Boys are stupid, throw rocks at them!
Encyclopedia
T-shirt
A T-shirt is a style of shirt. A T-shirt is buttonless and collarless, with short sleeves and frequently a round neck line....
by Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
clothing company David and Goliath. The slogan is printed next to a cartoon image of a boy running away from five stones flying in his direction. People magazine
People (magazine)
In 1998, the magazine introduced a version targeted at teens called Teen People. However, on July 27, 2006, the company announced it would shut down publication of Teen People immediately. The last issue to be released was scheduled for September 2006. Subscribers to this magazine received...
ran a story on the T-shirt, opening with a quote from a then 10 year-old girl, "I want to make boys feel bad because it's fun."
In December 2003, radio-host and masculist
Masculism
Masculism may refer to political, cultural, and economic movements aimed at establishing and defending political, economic, and social rights and participation in society for men and boys. These rights include legal issues, such as those of conscription, child custody, alimony, and equal pay for...
Glenn Sacks
Glenn Sacks
Glenn Sacks is an American men's and fathers' issues columnist and media spokesperson. He is the first columnist specializing in men's and fathers' issues to be published regularly in Top 100 American newspapers...
started a campaign against the T-shirts, on the grounds of misandry
Misandry
Misandry is the hatred or dislike of men or boys.Misandry comes from Greek misos and anēr, andros . Misandry is the antonym of philandry, the fondness towards men, love, or admiration of them...
. This raised national attention and led to the removal of the shirts from several thousand retail outlets. The debate between Sacks and the clothing designer, Todd Goldman
Todd Goldman
Todd Harris Goldman is an American entrepreneur and the founder of David and Goliath, a merchandise company that produces clothing, posters and other merchandise featuring a variety of slogans based on older designs. According to the Wall Street Journal, the sales volume of David and Goliath was 90...
, was covered by hundreds of television and radio stations. More than 300 publications in half a dozen countries ran articles covering the issue. These included TIME
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
, Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
, The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, and The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
in the United Kingdom.
T-shirt and its success
The T-shirt was designed by company founder Todd Goldman, who started David and Goliath in 1999 with "Boys are Smelly" T-shirts. It now features clothes with a variety of slogans, such as "Boys tell lies, poke them in the eyes!" or "The stupid factory, where boys are made". "Boys are stupid ..." has evolved into a successful object for merchandise, which includes all types of clothes, mugs, key chains, posters and other items. In 2005 Goldman published a book with the same title. In 2006, it was translated and published in Russia.Goldman claims that the campaign against his company boosted its sales. According to the Wall Street Journal, the sales volume of David and Goliath was expected to rise to US$ 100 million in 2005, up from US$ 90 million in the previous year.
Book
Critics argue that the simple mainstream acceptance of such material is evidence of a deeper and underlying culture of contempt and hatred towards menMisandry
Misandry is the hatred or dislike of men or boys.Misandry comes from Greek misos and anēr, andros . Misandry is the antonym of philandry, the fondness towards men, love, or admiration of them...
in Western society, asserting that a book of similar design
Hypocrisy
Hypocrisy is the state of pretending to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that one does not actually have. Hypocrisy involves the deception of others and is thus a kind of lie....
that targeted a different group (such as Blacks, Jews, or women) would not be treated
Reverse discrimination
Reverse discrimination is a controversial term referring to discrimination against members of a dominant or majority group, including the city or state, or in favor of members of a minority or historically disadvantaged group such as African Americans being slaves. Groups may be defined in terms of...
with such tolerance.
Controversy and campaign
Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
based radio host and masculist
Masculism
Masculism may refer to political, cultural, and economic movements aimed at establishing and defending political, economic, and social rights and participation in society for men and boys. These rights include legal issues, such as those of conscription, child custody, alimony, and equal pay for...
Glenn Sacks
Glenn Sacks
Glenn Sacks is an American men's and fathers' issues columnist and media spokesperson. He is the first columnist specializing in men's and fathers' issues to be published regularly in Top 100 American newspapers...
initiated a campaign against the T-shirts in 2003. He claimed that they were part of a general societal mood that stigmatizes and victimizes boys. The company says that the shirts are not meant to encourage violence through sadistic hateful humour.
The campaign against the line received support from several masculist groups, such as the National Coalition of Free Men
National Coalition of Free Men
The National Coalition for Men , formerly the National Coalition of Free Men, is a non-profit educational & civil rights organization which looks at the ways sex discrimination affects men and boys. The organization has sponsored conferences, adult education, demonstrations and lawsuits. NCFM is...
, but also from groups with broader agendas, such as the Southern Poverty Law Center
Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center is an American nonprofit civil rights organization noted for its legal victories against white supremacist groups; legal representation for victims of hate groups; monitoring of alleged hate groups, militias and extremist organizations; and educational programs that...
. Many critics of the T-shirts pointed out that similar slogans directed against girls or ethnic groups would be widely regarded as unacceptable. The campaign led to the removal of the shirts by several retailers, including Bon-Macy's, and Claire's
Claire's
Claire's is a retailer of accessories and jewelry to girls and young women. Claire's has over 3,000 locations worldwide: their stores are in 95% of all U.S. shopping malls, and in 33 countries...
, a total of more than 3,000 retail outlets. The slogan has also been criticized by Bernard Goldberg
Bernard Goldberg
Bernard Richard Goldberg , also known as Bernie Goldberg, is an eleven-time Emmy Award-winning American writer, journalist, and political commentator...
in his book, 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America
100 People Who Are Screwing Up America
100 People Who Are Screwing Up America is a non-fiction book by Bernard Goldberg that was published in 2005. The book's central idea is to name and blame a long list of specific individuals for making the United States a "far more selfish, vulgar, and cynical place."Goldberg's book denounces many...
, where Todd Goldman, the shirts' creator, was listed as number 97.
In a Boulder Daily Camera article, later condemned by its editorial board, Linda Scott, faculty member at University of Illinois
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
, expressed support for the T-shirts as revenge for boys' "bullying". Helen Grieco, executive director of the National Organization for Women
National Organization for Women
The National Organization for Women is the largest feminist organization in the United States. It was founded in 1966 and has a membership of 500,000 contributing members. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S...
discounted the issue as unimportant and depicted Sacks as hypocritical, alleging he publicizes anti-women views in his radio broadcasts. Others, like San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
columnist Jane Ganahl ridiculed Sacks' efforts in an article saying, "shut up and get a life, already". Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
criticized this approach. Ganahl argued that the T-shirts are perceived as harmless fun by children and that sexism against women is a far more widespread and substantial problem in United States' society.
Glenn Sacks responded to criticism of the campaign, asserting that the criticism was dismissive of the feelings of boys and that the idea that boys should laugh at the joke at their expense creates a "double bind
Double bind
A double bind is an emotionally distressing dilemma in communication in which an individual receives two or more conflicting messages, in which one message negates the other. This creates a situation in which a successful response to one message results in a failed response to the other , so that...
" for boys.
Endorsements of the campaign
- "Can you imagine if a company put out a line of T-shirts that said, 'Black people are goobers, drop anvils on their heads' or 'Homosexuals are stupid, throw rocks at them'? And can you imagine the San Francisco Chronicle doing a story on how cute these T-shirts are?...Turn it around and imagine shirts suggesting the following: 'Girls lie and will break your heart. Throw rocks at them' or 'Little girls are not soft and cuddly, they are mean and vicious and will destroy you.' Can you imagine a newspaper doing a cute little headline and story on how wonderfully cute little boy fashion has become? I doubt it." — Rush LimbaughRush LimbaughRush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
- "I want to join hands with my fellow talk show host Glenn Sacks ... I back his campaign against 'Boys are Stupid' shirts ... [the shirts] are symptomatic of a much larger problem ... the denigration of males." — Laura SchlessingerLaura SchlessingerLaura Catherine Schlessinger is an American talk radio host, socially conservative commentator and author. Her radio program consists mainly of her responses to callers' requests for personal advice and has occasionally featured her short monologues on social and political topics...
- "The shirts are terrible and are part of a much larger problem in our society — the problem of devaluing males." — Al RantelAl RantelAl Rantel is a conservative talk show host. Rantel's most recent contract was with KABC radio, Los Angeles, California . Rantel is unusual in being an outspoken conservative who is openly gay...
- "The protest campaign launched by radio talk host Glenn Sacks ... [is a good example] of how hate mongering is a lucrative business and the best remedy is to yank away the financial incentive." — Wendy McElroyWendy McElroyWendy McElroy is a Canadian individualist anarchist and individualist feminist. She was a co-founder along with Carl Watner and George H. Smith of The Voluntaryist in 1982.-Sex-positive:...
- "[The shirts] are really offensive and I'm glad Glenn stood up and did something about it." — Marc Germain
- "As the mother of a boy, I owe Glenn a big thank you for what he's done." — Jenn Jordan, co-host of the Jeff and Jenn Morning Show on WKRQ FM 102 in Cincinnati
- "I'm angry about these shirts ... I wish Glenn well — I thinks he's got a real point here." — Joe Crummey, KABC talk show host
Response from retailers
Many retail outlets responded to the campaign by withdrawing their stock of the shirts from public sale. Several corresponded with Sacks in person. The vice president of public relations for Universal StudiosUniversal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
made a public statement in response to the campaign.
In Canada, the complaints by the Canadian Children's Rights Council
Canadian Children's Rights Council
The Canadian Children's Rights Council Inc. is a non-governmental organization that is based in Toronto, Canada and was founded in 1991. It describes itself as a nonprofit educational and advocacy organization dedicated to supporting the rights and responsibilities of Canadian children and...
resulted in numerous major retail chain stores stopping their sales of the merchandise. The Bay
The Bay
The Bay is a chain of 91 department stores that operate across parts of Canada. It is the main brand of Hudson's Bay Company , North America's oldest company. It has its headquarters in the Simpson Tower in Toronto. In French, the chain is known as la Baie, short for "Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson"...
, Canada's oldest retailer and one of the largest retailers in Canada, was persuaded by the Canadian Children's Rights Council not only to discontinue selling the merchandise, but to not purchase anything in the future from the company manufacturing the T-shirts and merchandise.
Televised debate
Sacks and Goldman were invited to air their debate on CNBCCNBC
CNBC is a satellite and cable television business news channel in the U.S., owned and operated by NBCUniversal. The network and its international spinoffs cover business headlines and provide live coverage of financial markets. The combined reach of CNBC and its siblings is 390 million viewers...
.
The televised debate took place on the February 24, 2004, hosted by Dylan Ratigan
Dylan Ratigan
Dylan Jason Ratigan is an American television host primarily covering financial markets, the global economy, and politics. He is host of The Dylan Ratigan Show which airs weekday afternoons on MSNBC. He is also a frequent contributor on The Huffington Post.- Early life :Ratigan was born in the...
. Ratigan opened the show by displaying pictures of the T-shirts and asking Sacks, "what's the issue? They're having a good time here." Sacks, a former high school teacher, replied "yes, it's humor, but it's adult humor being played out on little boys. Twelve year-old boys don't get the humor, but they feel the insult."
Goldman was asked if he felt an "obligation to consider the impact" of the products on young boys. He replied, "no" but claimed, "we sell [to] 16, 17, 18 year-olds, you know, college students." Sacks objected that Goldman had been quoted saying the products were his "top selling junior line."
Goldman pointed out that his company sells many "positive shirts, including ones with the slogans 'It's all about me' and 'Chicks Rule!'" He noted that he was very pleased with the extra publicity Sacks' campaign had generated, and that sales had increased. Ratigan, as host, asked Sacks if he thought this meant his campaign had backfired. Sacks said, "we've knocked 'Boys are Stupid' products out of 3,500 stores — that has to have an effect."
Goldman claimed his products had only lost "five percent" of their retail outlets. Ratigan, pressed him further on the point and Goldman conceded, "yes I guess it has been over 3,000." Ratigan replied, "Todd, that's an awful lot of retail stores."
Sacks took the opportunity to note, "I can't even find the 'Boys are Stupid' products anywhere. I can't continue the campaign because we can't even find anyone who still has the stuff." Goldman replied, "you need to get out more." Ratigan closed the show, offering Goldman, "congratulations on the success of your business."
Iconic status in gender debates
The "Boys are stupid ..." theme has become an icon in the ongoing debates regarding gender issues."The age-old gender war is being sold to our children in new, and some argue, insidious ways," wrote Jeffrey Zaslow for The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
. "If the kiddies want to volunteer for trench duty in fruitless gender wars when they turn 18, that's their business," wrote Clay Evans, concerned to see under-18s have a less adversarial introduction to learning to relate to the opposite sex. Emily Garringer also makes reference to the T-shirt in the course of her analyses of male and female habits in dating practices.
However, Goldman himself says that his T-shirts have nothing to do with the girl-power movement, "I'm a guy. I couldn't give a rat's ass about girl empowerment. Our market is teenage girls. I know what sells." The company later branched out to menswear.
See also
- MisandryMisandryMisandry is the hatred or dislike of men or boys.Misandry comes from Greek misos and anēr, andros . Misandry is the antonym of philandry, the fondness towards men, love, or admiration of them...
- Abercrombie & Fitch T-Shirt Controversy