Shopping or mopping, ladies? With these two powerful options open to you, the world is your oyster! A quick browse in my local Cards Galore turned up this lyrical masterpiece. I don't know if you've noticed, but they've actually rhymed the words "mop" and "shop". Genius.
I'm sorry, but who is buying this card? More importantly, do they find themselves single and/or friendless as a result of said purchase? I hope so.
It may seem stupid and petty to be this annoyed about a card, but seriously, I'd spent the day listening to impassioned talks about sticking two fingers to the patriarchy and this piece of sarcy sexism got me riled, OK?
The main problem I have with it, aside from its being generally and immeasurably crap, is that it's clearly marketed towards women. That's not to say I don't have a problem with sexist jokes as long as they're within "male" parameters, but my beef with this card is different. It signifies that sexism is apparently so sublimated into our culture that women are just expected to giggle along. "Oh, yes that's me! What am I like? HAHA." I'd like to think that this card is some sort of post-ironic statement on the acceptability of mainstream gender roles but somehow I doubt it.
Can you even conceive of a card picturing an ethnic minority person accompanied by all the trappings of a racist stereotype being sold in a reputable high street retailer? Thought not. Yet somehow, it's OK to stereotype women in this way.
As a women, I do sometimes get the urge to cast aside my mop of drudgery, safe in the knowledge that I've earned myself an armful of treats from "Shop'n'go". This card is everything that's wrong with the Sex and the City brand of post-sexual revolution consumerist pseudo-feminist drivel (sorry SATC, I love you but I love me more). The woman on the card is liberated guys. She doesn't have to mop or bake or wait around for a man. She can buy shoes and throw cheeky poses. So it's fine to repackage sexism and sell it back to us as liberation, right?
No Cards Galore. Just no.
LK
LK
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