Paperchase's --Sexist-- 'Ironic' Back to School Stationary

[EgyptVanGogh]

...and Marketing Director Robert Warden's stupid rude response.

I think Paperchase deserves to find out how rather sharklike a group of angry feminist mothers can be...

Sometimes the customer isn't right. How can it be that the customer is always right? No-one is always right.

That aside, DS has the Lego Agents collection with some kick-arse female agents who seem to be just as tough as the male ones (as much as a plastic figure with a yellow head can be).

I dislike firms that sell very specific merchandise aimed at the gender segregation of children.
Blue for boys, action and aggression.
Pink for girls and passive sweetness with added marshmallow and glitter polish.

But I truly despise the parents that buy into it wholesale, and accessorise their little princesss and urban combat babes without any cross referencing.
Slavish compliance to the norm and an unwillingness to be seen as different, or to allow their children to be seen as such.
Mindless sheep, following whichever icon is current and trailing their families in their wake.

DD and DS both follow their own choices, and have never been pressurised by me or OH into gender appropriate roles. Just encouraged to make intelligent choices.

I don't get why the drama - is it not the same as ladybird reprinting all the come and play with Peter and Jane stuff - notebooks/cups/pens etc with Jane cooking and Peter fixing the car - it's just ironic and shows how far we've come from the 70's/80's.

They're not saying that girls can only buy that - or boys can only buy that. But are using a marketing tool - reminding us of our school days / laughing at old style pictures of children going back to school - to sell some back to school stationery.

What lifeinagoldfishbowl says.

But it has struck me before that some MNetters underestimate the power of children/teenagers to understand and appreciate irony. They may not be able to say 'Oh, isn't that ironic!' but they do understand the concept.

I don't see the link with 90's kinderwhore dresses either. Before dismissing that as vacuous irony, maybe put in context of overt feminism of their lyrics and attitude of the bands.

Missing the point to take the image so literally. It was intended to be slightly grotesque subversion of feminine norms and actually draw attention to ways young girls and women are sexualised. Quite a potent statement for female musicians and artists, of which were (and still are) so few and far between and the expectations and emphasis being on their attractiveness rather than talent. The whole look initially started out much as a rejection of beautiful, using lipstick to write slogans on the body that certainly were intended to challenge and provoke debate.

This obviously needs to be seen in the context of early 90s before the look became diluted and hello kitty hairslides et al became fashionable and Courtney love

   became bona fide Hollywood glamour.  
              Kathleen Hanna. A very interesting, inspiring and active feminist.

Google

Can't write long messages on phone so that all went bit funny at end cos couldn't see what I was typing

My Goth sometimes takes notes at college using a fluffy pink notebook with jewelled trim.

'I'm in yr head, messin' with your stereotypes'

is her usual response to puzzled looks.

I don't think his reply was rude or stupid, the letter she wrote was pretty pompous, she couldn't be bothered to spell the company product right and she got a robust response from Paperchase; fair enough imo.

A 'robust response' may be fine in the context of say, a Mumsnet discussion, but it's utterly unprofessional in a marketing context. The guy sounds like a twat.

Herjazz, issues around kinderwhore and female rock'n'roll could/should be a whole thread.

I am well aware of the arguments you set forth, having been part of the music scene you reference and written my dissertation (in 1992) on the feminization of punk :) There were debates within riot grrl etc around that look even then.

However have come to my own conclusion after a few years that it was not healthy expression or modelling for the younger grrls who did eventually reject it for more androgynous fashion. Also not healthy for the boys around us/them. The women were working through some issues, irony was NOT all that was going on, there was still an expectation to be sexy, kinderwhore pandered to it, and I'm personally very glad it's over. But would have argued your points vociferously at the time, having worn my share of babydoll dresses in my time .

Exactly HouseofBamboo. It's the context that matters here. Whether or not the woman who wrote the email was pompous or unreasonable (or had a spelling problem) is neither here nor there. This is just so not how you handle complaints. OK the usual slightly vacuous style responses have their own problems, but in general there are some rules that you follow, like take the complainant's issues seriously, apologise that they are unhappy, explain the companies actions and always always be polite. Never be defensive and rude. An angry customer does not buy your products, and they are likely to tell all their friends (and more) who may then not buy your products either. Rather the complaint itself is supposed to be a learning experience (free customer feedback) and the reply that you send a piece of your own marketing activity.

Not the opportunity for a little fracas.

Well said.

Actually, I think the playmobil vets sets are strongly aimed at girls, whilst the 'exciting' dino catching stuff and the supercool underwater stuff is aimed at boys.... though not in my house, obv.

Kinderwhore isn't new: Whatever Happened to Baby Jane
Just had a look through the Playmobil website and am amazed you can tell the sex of all the characters. I also looked at Paperchase's BTS offerings, only to find the 'baking' theme is not a product range. The girly stuff (fantasy themes) is all pink & blue.
Confused, I am.