Sexism or satire?
As is the way with these things, as soon as one comes to light, related cases will follow. Thus Amazon’s attempt to sell T-shirts exhorting people to rape or hit women proves not to be as exceptional as we may have supposed.
Now we have something at Tesco which some people have read as being sexist.
But before that there’s still been little by way of explanation as to just how the theoretical T-shirts came to be on the Amazon stall?
Neither Amazon nor the manufacturer managed to pick up a phone yesterday to Channel 4 News, both appeared to think that mere statements about computers and random-slogan-generation would somehow do the trick.
A strange course of action for Amazon, already widely accused of damaging high-street retail and massive tax avoidance. So the company’s on a hattrick but responds to this latest embarrassment with a fob-off statement. We shall see if they are more forthcoming in the next few days.
And so to Tesco where one of our viewers found a card in the company’s Green Lanes shop in north London.
It shows a woman in a 70s dress and office environment wearing a short, low-cut dress. The words go:
“Glenys had heard all about sexual harassment in the workplace and deliberately wore a short dress with a plunging neckline to make sure she didn’t miss out!”
@everydaysexism @uktesco stock this card. They tell me it will remain on sale & ‘is considered humourous by many’. twitter.com/GemmaLoughran/…
— Gemma Loughran (@GemmaLoughran) February 11, 2013
A number of customers complained. Tesco Customer Care tweeted back to one saying:
“There are no plans to remove this card from sale.”
Another customer (male) also wanted Tesco to explain and Customer Care duly tweeted:
“Hi. This card is not meant as offensive, more at humour (sic)”
Tesco’s customer care team also tweeted:
“Hi, the card will remain on sale, it is considered humourous by many. We have passed your comments to our cards team.”
Tesco’s latest position appears to be as follows, again from twitter:
“The subject matter is serious, however this card is knowingly a joke that many find humorous. We’ll feed back your comments.”
We’ve tried contact Tesco ourselves for a direct comment, but they’ve yet to get back to us.
@caldwellkath The subject matter is serious, however this card is knowingly a joke that many find humorous. We’ll feed back your comments.
— Tesco Customer Care (@UKTesco) March 3, 2013
Now I’ve yet to meet anyone who thinks that the Keep Calm and Rape Her T-shirt’s previously available on Amazon is funny. Though I’ll bet the farm that plenty of people do.
But the Tesco card many do find funny and some of them are women. Equally many are amazed and offended and this is very much a not-accidentally-computer-generated card.
Of course it can be seen as an oh-so-clever satire upon 70s Sweeneyesque casual sexism.
Then again Bernard Manning can no doubt be perceived as scathing post-ironic burlesque.
Or something.
Po-faced PC policing in a country that’s losing the ability to ave a laff – or do Tesco’s have a problem here and that every little that can be done to reduce workplace harassment, really does help?