Bad Bic!

                Thank God I am not the only one who thought this was insane!  I recently saw a clip from the Ellen DeGeneres show where she talks about Bic’s new product, pens for women!  Give that marketing head a huge raise for setting the women’s movement back to when wearing jeans was scandalous!  Pens, yes those writing utensils that will most likely soon be obsolete by the technology craze, are now made specifically for women.  Please note that I myself love to write in the color purple (see?) because it IS my favorite color but I have always bought pens with purple ink that were not labeled “for her” so were those all masculine pens that are now seen as inferior male pens?  As we’ve discussed various stereotypes about masculinity, this exemplifies how completely condescending such stereotypes are – to both men and women!  For all the feminists out there – male, female, and every degree in between and outside – this is insulting.  Feminist men must be bothered to no end by constantly having to stand up to such stupidity – men think only women should write in purple or pink, that the hands of a woman are ergonomically different than those of a man, that women require their own writing utensils, etc.  Feminist women must be bothered to no end by constantly having to fight products that are labeled “for her” only to be the same product in a different color, to be seen as mindless consumers “oh it says “hers” so I know that it must be for me” as if we needed to reaffirm our femininity at the checkout line.  Is this a rant, most likely, but I think it’s long overdue and it should stop before it gets even further out of hand – toilet paper for her (because our behinds are more sensitive), tissues for her (because our noses are more delicate), eating utensils for her (because our hands are so different and the other utensils are probably too heavy anyway for our weak wrists), plates for her (because we eat less in order to maintain our proper weight), paper for her (because nothing says girl like pink scented paper).

While my writing might be angry, I had to laugh at the absurdity of it all. I’m not going to protest Bic with signs and petitions, but I will make my choice where it will hurt them the most – at the checkout line.  To see Ellen’s take, watch the enclosed YouTube clip from her show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCyw3prIWhc