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I see nothing wrong with these shirts. Mens activists should focus their attention on real problems of gender equality, not a skewed interpretation of a t-shirt.
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Surely, "girls rule" isn't as bad as "boys are stupid", but we must ask: "Girls rule over WHOM?" And are there shirts with the message "boys rule"? I sincerely doubt it.
Men are from EARTH. Women are from EARTH. Deal with it.
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Google search...
Girls Rule - about 40,000 hits.
2 of the top 4 listed sites are for positive female 'body image'
1 is to this article (good) - http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/12/13/10711257 10402.html?from=storyrhs&oneclick=true
1 is for a Chili Peppers song
Lots of girl power articles and merchandise... the smh article was the only cautionary link on the page.
Boys Rule - about 4,500 hits
Top hit was about how 'naughty boys' rule the world
Next came an article decrying the fact that "Frat Boys Rule The Earth
It's an angry, violent, warmongering world out there right now. You just live in it". Another crap article.
Next hit linked to a missing article with an attached article... "Predators hide behind the computer screen" that was full of anti-male bullshit.
Then there was a sports link, a link to the Backstreet Boys (Damn they suck). Not a single article actually suggesting that "boys rule" is a positive concept.
Dave K - A Radical Moderate
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"Girls rule" is indeed a phrase worth pointing out to people as being indicative of the inherent sexism in our culture. When similar shirts have been worn by boys to school the boys have been reprimanded and told to take off the shirts. The culture says its okay for girls to rule but boys had better take a back seat and they better like it.
Just what do girls rule? Boys? The earth? This is sexist garbage that is blatant propaganda of the superiority of women and girls. Just imagine someone had a shirt saying "Whites Rule" or "Asians Rule" or "Blacks Rule." Would anyone have a problem with that? So why wouldn't people have a problem with girls rule? Because the fembots have painted the victim picture of girls and women for so long and so hard that people feel that they deserve to get special treatment. And of course men deserve to get injustice.
Do we have True Equality?
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by Anonymous User on 06:05 PM August 19th, 2004 EST (#8)
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"Just what do girls rule? Boys? The earth? This is sexist garbage...."
I don't find these t shirts offensive. I think the message they give is a statement of fact, namely that men/boys are second class citizens. This is the message that mensactivism is trying to get across. I think the t shirts have an educative value. The type of message I find offensive would be the typical feminist crap suggesting that MEN/BOYS rule, that women are oppressed, that women "still have a long way to go"etc etc.
Hotspur
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by Anonymous User on 07:15 PM August 19th, 2004 EST (#9)
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That's true, except that nobody is really interpeting the message that way. The message "girls rule" on a t-shirt implies that females are oppressed by men and are fighting to overcome that oppression by, among other things, saying things like "girls rule." It's not as bad as "boys are stupid," and it wouldn't be bad at all if not for the double standard (men can't wear such a shirt), and that's where it spreads the illusory feminist message of that males have it easier than females due to oppression.
Marc
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I don’t believe that “girls rule” t-shirts are inherently sexist. Nor are “boys rule” shirts (if such a thing exists). The issue is double standards.
If the shirts were meant to be in good fun then it would only stand to reason that “boys rule” shirts would be fun too. We should be asking if the store carries and displays “boys rule” shirts and if not, why?
I think that forcing people to face their own double standards is more effective than moralizing on the issue.
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I am having "Boys Rock" shirts made up. Kind of a slam on both the girls rule and the boys are stupid shirts. Our younger son is excited to wear his to school.
Oh, and our 8 year old (the younger one) said tonight he thinks he is just going to adopt a son and raise him in the ways of boys ;-)
The Biscuit Queen
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Jen and Dave, we certainly know that YOUR boys rock!
By the way, do you know I wear a shirt I designed that says BOY POWER! ?
I plan on wearing it for my band's next gig. It gets positive comments even though it's half tongue-in-cheek and half-serious...
Men are from EARTH. Women are from EARTH. Deal with it.
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I think every act counts, and I can say that all the boys I come in contact with, like our kids or the ones I teach at camp, are so grateful for those sentiments. You should have seen the looks on the faces of the boys when some little girl tauntingly said.."Ladies first" and I just looked at her and said "I don't think so, who made you better than anyone else?" One even said "all right" out loud!
Good luck on your gig, is it soon?
The Biscuit Queen
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Jen said: "when some little girl tauntingly said.."Ladies first" and I just looked at her and said "I don't think so, who made you better than anyone else?" One even said "all right" out loud!"
Bless you Jen. That was a great move on your part. We need to treat our boys and girls with equality. Some kids learned quite a bit that day.
Do we have True Equality?
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I definately think that encouraging a "boys rule" shirt is far more effective than discouraging a "girls rule" shirt. Rather than discouraging people from feeling pride in their sex, it would encourage both sex's to feel pride.
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by Anonymous User on 11:35 AM August 20th, 2004 EST (#16)
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I don't have a problem with "Girls rule".
My problem is that boys are not allowed to wear T-shirts saying ; "Boys rule".
If both shirts were acceptable (Not just the girl version) then I'd have no problem with it.
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Guys,
I have read the comments (all of them - 4 comments) and I gave it some thought.
Derogatory comments are wrong, but I don't want to become like the fem-whiners and be a "victimologist".
I don't take "girls rule" as a ruling class or statement of aristocracy (though women are TREATED that way, I grant you), but rather a statement of pride.
Let's not get our panties in a twist on this one, let the Fem-National Socialists (Nazis) do that.
Steven
Guerilla Gender Warfare is just Hate Speech in polite text
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I'm with you on this. I've known two adult females who have worn the said offending garments. Both of them are girlie girls who like men and rule nothing. Not only are they not feminists, I'm sure they've never heard of Dworkin. One of them also has some "Powerpuff Girls" pillows on her sofa (from the cartoon series). The horror. Unlike the "Boys are Stupid" shirts, The "Girls Rule" shirt means "Dare you to come talk to me." They're self-mocking. I doubt you will ever see Maureen Dowd wearing one.
I would agree that the shirts may be inappropriate at school, but I don't see a threat here. And I'm not afraid of the Spice Girls either.
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Me too. Reminds me of those "Boys are good" badges I've seen a few times, which in my opinion are harmless.
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by Anonymous User on 10:36 AM August 20th, 2004 EST (#15)
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The point isnt the t-shirt, and the point isnt the statement on it. This is about a culture that has embraced female hypocrisy for its own sake. To display a slogan that "men rule" would create a firestorm of condemnation and indignation that would be immediately accepted as valid simply because its delivered by females.That is the standard logic thats been created by 30 years of female hypocrisy and thats the standard logic we must fight.
Corporate America through their willingness to support every irrational female demand has helped create this situation. And its through them that we need to apply the pressure,and begin to create change.
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At this point almost any activism against misandry is good. The percentage of men who are aware of these problems is frighteningly low. The percentage of those men who are aware who then go on to actually take action is tiny.
My own sense is that we will all be drawn to areas to protest that matches with our own interests and experience. We may not see the importance or relevance of another man's protest. Even though we don't see the great benifit we still need to encourage that man for stepping forward and actually doing something. Any man who steps forward needs to be encouraged unless his actions are clearly counter-productive.
It is far too easy on an anonymous board like this to sit back and be discouraging. We don't need that. We are far too weak.
Do we have True Equality?
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I'd be more accepting of "girls rule" shirts if something similar were created for boys. TBQ mentioned "boys rock" shirts, which sounds like a great idea.
Foley's didn't even reply to my email this time. Perhaps I'll suggest a "boys rock" shirt instead of having the "girls rule" shirts removed.
Steve
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Please pass this email along to the appropriate persons:
About a week ago I wrote to you regarding the "Girls Rule" shirt that was displayed in one of your advertisements, but I have received no response. I did urge Foley's to discontinue this shirt at the time, which was perhaps an overreaction.
After thinking it over, perhaps a better approach would be to allow shirts with, for example, "Boys Rock" written on them. This would allow both boys and girls to take pride in their gender. The men's issues group that I'm involved with thinks that this is a good idea, and many said that they would buy such shirts if they existed.
Please let me know what Foley's thinks about this idea.
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Thanks Matt for your activism.
Just why is it so damn hard for corporations to give up on cutting down men and little boys?
The way for this Foley's company to avoid looking misandric is to also have a line of shirts that say, "Boys Rule," if they just have to sell the ones that say, "Girls Rule."
This is soooooooo simple!
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