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

[NothingOnTellyAgain]

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 .

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?

Agree

So I walk into my new job with a notebook that has the emoji for "penis" on it.

What woman or girl just out of school / uni is going to choose to do that? A vanishingly small minority I'd have thought. Unless you work in the adult sector. Someone upthread suggested that might be the market - millenials for work. Who the fuck takes things that mean "dick arse (avocado??) to work???).

I game. I see it a lot
But it’s mostly men or boys that game

Chat can be be censored so like u can’t say dick or cock so that symbol is used

But for sure shouldn’t be on pencil cases or stationary
The company being just I don’t know how to say it but it’s like having a smary secret laugh at customers maybe

Having looked at Phil's merchandise

He seems to be heavily catering towards the gay market which these would make more sense

He also doesn't seem to like women very much ("Kill Jill" with a pic of Jill Dando????).

So why are they flogging stuff that makes perfect sense for adult gay men, to little girls?

It’s grooming.

Some more Philip Normal at Paperchase gems.
These are kind of ok as it's so obvious they are sexualised comments so presumably most adults won't get them for kids that are too young for them. Unlike the aubergine/peach one which is not so clear. They are naff though and make Paperchase look tacky IMO.

1. ‘Size matters’ ruler – www.paperchase.co.uk/collections/philip-normal/philip-normal-rainbow-ruler.html

1. Jumbo water pen ‘Omg hun your pen is huge’ www.paperchase.co.uk/collections/philip-normal/philip-normal-jumbo-water-pen.html -

1. Sassy wallets, another outing for the ‘‘Omg hun your pen is huge’ slogan www.paperchase.co.uk/collections/philip-normal/pn-set-4-sassy-zippy-wallets.html

1. ‘Over easy hun?’ giant egg keyring www.paperchase.co.uk/collections/philip-normal/philip-normal-giant-egg-keyring.html

All fine at the right time, in the right place, but I don't think that time and place is Paperchase, really, more on brand for tacky seaside shops, or more niche shops, not high street mass market.

As their core market is young women it would be better if they partnered up with young women designers.

P.S. this one would be an ideal gift for the young bully in your life:
www.paperchase.co.uk/collections/philip-normal/philip-normal-mini-365.html

Dunno why but this reminds me of the time where playboy bunny logos where marketed to little girls. Pencil cases, folders, wallpaper, clothing, all kinds of things. And I remember seeing a story where a vicar went I to a supermarket and staged a protest. It woke people up and since then, playing has stopped marketing to children (how paedophilic!!!!)

But yeah. It's subtle and many might miss the real meaning.

I completely agree with you OP.

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.

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

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!

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...

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.

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.

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.

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

Link please!

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

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.

No response yet!

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?!?

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!).

This Jazz Jennings video makes the meaning pretty clear..

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...

Oh no your poor mum jasmine!

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

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. "