2/2/2004

Young males are victimized by fashion

Daily Kent Stater

The latest fashion statements among early teenage girls are T-shirts with phrases like, “Boys Are Stupid — Throw Rocks At Them.” They are manufactured and licensed by David and Goliath, a T-shirt company based in Clearwater, Fla. These products do nothing to move this culture toward gender equality. Recently, Glenn Sacks, the host of a weekly radio show, “His Side,” that supports the fathers’ rights movement, has urged retailers to stop selling these products. Sacks argues that the phrases on these products promote anti-male violence. This is not to point fingers at feminists for backlash sexism. The joke is simply not funny. Sacks’ supporters are even attempting to find groups that fight domestic violence against women to endorse their campaign. So far, supporters have been successful in getting three retail chains to take David and Goliath products off their shelves, most notably, Claire’s Stores Inc., an international chain that operates more than 2,800 stores in North America, Europe and Japan.

Retailers have to be worried about offending minorities and women and also need to be conscious of men. Sacks’ believes that marketers “have developed a moral blind spot toward disparaging males.” These products are found in malls across America, but a single store selling items with similar remarks about women wouldn’t hear the end about being sexist. Girls wear the debated T-shirts with phrases “Boys Are Smelly,” “Boys Have Cooties” and “Boys Are Stupid,” and it’s supposed to be funny. But the humor is lost on 13- and 14-year-old boys, and they couldn’t get away with wearing a shirt saying “Girls Are Nasty.”

It’s great how this campaign flourished because it sprung up from a grass roots movement. Listeners targeted retailers by phone calls and e-mail with success. Sack’s radio show only broadcasts in L.A. and Seattle, but now the campaign has the attention of national media. Retailers are now aware of the problem: Their products are offensive to boys. They are also aware that there is a need to consider things that offend males.

There is a notion in this culture that being pro-girl is being anti-boy. That is the case in this situation, but it is not always true. Both genders get offended, but the movements that spring up in this culture are significantly pro-feminist. Pride in one gender should not poke at the other’s dignity.