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Original poster

Have I hit peak feminist or am I reading too much into this

108 replies

NothingOnTellyAgain · 18/08/2018 17:02

In paperchase today I was browsing with DD (8) who liked some notepads (obviously aimed to appeal to the girl / teen girl market).

I looked at the display and as a bit Hmm.

There were 3 designs,
1 an avocado (ok - unless I am missing something)
1 an aubergine (widely accepted text speak for penis)
1 a peach (widely accepted to refer to bums, and drawn like a bum really, and with a heart stamped on one cheek so it looked like an arse tattoed with a heart)

Are they doing this on purpose? It seems really odd. Lots of people (mums and kids) might not realise especially with the dick one.

Someone did a thread the other day about girls tshirts with cherries on as well.

It's deliberate isn't it. Why do they do this? Any ideas?

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Original poster
NothingOnTellyAgain · 29/08/2018 13:13

Erect I think it means.

yes definitely some interesting approaches at the library Confused

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Original poster
NothingOnTellyAgain · 29/08/2018 13:11

OR a massive amount of piss taking at school? With all the boys laughing in her face because her pencil case says "Dick" on it?
(Is aubergine representative of an erect penis? O just a penis?)

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BuntyII · 29/08/2018 13:11

Avocado emoji does mean fanny. I see the offending article is now half price.

Original poster
NothingOnTellyAgain · 29/08/2018 13:05

Yes we've covered all that earlier in teh thread lemony!

So you'd send your 12yo DD off to the library with a pencil case with an aubergine on it no worries? You don't think that would potentially invite some erm interesting approaches?

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LemonysSnicket · 29/08/2018 09:54

And yes they're just emojis

LemonysSnicket · 29/08/2018 09:54

The avocado isn't sexual it's just trendy as it's a millennial 'thing'. The other two are sexual, last time I checked paperchase isn't strictly a children's store so some cheeky innuendo is ok

picklemepopcorn · 28/08/2018 20:59

Oh for goodness sake!
Talk about failing to process your concern.

Original poster
NothingOnTellyAgain · 28/08/2018 20:28

They gave a very non response:

"Thank you for contacting Paperchase Customer Services.

Please accept our sincerest apologies for the delay in getting back to you on your query. We are currently experiencing increased volumes in customer messages, which have unfortunately affected our response times, but please be assured that your query is no less important to us.

Firstly, we would like to extend our sincere apologies to you for the negative experience your daughter and yourself had when you visited one of our stores.

We would like to assure you we never wish to cause any offence or concern with any of our products. Emoji icons are a popular trend at the moment and something that has resonated with a lot of our customers, therefore we felt that the range was a fun addition to our collection but we hope there is plenty of variety on offer should these not be to everyone’s tastes. We will certainly pass your comments to our buyers as they are always eager to hear any feedback on the popularity and performance of our products whether it be good or bad.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for taking the time to give us feedback on the matter which of course has been passed to our buyers however if you do wish to discuss the matter further, please do not hesitate to get back in touch with us and we will be happy to help. "

At least they replied?
I wasn't so much offended as totally flummoxed! And thanking god that I knew aubergine meant Cock (DH might have bought it for her, he had no idea!).

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Original poster
NothingOnTellyAgain · 28/08/2018 20:22

Response!

I had said:
"Hello
I was in your shop today and my 8yo daughter was interested in some of your notebooks. One had an aubergine on and one had a peach on. The other was an avocado.
Fortunately I am aware that the aubergine emoticon means "penis" and the peach emoticon means "arse" and in fact the one on your notepad is even drawn to look like a bum with a heart tattooed on the cheek.
The other one was an avocado - I am not aware of any sex / body related thing for that, but prepared to be enlighted if there is.
My question is, given that your range is going to appeal strongly to girls and teen girls who may well not be aware of these meanings, why you are putting these particular emojis on them. What was the thought process? Is the expectation that the purchasers (female and often young) will be keen to buy notebooks that announce "penis" when they are using them?
It would be great if you could explain this design decision as, especially given your core market, it's completely baffling. "

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Original poster
NothingOnTellyAgain · 21/08/2018 14:56

Oh no your poor mum jasmine!

No response yet - suspect they may have filed my email in the bin.

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JasmineByTheSea · 20/08/2018 19:51

This does remind me a bit of my mum who bought a coin purse with the poo emoji on it! She had no idea what it was, bless her...

WhereDoWeBeginToCovetClarice · 20/08/2018 19:45

This Jazz Jennings video makes the meaning pretty clear..

Have I hit peak feminist or am I reading too much into this
Original poster
NothingOnTellyAgain · 20/08/2018 19:35

Dunno it's a shame isn't it.

We go to the one in tottenham court road sometimes, DD1 is v into art and they have some lovely stuff upstairs.

DD2 is very into "girly" stuff and whatnot and all the colourful stationery is like a magnet to her and I'm hoping this is the last time I have to say "No not that one dear, that's code for big fat cock. No not that one dear, that one's code for stick it up my arse" (I exaggerate for effect ;; but it's not far off!).

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JasmineByTheSea · 20/08/2018 19:32

Previously I was a big fan of paperchase as I love stationary but I popped in the other day and was dismayed by their stock. Lots of items with ‘hon’ and it was all very cringeworthy and tacky. I have no idea what they are thinking as anyone annoying enough to say ‘hon’ probably won’t spend much on stationary. What a pity.

I didn’t pick up on the peach / aubergine/ avocado items but agree it sounds horrible.

Why has paperchase become so tacky?!?

Original poster
NothingOnTellyAgain · 20/08/2018 19:25

No response yet!

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MaisyPops · 20/08/2018 16:58

traceyracer
They're quite funny. But then they arent aimed at children so I have no issue with them.

People aren't being prudes. They are saying they have an issue with stock with known sexual themed being marketed at children.

Original poster
NothingOnTellyAgain · 20/08/2018 13:15

Link please!

POstcards aren't so appealing to kids as stationary TBH. Pnecil cases etc.

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traceyracer · 20/08/2018 12:26

if you think that pencilcase is bad I would advise not looking at their postcards

thebewilderness · 19/08/2018 20:56

AngelsAckiz

The grooming of children with Joe Camel on a coin purse labeled lunch money and the playboy bunny all over toddler's and little girl's clothing are what this reminded me of also.

CertainHalfDesertedStreets · 19/08/2018 20:48

God people really hate girls don't they?

Yuck to Paperchase. Can you post this in Chat or AIBU OP? I think you'll get lots of 'overthinking' responses but it's so clear when you know who the designer is and what the emojis are used for. They shouldn't be doing it.

LassWiADelicateAir · 19/08/2018 18:55

I wonder how the sales assistants feel about selling stuff that means "penis" to smiling little girls out with their mums, or 12 yo counting out their pocket money. I I worked there I think I'd be quietly checking that they knew what it meant before the sale

You are 100 % right OP on this and everything else you have said.

PurpleCrowbar · 19/08/2018 12:40

Ds14 & dd12 are both 'cor yeah that's RUDE!' .

Ds made the point that if anyone turned up in his class with one & didn't realise the connotation they'd be teased.

He reminded me of an incident a couple of years ago when one of his more sheltered mates was going round doing a rude finger gesture at everyone because the class mean girls had convinced her it meant 'ok' or 'everything's fine'.

I know the kid in question & can just imagine she would have innocently rocked up with one of these for the first day of year 7, thinking it was cool & cute...

silentcrow · 19/08/2018 12:28

I think I would raise an eyebrow at my KS2 kids turning up with these emojis on pencil cases. Not so much at KS3-4, though, I think there's a line of appropriateness.

Interesting (to me, anyway) fact: in Japanese geisha culture the hairstyle worn by young girls moving from maiko (apprentice) to geisha status is known as the "split peach"; a fancy bun with a red ribbon revealed. Various accounts suggest it signified the onset of menstruation or sometimes when the girl is no longer a virgin (given that men would pay for that access, you can imagine the status boost for them when a girl suddenly starts wearing that hairstyle). In modern times it's more a sign of passing out of apprenticeship, though.

So yeah, fruit being shorthand for sex is as old as the hills. I don't think it's relevant to this particular usage - in the west it's definitely buttocks - but having read a fair bit around Japanese culture I have an instinctive "ick" response to little girls and peaches!

Jaxtellerswife · 19/08/2018 12:18

I honestly think it's not that deep. They are emojis that are recognisable, they are fruit that to kids would be innocent and to older kids barely amusing.
It's possible to overthink

PurpleCrowbar · 19/08/2018 12:10

Avocado definitely = vagina. Check out Grace Nichols poem 'Even tho'...

It would never have occurred to me to interpret those pencil cases though! Once seen can't be unseen.

My inner teenager finds them quite funny tbh.

However, they're arguably funny in a context of 'teenagers getting away with a rude joke in front of the adults/squares' sort of thing. As a cheeky 'what, miss? This, miss? Its just fruit, miss!' doodle on an exercise book, maybe.

This however is more 'adults monetising a sexual joke targeted at primary aged children & their unsuspecting & naive parents' - so no, that's just plain creepy. Hmm