Halfords and every day sexism

[Baxer]

A poster started a thread about this on another section but I think it warrants a mention on here.

This might be a small issue when it comes to the huge battles women face at the moment, but for me these small instances of everyday sexism are a huge problem when you add them all together.

Halfords have decide to call two of their women’s bikes ‘Entice’ and ‘Virtue’. [name edited by MNHQ at OP's request] As the poster pointed out on her thread, it feeds into the misogynistic attitude that women are either enticing or pure.

On the other thread a large number of people couldn’t understand why it was a big deal, but for me these small acts of every day sexism are a big problem when you add them all up and whilst I can see through them, I worry about my daughters and other young women being exposed to these attitudes.

I have tweeted Halfords, but I suspect they will just ignore me like other companies do when I point these issues out.

@SunsetBeetch

AIBU, where minor parking disuptes and loud sneezes will make people spitting mad, but examples that show sexism is still alive and kicking are met with an uncharacteristically zen like calm.

YANBU It's ridiculous

I agree, why can't bike be called "speedy" or "zoom" you don't need to be alluring or virtuous (virginal?) To ride a bike.

I'm generally sick of this, I might be a stupid little woman but I don't need to be convinced to buy a bike because it might make me "alluring"

Not saying it doesn't need to be called out, but not everything is a misogynistic attack.

Nobody is saying it's a misogynistic attack. I mean it's not as if we're saying Halfords chose those names in order to deliberately stick it to the feminists.

These kinds of little things are worse in a way - they are a sign of the fact that the belief that women are all about looks, flirtatiousness and femininity is still so embedded in a lot of people's brains that they don't even stop to think whether it's true or whether it might be offensive to brand women that way.

It's not that women aren't flirtatious etc. It's the idea that beauty and sexual attractiveness are deemed to be central to women and whatever they are doing - sport, politics, music etc.

A man's bike would never be given those names. Why is that?
A lot of women will like the name. Why is that? 🤮

@Ihopeyourcakeisshit

Sometimes dumbass stereotyping rather than sexism is at play. Not saying it doesn't need to be called out, but not everything is a misogynistic attack.

Where did I say it was an attack?

I said it was a misogynistic attitude which, when added to all the other instances, is damaging.

Why have you focused on virtue being virginal?

@SunsetBeetch

I'm only shocked that the bikes aren't bright pink with flowers on them

To be fair that is about the only possible way I'd be induced into buying a bicycle.

To be fair that is about the only possible way I'd be induced into buying a bicycle.
Don't you mean 'enticed'? 🤭

Yes !

Halfords have form for this shit.

@FunnyInjury
Surely your post will be deleted because you've fabricated that. It can't be real......... please

And another. Boys can ride at light speed but girls can go shopping. Halfords have been sexist arseholes for years

@FunnyInjury

And another. Boys can ride at light speed but girls can go shopping. Halfords have been sexist arseholes for years

That's hilarious!

I was, unpleasantly, surprised they had a pink section, with aisle heading, in their car accessories section.

I wish kiss but I remembered it as I've not set foot in halfords since I first ever saw it!

I just did a quick search on twitter (halfords sexism) and found it again straightaway.

I just can’t get worked up about this as everyday sexism. These are brand names of bike models. Not women. You look at a list of car model, perfume and shoe brand names and you get just as many silly names.

Reminds me of 2 bike advertisements saw in the Beano about 30 years ago. Annoyed me so much I never forgot. Can't remember which company it was from, but both bikes were the same brand. One model showed a boy riding a bike upside down on a roller coaster. The other one showed a girl of about the same age, in a frilly dress, sitting still on a be-ribboned bike with stabilisers on it. Made my blood boil at the time and still does. Just felt so humiliating!!

Anyway, I don’t know what is so intrinsically wrong about things being given feminine brand names. The point of feminism isn’t to denigrate and erase all things feminine from the planet, while worshipping all things masculine. That’s just putting patriarchy on a pedestal to be all outraged over a bike model being Entice or Virtue. Anything feminine= bad, must call out, must get changed to much better/superior masculine name. That’s not feminism.

Whos saying womens things must have masculine names?

Plan it's not the name per se but the message!

Entice/Virtue is the age old madonna/whore tag.

There are millions of words they could use instead which would be more appropriate than that shit.

I found the bike names annoying but a bit funny, how did they decide which bike was a but slutty?

The helmet description are rage inducing - felt bad I bought my kids bikes from amazon rather than high street...fuck em.

I once refused to buy a mountain bike because it was called Bliss. Although the one I went for is called Tempt, and I’m not sure that’s much better with hindsight

Message? What message? The OP has cherry picked the names of two bicycles in one shop. It her cherry picking Entice and Virtue from amongst all the other bikes that gives the impression of a message. These are both hybrid bikes, Halfords has many hybrid women’s bikes on sale named:
Excelle
Somerby
Crossfire
Parva
Evo-2
Carrera
Assist
URB
Metis
Transport
Theia
Crossfire 2
Detour
MTX
Cafe
Dalby
Boardman
Crossfuse
Crossbar
Vitesse
Tuck
Felix
Subway
Virtue
Expression
Voodoo Marasa
Elyse
Cosmo
Ashwell
B75
Riviera
Modena
Venture
Sport
City
HYB
Centros
Tempest
Strada
Aurora
Intercity
Transit
Entice

So honestly you have to be looking very hard to get a message that women are being forced to choose a bike that brands them as a whore or a Madonna from that list. The names are silly, but it’s not everyday sexism. You don’t like the name, you have dozens of other bikes to choose from and this is just the list of “women’s” bikes. I didn’t even list the unisex ones.

The issue isn't that the bikes have been given a 'feminine' name, the question is why are the terms 'entice' and 'virtue' seen as feminine?

@FunnyInjury

Plan it's not the name per se but the message!

Entice/Virtue is the age old madonna/whore tag.

There are millions of words they could use instead which would be more appropriate than that shit.

Exactly this