Jeff Perera with a urgent call to action regarding choices we can make as retail consumers when it comes to messaging offensive and degrading to women as well as reducing men to act in a way that does not reflect the best of us.
.
Enough.
(Photo Courtesy of Stephen Hargreaves/The Lance)
Seriously…
This isn’t about having a sense of humour.
This isn’t about learning to ‘take it easy, it’s just a joke’
This issue is too urgent to dismiss.
Right now violence is happening in a relationship, in a home, in a vehicle pulled off the road, in this nation and in every nation on our planet. Violence is taking the lives of men at the hands of men. Violence is taking the lives of women at the hands of men. Not all men are violent. While some are, most men are not violent
…but how many men will tell another man not to wear a shirt where women are the punchline, like this one found at a Urban Behaviour by Stephen Hargreaves who wrote about it in this article.
Messages like the one on that shirt enforce the messaging young men and boys are drowning within on everyday basis. It starts with a shirt like this from Bluenotes.
…and leads to messages on shirts like this line from Urban Behaviour…here is another in the ‘Problem Solved’ line that I saw in a store
…and then this gem you can add to your wishlist.
What does this say about us as men?
Is this how men solve their problems?
Is this what it means to be a man?
Is this just a joke when someone puts this shirt on?
We have to discuss this language of violence that we are complicit with, that many of us as men speak to one another and speak to women in our lives.
How to Fight by Carlos Andrés Gómez
Would you want your daughter coming home with a guy wearing these shirts?
Would you want your son going out wearing these shirts?
Would you want your lover, or friend, or anyone wearing these shirts?
Seriously.
What are you going to do about it?
.
It starts with you
Let’s Start Something.
It starts with you. It stays with him. is an online-based, social media campaign developed by the White Ribbon Campaign to inspire men to promote healthy, equal relationships with the boys in their lives. Helping young people achieve consent, set boundaries, value people of all genders and use respectful communication in all their relationships is something we can all do. Learn more about the tips, tools and resources, e-modules and digital stories available online for free at www.itstartswithyou.ca
I knew there was a reason I stopped shopping at these stores….
These graphics are potentially a ‘first impression’ on someone’s character. To be honest, I am immediately turned off from anyone (including women) who wear such ignorant logo’s…NO THANK YOU!