Feminists are ugly, stupid, and have no sense of humor

Lots of feedback about the ChapStick story. Here are a couple classics.

“I have to agree, the person who is complaining about this add has to be totally out of her mind or she is jealous of the fact she doesnt look as good. Just more bullshit from some frustrated lesbian who wants to strip away any feminine attributes for some one who looks more like some dog from mars.”

And another:

“1.) I think the ad is actually in some way calling to the reader to focus on “maybe it’s up her butt” which is hilarious.
2.) Girls work hard to make their bodies sexy, and in the recent 2 decades, a great deal of effort has been put on the butt. Since girls similar to the one pictured in the ad are the target demographic (segment) for this ad, it’s genius.
3.) If you think this is offensive, then get a life”

Besides hundreds of emails attacking Melissa Spiers, who wrote the post on Reel Girl, or me, the issue goes beyond the ad, which everyone is free to have her own opinion about. Or not. ChapStick wrote publicly it wanted its customers to “be heard” and then deleted their comments; then finally apologized to those customers who “felt like” they were being deleted. See Why Chapstick’s bad PR policy matters.

We actually think the Butt seriously, Chapstick Facebook page is pretty funny. But I guess that’s because we’re the perverts.

7 thoughts on “Feminists are ugly, stupid, and have no sense of humor

  1. to Holierthanthou

    if you are so comfortable in your skin why are you writing boring, long replies apologizing for the sexists of this world? sounds like just pointing out the truth about female representation in the media brings your insecurity to the fore – is this a sign of internalised sexism?

  2. Holierthanthou: I am not among the “most embarrassing and stereotypically radical feminist” (sic). I consider myself to be my own woman and a humanist. I am offended by the ridiculous stereotyping of men just as I am of women. I was offended by this ad and I was incredulous that Chapstick edited the Fb comments as they did. Mine was one that was deleted; it was not redundant or profane.
    Was it necessary or even relevant to use a woman’s backside to sell lip balm? No, of course not. Is this the most offensive ad ever? No, of course not. But does that mean we are required to accept it? no, of course not.

    What on earth makes you think that there were women “running home crying” over this ad? It seems you are engaging in some negative stereotyping of your own. What I witnessed was women using their intellect and their words to voice their opinions. You seem to be upset that these voices were heard. I think women making their voices heard hardly qualifies as radical feminism.

  3. I won’t wear you out but I want to say one more thing. Have you noticed that men are generally portrayed in advertising as dim, limited, slobs who live and die by tv remotes, video games, big breasted women, and Bud Lite?

    I can’t imagine one of my sons running home crying because he saw an ad where a man was portrayed as knot headed cave man who acted like a chimpanzee when he saw a set of jugs. They are grown though.

    Men let that stuff roll over them. That’s the way they choose to deal with it. I’m inclined towards that approach myself. Besides, if women earn some credibility, it will be reflected in the media so I think you have the cart before the horse.

  4. Margot, why can’t girls find those positive images in the real world and the women around them and from strong high profile women in reality? There are plenty of real world women to inspire girls and other women. But Susie Chapstick? I mean, don’t you think it’s better to teach girls to have the gumption not to internalize media messages instead of teaching them that the media should be held responsible for their self esteem?

    But since you’ve chosen to focus on images of women in the media, how do you teach girls to overcome other women who willingly objectify themselves? It’s the women of the world who are responsible for most of the negative images of women in the media. Look at reality tv and entertainment. Even politics. Would Sarah Palin have ever gotten as far as she did on her brains? Hillary was excoriated for her looks and where were women when that was going on? Supporting Obama!

    I think girls and women need to be taught to take responsibility for their own images instead of teaching them that they can be defined by media images. That’s me.

    I think strong girls and strong women are not prone to internalize outside influences and if they are strong enough to separate who they really are from stupid media messages then the battle is won.

  5. Holierthanthou (visiting from the Gate)

    Here’s what I find so incredibly strange about this whole ridiculous fiasco. Judging from the comments, it appears that only the most embarrassing and stereotypically radical feminist are offended by this ad. Yet you, Margot, continue on as if you are utterly tone deaf to the majority of people who find absolutely nothing offensive about that ad.

    Speak for yourself Margot. If you are offended then you are just one of those types who lives to be offended. We all know them. As a member of the human race and the female gender I would appreciate it if you stopped acting as if you were representing me because you are not. In my mind, you are to women what Al Sharpton is to blacks.

    Now you bullied Chapstick and they pulled the ad to shut you up. You won. Way to go. But in the process you damaged both women and feminism in my own view.

    Margot, I am my own woman, comfortable in my own skin and I do not internalize media messages the way you do nor is it ingrained in my psyche that I deserve to be constantly told how beautiful I am. I don’t need to be told I’m beautiful. I have a pretty healthy take on myself and it does not involve beauty. That’s me. We are different you and me, and that’s what makes the world go round. But you lump us all together and you shouldn’t.

    I will also tell you that I resent the damage extreme feminists do to women in general. It’s no wonder that movie goers cannot buy women in roles as robber barons, or masters of the universe, or the forces behind a feat of modern engineering, or heroes. Too many loud mouthed feminists are too busy acting like thin skinned victims and they get all the attention. Then, of course, we have a culture of women who prefer to be entertained by watching other women being victimized – see LifeTime TV, LMN, etc. Would women watch a movie about strong women, achieving something and breaking and destroying their enemies in the process? No, they’d want the women to be raped somewhere along the line to make it interesting. They call that “women in jep” in Hollywood.

    As a woman, if Hollywood ever made a movie where a bunch of women saved the world or schemed to manipulate the stock market in an evil plot to corner the markets, or put on hard hats and built a Hoover Dam, I wouldn’t believe it and I could and would not watch it.

    And that’s not because of the evil puppet master that is “society”. It’s because I’m constantly bombarded by images and messages of women as victims and this is a classic example.

    And I blame radical feminism and I resent it.

    • Hi Holierthanthou,

      The moment I saw the ad, I saw a sexualized women with her ass sticking up. I am not a fan of the ad. I think it would have been cool to see the woman lifting up the couch and victoriously finding the ChapStick.

      I would not say I was horribly offended by it. I was surprised it was ChapStick that objectified her because I am used to seeing CHapStick ads empower women. But sexualizing women in advertising is so ubiquitous, that it’s ironically, invisible– which is exactly what Melissa Spiers’ post was about. I try to highlight it because I think it important to make the “invisible” more visible.

      I don’t think its a small issue at all. I have three daughters. I’d like them to grow up in a world where there are many more powerful women and images representing them.

      Margot

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