly, there is some segment of the mainstream population that not only believes that it’s acceptable to wear such a tasteless garment in public, but that it’s acceptable to allow their children to wear such garments. That’s fine, though; this has always been a problem. After all, people allow their children to wear bell-bottom pants and choncho belts in public, so I suppose anything goes. I’m not going to discuss the complaints that have been made about these shirts: they insult and, in some cases, advocate violence against a class of people based on their sex. It’s not hard to see how people could find this objectionable. What’s interesting is the response to the complaints. The company that makes them correctly points out that they can print anything they like on a T-shirt; T-shirts are Constitutionally-protected speech. As long as there are people willing to buy the T-shirts, there’s no reason for them to stop making the things. The more interesting response is from the Left generally. An article in last Sunday’s San Francisco Chronicle makes a particularly inapt comparison: The shirts are either, depending on the degree your knee is jerking when you read this, another brick in the wall of civilization crumbling down — or just Monty Python-esque, ironic dark humor. But judging by all the recent angry chest-beating and predictions of widespread crushed self-esteem among adolescent boys, you’d think a male version of Hooters had just opened up. Oh, sorry — bad analogy. Hooters is just good, clean, inoffensive fun. Unless you’re a woman. You know, I’ve never been to Hooters, and in fact I would not be caught dead in one. I find the entire concept offensive, and ultimately probably for the same reasons as Jane Ganahl, the Chronicle’s writer. She would say this Hooters ‘objectifies’ women: I would say that it’s so horribly tacky that I would not want to be associated with the establishment in any way. However, I am broad-minded enough to recognize that not everyone has the same tastes, and that Hooters provides good employment opportunities to women based largely on the fact that they’re women. Hooters waitresses make a hell of a lot more money in tips than do waitresses in places that do not emphasize the staff’s tits. But that’s not all. If these hand-wringers were as worried about the self-esteem of our girls, they might take a walk out into the school parking lots at lunchtime and listen to the music by certain gangsta rappers - - the kind that refers to all women as “bitches and ho’s,” some of whom clearly need to be slapped around. They might want to consider banning those CDs, in addition to those esteem-damaging T-shirts. Well, you see, there have been attempts to ban ‘gangsta rap’ CDs, and to prevent the sale of these to kids. The Left usually complains about these attempts as right-wing racism. And nobody argues that ‘gangsta rap’ is good clean fun and that people who think otherwise should ‘shut up and get a life’ — the Chronicle’s headline on this article. The Left talks about ‘tolerance’ a whole lot, but the real agenda becomes clearer by the day: control. I don’t like right-wing control freaks any more than I like left-wing ones; but at least the right-wingers are relatively up-front about what they want. The ‘tolerance’ crowd is awfully intolerant of certain things, and willing to be tolerant of other things that would seem to be antithetical to their stated core beliefs of justice, equality, and, of course, ‘tolerance’. Posted by tino at 13:38 2.03.04This entry's TrackBack URL::
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“they insult and, in some cases, advocate violence against a class of people based on their sex.” Can you even imagine if similar T-Shirts, complaining about how girls have cooties or whatever and that you should throw rocks at them, were being worn by boys and what this particular writer’s reaction would be? I can, and I don’t care much for people who live in glass houses. We all know one is only allowed to piss on white, straight males. Without all of you, who would we have left to demean? The horror, the horror. -Nicole Posted by: Nicole at March 3, 2004 02:35 PM At the risk of having Nicole think I’m correcting her, please allow me to add that one is only allowed to piss on white, straight, Christian males. Just ask Mel Gibson. Posted by: Twonk at March 4, 2004 10:51 AM Twonk has incurred my wrath by correcting me! Raar! Kidding. You’re right, of course. Posted by: Nicole at March 4, 2004 04:24 PM There are such shirts that demean women just as much if not more so than the ‘throw rocks at boys’ shirts. They say things like “Do you have a sister?” “Nice Rack” “BJ’s Hot Dog Stand”. Just walk into any Abercombie and Fitch, Aeropostle, American Egal, Old Navy and you will see. but lets not disgrard the fact that practicaly the ENTIRE fasion industry is sexist in womens fasions. the skirts keep getting shorter and the shirts keep getting lower. LEts change every thing and have everyone just where the unisuit that way personal expression and be totally void, and lets fight the real enmy: not Mel Gibson but try George Bush. Thanks Posted by: Molly at March 10, 2004 12:41 PM I’m not a male chauvinist pig, and in fact I consider myself a very sensitive, enlightened male, but are you really bitter and disillusioned enough to believe that complimenting a lady’s bust is worse and more sexist than encouraging the masses to throw rocks at an entire racial/gender group? What absolute pap! Posted by: Barrett at April 3, 2004 11:43 PM OH please, lets cut the bullshit here. The White-Male race has been the ULTIMATE supressor for all of ETERNITY. They have been throwing rocks at the masses for CENTURIES! IF any of you truly believe that this one meager website is going to change the already horrid fate of humanity, YOU are the bitter and disillusioned. Yes, of course it is wrong to throw rocks at any one. However, let’s try telling that to the rapists that walk your neighborhoods, or the perverts who presue the innocences of our young children. Or better yet, let’s stop ‘throwing rocks’ at these white-male suppressors and start throwing lawsuits of sexual harrassment, embezlement, fraud and etc… The white men who caused this website to be created have been getting away with what they do for way to long. Lets take a stand and make a change for the better. Posted by: Molly at April 26, 2004 02:39 PM The white male has not been the ‘ultimate supressor for all eternity.’ The white male is just the most recent and most recognized in American society. ~The Asian culture supressed their wives and children more than the Europeans [white males] ever did….In ancient China, giving birth to a girl was so frowned upon that if a poor family had a girl, the girl would definately be a slave, so her mother would kill her rather than having her be raised a slave. ~The ancient Egyptians suppressed and made slaves of not only other peoples, but they made slaves of their own people as well. ~African chiefs willingly sold POW’s from tribal wars to the white men…if they weren’t sold, they were going to be killed or made slaves of that tribe, anyway. ~Many Middle Eastern cultures did, and still do supress the rights of women and those who oppose their religious beliefs. In all actuality, the American white male treats women better than any other cultures ever did. I’m not saying that sexual discrimination doesn’t exist, but please get the facts straight before blaming an entire race/gender group for all suppression for all time. Posted by: D-chan at April 27, 2004 07:37 PM i find there to be nothing wrong with these commets they are just words put onto a tee-shirt or poster i personally have a poster that says,”boys are stupid, throw rocks at them” i belive there is no problem with this because of the freedom of speech young women have the right to were these tee-shirts because they are telling the world this for some reason or another and i see alot of males wearing shits saying alot of similar commets about women not only the fat or unductated they are well clean cut men but why are they wearing these shirt may is ask? because they can! Posted by: annie at August 22, 2004 06:05 PM
Hello all, In my opinion, I’m estimating you people are all over the age of 30. Well I’m not, and I think you guys are taking this, girl pre-teen humour a bit to far. These are not masterminds that are ploting to over-through the male sex, these are innocent girls that are just out to have a little fun. It’s not the companies fault that these shirts are now the style, the buyers and wearers invested in them, and chose to buy that shirt. I have personally seen adult males wear more insulting shirts. But in the end, I just shake my head and laugh at the person wearing the shirt, because they obviously need attention. Anywhooo, I think you guys should back off this subject because when you were are age, I’m sure you guys experimented with worse things then what we teens wear these days. Have a good one!
-signed
The Teens of Today, not 1950..
Posted by: at June 15, 2005 05:13 PM you all should check out the URL posted if you like positive shirts for our future youth. www.senordog.com Posted by: g at September 2, 2005 02:40 AM omg people they are just shirts, i have three brothers and its just fun to wear them around guys who wear insluting clothes around girls!!! ali Posted by: at September 6, 2005 05:17 AM woah ppls ther just T-SHIRTS! honestly im a young girl and things guys say to girls are disgusting. Most of the time u wanna do more than just throw rocks at them! guys are mean to girls, why shudlnt they be mean bak? sure, its stooping to ther level but its just for a laugh and they dont care! ther self-esteem is fine! seriously go ask a teenage guy if they find it offensive. chances are they wer shirts of ther own that insult girls! Posted by: at November 8, 2005 09:35 PM |
