Log In

Home
    - Create Journal
    - Update
    - Download

LiveJournal
    - News
    - Paid Accounts
    - Contributors

Customize
    - Customize Journal
    - Create Style
    - Edit Style

Find Users
    - Random!
    - By Region
    - By Interest
    - Search

Edit ...
    - Personal Info &
      Settings
    - Your Friends
    - Old Entries
    - Your Pictures
    - Your Password

Developer Area

Need Help?
    - Lost Password?
    - Freq. Asked
      Questions
    - Support Area



Loopywafflehead ([info]loopywafflehead) wrote in [info]otf_wank,
@ 2012-08-27 18:31:00


Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Entry tags:feminism: you're doing it wrong

It's a ladies pen, for ladies


Many thanks to the anon on wank_report for this one!

Bic have released Bic For Her, a line of pens for just ladies. They are your everyday ballpoint pens except that the outer casings are in pink or purple, so that is how you know who can use them.

The first customer review is from Andrea, who is a very clearly a Bic employee:

OK - so I admit it, I have a pink diary, pink laptop and even a pink phone. But now I have a really good quality pink pen!! - It is really comfortable to use, writes smoothly and lets face it, it is great to have a pen that is distinctive. It stops your friends from pinching it as you immediately recognise that it is yours!! (although as it comes with 11 others, I have given my BFF one! Great price for 12 pens of this quality.


She gets called out for being a plant. Reviewers then proceed to have lots and lots of fun in the comments. A small selection of reviews:



1. My man friend helped me to order this product as he said it would be very useful for me, and this morning it dropped onto my doormat. I was very disappointed to find that this isn't a pair of shoes, an oven, or dishwashing soap. I don't really know what you expect me to do with it/them, to be honest - which is a shame, because I like the colours. I've arranged the thingies into a pretty glass vase for now xoxoxox


2. I am a huge fan of the gender binary. Without it, it's very hard to work out who to oppress … I write things, but not often enough to require 12 pens. Seriously - the only feminine person I can think of who produces that many words is Barbara Cartland, and she lies on a chaise longue while someone else writes down her dictation in any case. How many thoughts do you think I have in my pretty pretty head, bic?

Even if I did have a moment of wisdom, I would feel ashamed, keep it secret and hope like hell it would pass before anyone noticed.


3. As a MILLIONAIRE AUTHOR of BESTSELLING TECHNO-THRILLERS, I have to say that I was very disappointed with this pen. Whenever I tried to write punchy, in-your-face prose about the nuclear payload capabilities of the B-2 Northrop-Grunmann stealth bomber, I found myself instead writing about shopping, cocktails and friendship. And when I tried to write the title 'OPERATION CRISIS POINT' at the top of the page, I found myself writing 'DIARY OF A THIRTYSOMETHING' instead. Is Jeremy Renner gonna want to star in the movie adaptation of that? IS HE HECK.


4. I feel I must complain in the strongest terms about the sexism of this item. Where are the "For Him" pens? How can I embrace my masculinity, when there is no pen for me? Am I destined to just watch all of the women around me falling into a sparkly dream of ponies, crochet and butterflies, while I pace angrily here, unable to access the manly world of construction vehicles, barbeques, motor racing and science? I can barely adjust my crotch, I am so angry.


5. I can't help but be disturbed by the phallic symbolism of these pens. As a lady of refinement, the last thing I want to do is to be seen holding something resembling a gentleman's "member" in my expensively manicured hands. What happens in the bedroom is one thing but what happens in public is another!


6. Before I bought this product I couldn't write but now I'm an engineer. Mind you, I only design pink, flowery bridges, motorways and sewers. Blue ones would be wrong wouldn't they.


7. I can't recommend this product at all. I didn't pay attention to BIC's blurb and didn't realise they were designed for female hands and not male ones. It just didn't work but when I gave one to a female colleague she had no problem using it, obviously BIC are onto something here but I don't know what it is.

All was not lost however, I found that by removing the ink cartridge the outer layer is great for smoking crack as the rubber sleeve prevents it slipping from my fingers once I'm blazed.


8. I bought this pen (in error, evidently) to write my reports of each day's tree felling activities in my job as a lumberjack. It is no good. It slips from between my calloused, gnarly fingers like a gossamer thread gently descending to earth between two giant redwood trunks.


9. I tried these on a whim, and I have to say I wasn't very impressed. The applicator mechanism is far too fiddly, and the plastic tampon inside far too thin (not to mention uncomfortable and non-absorbant) - I'm sure there must be a knack to using them, but I couldn't find it. They also stained my knickers blue for some reason. I really wanted to like these, but it's back to pads for me.


10. How could I have missed my own deep inner need for such a product? It's just perfect for ramming straight up the hogs' eye of any sexist man I happen to be oppressed by - no more tabasco-dipped nasty old medical catheters for the misogynists in my life!


11. Pray, what is a 'pen'? I do like it so, because it is so pink, but I remain ignorant as to its practical use. Father says not to ask questions because it might give me wrinkles, and to carry on practising my charming giggle so I can one day ensnare a Duke - but I cannot help but be intrigued by the delicate pinkness of this curio. I can only assume that because it is pink, it is intended for a woman's useage. I am a woman, therefore perhaps I should have this pink so-called pen?


12. Despite the hype, and the colour, and the talk of buttons and tips moving in and out, this was the worst dildo ever.

ETA: The people on Metafilter are also having a jolly good laugh over this.



(Read comments) - (Post a new comment)


[info]mirhanda
2012-08-27 06:45 pm UTC (link)
I actually do have a pink, flowery laptop (its a skin) but my phone is purple. Pink and purple are my favorite colors. (Well fuchsia is my top fav, but you know.) I wish the ink were pink though, I'd get one!

(Reply to this)(Thread)


[info]mirhanda
2012-08-27 06:48 pm UTC (link)
P.S. What's wrong with pink? I just don't get it. I understand that different people have different favorites, but I don't see people trashing, say, people who like green. What's up with that?

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)


[info]white_serpent
2012-08-27 07:00 pm UTC (link)
Not a thing is wrong with pink! If they'd just made the pens in pink with standard packaging-- instead of emblazoned with "For Her"-- it wouldn't be so roundly mocked.

The corporate shill doesn't help matters, either.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)


[info]phosfate
2012-08-27 07:03 pm UTC (link)
Not to mention pink pens have been available since...I'm gonna say forever. Shill acting like this is a new thing is hilarious.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]mirhanda, 2012-08-27 07:22 pm UTC

[info]mirhanda
2012-08-27 07:25 pm UTC (link)
OIC

I tell ya though, anytime something comes out in pink I head yelling about how everyone HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATES pink. I just get tired of that you know?

My laptop

Hopefully this will post a pic of my laptop. I was actually getting a pic of the sofa but you can see my flowery laptop in front there.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]mirhanda, 2012-08-27 07:26 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]mirhanda, 2012-08-27 07:29 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]staroverthebay, 2012-08-27 11:37 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]mirhanda, 2012-08-28 12:04 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]cmattg, 2012-08-30 03:44 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]singe, 2012-08-31 01:05 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]mirhanda, 2012-08-31 04:03 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]sandglass, 2012-08-27 10:19 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]ivyette, 2012-08-28 11:28 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]mirhanda, 2012-08-28 02:37 pm UTC

[info]eilisliana
2012-08-28 07:22 pm UTC (link)
I find the "For Her" part odd, like the razors with "For Her" emblazoned on them. Expect pens aren't something that might be different for women than men. (But then again I buy "mens" razors because they are cheaper and I couldn't carry less about the color of my disposable razors.)

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]white_serpent, 2012-08-28 07:29 pm UTC

[info]ayala_atreides
2012-08-27 07:24 pm UTC (link)
I don't think it's the pink that people have a problem with. If it was just generic pink pens then there wouldn't be an issue. It's the "For Her" bit that people are laughing at/objecting to. As if all women inherently prefer pink over all other colors, and pens "for her" (why do we even need pens that are categorized by gender?) therefore need to be pink.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)


[info]full_metal_ox
2012-08-27 10:55 pm UTC (link)
It's like that ad campaign for Dr. Pepper Ten, proclaiming the product's MANLY MACHO MANHOOD, with NO DIET GIRL COOTIES ALLOWED, no siree!

(Pretty tough talk about a beverage that tastes like a carbonated Twinkie.)

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]rosehiptea, 2012-08-28 04:24 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]full_metal_ox, 2012-08-28 11:45 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]rosehiptea, 2012-08-29 01:56 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]gerorin, 2012-08-29 02:24 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]rosehiptea, 2012-08-29 05:55 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]gerorin, 2012-08-30 07:23 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]rosehiptea, 2012-08-30 04:49 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]gerorin, 2012-08-30 05:22 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]rosehiptea, 2012-08-30 06:10 pm UTC

[info]cmdr_zoom
2012-08-27 07:34 pm UTC (link)
My niece is a girly-girl who loves princesses and everything pink. "If that's your thing, go for it," I say.

P.S. Green is my favorite.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)


[info]sepiamagpie
2012-08-27 08:20 pm UTC (link)
P.S. Green is my favorite.


goddamn hippy

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]cmdr_zoom, 2012-08-27 11:41 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]tangentialone, 2012-08-28 11:22 pm UTC

[info]cinnamonical
2012-09-16 12:16 am UTC (link)
Greenfreaks unite! (Though I am fond of pink and black as well.)

(Reply to this)(Parent)


[info]the__ivorytower
2012-08-27 07:35 pm UTC (link)
Some people do plain hate pink, but I think it's the modern pink = for girls, blue = for boys thing that really gets to a lot of people, because it's not really a special pen other than the fact the outside casings come in pink and purple.

If I were designing something for women, I'd actually go out and research what makes women like a particular style or brand. I wouldn't just assume slapping pink on the side of it makes it for women.

I know for me I like the specific kind of grips and tips on pens, rather than how they look or what colour they write in. I do like fancy coloured inks too. I don't hate the colour pink, but it doesn't appeal much to me.

Also, what a pretty picture of your living room! One of my friends has that exact same print.

(Reply to this)(Parent)


[info]ekaterinv
2012-08-27 08:28 pm UTC (link)
It is not the pink. Pens that were simply pink and purple with normal packaging would not get a negative reaction, except from people disappointed that the ink wasn't pink and purple. It is that they are marketed as "for her", as if only women can use pink pens, as if men cannot use pink pens, and as if women can only use things that are pink and purple. It is hardly the only thing marketed this way, either.

This is why many women go through a HATE PINK stage, and it's legitimate. When you're treated as if you're expected to loooove this color, and this color is considered by the broader culture to be girly and therefore weak, but you are a girl and therefore you must be girly and therefore weak and therefore love pink, hating pink is one way of rebelling. I'm over that now, but that doesn't make these pens any less ridiculous.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)


[info]tangentialone
2012-08-28 05:55 am UTC (link)
+1

Right, nothing wrong with pink or with liking pink, but fuck all that gender baggage around it. :(

(Reply to this)(Parent)


[info]lied_ohne_worte
2012-08-28 11:30 am UTC (link)
With me, it's not my personal rebellion against pink, but rather my disgust at seeing an incredible increase in gendered children's toys, nicely colour-coded in pink and blue. I took a look at my country's Amazon recently to buy something for a child in my family, and they had pages "for girls" and "for boys". And the content is not merely colour-coded, but rather separated by what girls and boys are supposed to do. All the girl things were pink with princesses and unicorns and fairies and magic. Toys that had to do with crafts involving tools, or science experimentation sets, were clearly colour-coded for boys, had boys on the box, and was found in the boys' section.

I feel as if this has actually gotten worse since I was a child, and what really horrifies me is that so many parents seem to buy it without any question, by putting their children into these boxes before they can even show a preference for anything.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)


[info]ekaterinv
2012-08-28 07:40 pm UTC (link)
It really does seem to have gotten worse. When I was a kid, I remember stuff like science kits having a girl and a boy on the cover pretty much all the time. Plus even the "girl toys" had astronauts and doctors along with the fairies and princesses. And She-ra!

Misogyny and the related policing of gender identity seem to have gotten very much worse since the 80s and have definitely gotten worse since the 90s. Like when some dumbass TV psychologist said (I think last year) that Hilary Clinton wearing slacks shows she's uncomfortable with being a woman, and people did anything other than laugh him off the air.

(Reply to this)(Parent)


[info]risha
2012-08-28 04:32 am UTC (link)
My hair.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)


[info]ivyette
2012-08-28 11:04 am UTC (link)
Pretty sure this is the most gorgeous shade of pink hair I've ever seen, wow!

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]risha, 2012-08-28 11:24 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]talec, 2012-08-30 04:28 am UTC

[info]eevee
2012-08-28 12:15 pm UTC (link)
I know this is not exactly on topic. But
a) Your hair is AMAZING
b) can you maybe please share the dye brand/type id it's durable? I can't seem to find anything but crappy semi-permanent dyes that wash off within two weeks. ; n ;
(I have blue streaks right now! So pretty but I wish they would last more.)

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]eleutheria, 2012-08-28 05:17 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]come_love_sleep, 2012-08-28 06:04 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]eleutheria, 2012-08-28 10:15 pm UTC
Thank you thank you thank you both - [info]risha, 2012-08-29 02:52 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]eevee, 2012-08-29 12:14 pm UTC

[info]come_love_sleep
2012-08-28 05:54 pm UTC (link)
Ooh, ooh! Here's mine! Except that that was two weeks ago and it's blue now. I think I might accidentally be a man?

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]eleutheria, 2012-08-28 10:16 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]come_love_sleep, 2012-08-29 02:18 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]full_metal_ox, 2012-08-29 08:07 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]eleutheria, 2012-08-29 11:38 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]tangentialone, 2012-08-28 11:31 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]come_love_sleep, 2012-08-29 02:19 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]risha, 2012-08-29 02:35 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]come_love_sleep, 2012-08-29 02:19 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]caffeine_fairy, 2012-08-29 08:50 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]come_love_sleep, 2012-08-29 02:20 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]caffeine_fairy, 2012-08-29 06:15 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]cinnamonical, 2012-09-16 12:24 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]soc_puppet, 2012-08-29 03:24 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]cmdr_zoom, 2012-08-29 06:01 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]sadisticferret, 2012-08-29 07:24 pm UTC

[info]sadisticferret
2012-08-28 11:04 pm UTC (link)
Mine too. My hat's off to my fellow awesome hair-haver.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]risha, 2012-08-29 02:39 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]sadisticferret, 2012-08-29 03:31 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]risha, 2012-08-29 05:24 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]eleutheria, 2012-08-29 11:42 pm UTC

[info]notjo
2012-08-28 02:14 pm UTC (link)
I buy a lot of things in pink pretty specifically because no one steals pink things. It's sad. And yet, no one steals my things.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)


[info]dorothy1901
2012-08-28 04:47 pm UTC (link)
Now I want to paint my car pink. Also all my money and credit cards.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]notjo, 2012-08-28 04:53 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]full_metal_ox, 2012-09-01 12:01 am UTC

[info]miome
2012-08-29 09:53 am UTC (link)
Extra effective for tools. When I worked in the networking lab we had a problem with screwdrivers walking off. Once we painted all the handles pink ( with nailpolish so it'd be durable), we never lost one again.

(Reply to this)(Parent)


[info]kookaburra
2012-08-29 04:47 pm UTC (link)
That's why I have an outrageously ugly pink suitcase. It's like rancid pepto-bismol. But nobody steals it, if it gets lost the airport people won't even have to pull out the catalog for me to look through, and I can always spot it when it's on one of the baggage carts to be loaded onto the plane.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]seiberwing, 2012-08-31 01:58 am UTC

(Read comments) -

 
   
Privacy Policy - COPPA
Legal Disclaimer - Site Map