Am I right in thinking this is really bloody patronising

[travellingwilbury]

A TKmax in my local town is having a lot of work going on outside , so big fences etc outside . With two great big signs on said fence saying

Men at Work

Never stopped women shopping

I am really grumpy about the whole thing and I am going to e mail said company .

I am not being over sensitive about this am I ?

[travellingwilbury]

I don't normally get annoyed by things so I don't think I am over reacting .

Apart from the fact that there could be Women at work or even shock horror men shopping it all just seems so 1950s .

Thank you for not thinking I am a loon .

[DurhamDurham]

I don't think you are a loon at all but I do think you should take it as the joke it was intended to be. Save your battles for the big things!!

[AnnieLobeseder]

Oh good grief, that would have me FUMING! And I would contact the company too.

Do they not know that women work (even in construction) and men shop?

I was out shopping at lunch today (cos I work, see, though not in construction!), incidentally went into TKMaxx, and there were actually men in there, doing, of all things, shopping!

It's just horrible gender-stereotyping all around.

[AnnieLobeseder]

Durham - it's the constant bombardment of these 'little' things that perpetuate the gender stereotypes, IMO.

[AliceWorld]

No you're not being oversensitive. Email away. And Annie, exactly.

[frgr]

I would be offended too (I don't fit the female shopper stereotype, will try anything to avoid it, and when I must do it, I go in with a list - apparently a very "male" attitude )

It's not a very polite or professional sign to put up, I'm surprised that it was allowed (even if it was intended in jest)

[ANTagony]

And yet there is no such thing as negative advertising and this ad has provoked a reaction!

[lal123]

Its like the signs in our local carpark - for "mother and child" parking

[frgr]

p.s. my little sister is a trained electrician, this is exactly the sort of crap that makes the job a little bit less enjoyable to do (having to put up with the gender stereotyping - most men on sites assume she's health and safety or something apparently).

it's not trivial to her - she used to get quite upset about this type of stuff (but never showed it, that would have made things worse apparently)

[DurhamDurham]

I've never felt bombarded, maybe I just walk around blissfully unaware. Will try harder to be offended in the future

[AnnieLobeseder]

Absolutely Durham, you must be offended by everything immediately!

[JaneS]

That would have me fuming, it's twattish.

[travellingwilbury]

Honestly Durham I am the least offended person ever , even if it had been written in marker pen by an over excited manager I would have probably ignored it . It is the fact that this must have gone through a few different bods to get approved for printing that has pissed me off .

Anyway I have decided I am going to traipse back there tomorrow and take a pic and e mail it to local paper and company head office .

[PennyDreadful]

Love Dittany's idea...i'm sure it can be changed easily to:

Men at Work
Men are Wankers

Never stopped women shopping
Never stop women ....erm, now i'm stuck...

[MotherofHobbit]

Nope, that is patronising and would have definitely had me annoyed if I'd walked past it.

[travellingwilbury]

A big marker pen is a good idea but as someone else suggested to me , I would just put

No but the sexist sign did stop me !

[Footlong]

Men are Wankers

That is so pleasant....

I am sure all the kids walking past would love to read that....

Great strategy, dont make the offensive sign inoffensive... just change who it is offensive towards.. brilliant.

[travellingwilbury]

I agree footlong , hence my post above .

I was telling my dh earlier about it and my ds who is 6 looked all confused and said "does that mean boys can't go to the shops then?"
Even he knows it is stupid .

[ISNT]

Yes because it's obviously a serious suggestion and the only post on this thread Nothing to say about the OP?

[IsThatTheTime]

I'd be a bit pissed off if I was a woman working on that site and for that reason I think you should complain. Forget the women shopping thing, I find the Men At Work thing much more offensive (exclusive).

[Footlong]

ISNT - Eh? I am only allowed to comment on the OP, no subsequent posts? When did this rule come into force?

And given the poster, yes I do believe it was a serious suggestion.

[Footlong]

And evn if it wasnt, the sentiment behind it is still pretty offensive.

[JaneS]

I agree the 'men are wankers' suggestion was a bit given the thread topic.

I liked 'no but this sign might' much more!