Worst Toy of the Year

Will it be the Cadillac Escalade that three-year-olds can learn to gas guzzle with? Or the Barbie Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader doll that's oozing gender stereotypes?

Check out the other contestants and vote for Campaign for a Commerical-Free Childhood's award for worst toy of the year.

 

Reason #3051 to Boycott American Apparel

Not that you need another reason to steer clear of this sexist company.

If you're thinking, "What?! I thought American Apparel was this super cool sweatshop free company," please read my post on finding ethically made t-shirts.

A 2004 quote that American Apparel CEO Dov Charney made to The McGill Daily is getting a lot of attention on blogs today. He's quoted in the article saying:

"Women initiate most domestic violence, yet out of a thousand cases of domestic violence maybe one is involving a man. [And this] has made a victim culture out of women."

This is surfacing right now because there is an ad (which might be fake) floating around that incorporates the quote. I hope the ad is fake, but that doesn't make his very real quote any less appalling. As Womanist Musings writes:

"The list of facts debunking his bull*#@& is a mile long. There has been ample evidence of his hatred of women and the only question that remains is what we are going to do about it."

Well, I know what I'm doing about it. Sticker Sisters will remain committed to using blank shirts that are made by sweatshop free & sexism free companies (you won't find any American Apparel here!). I'll continue to steer clear of American Apparel shirts for my own wardrobe. And I'll keep writing and talking about my dislike for American Apparel and suggesting alternatives every chance I get.

**1/30/2009 Update**
American Apparel responds to Bitch Magazine's blog post. Doesn't change my feelings and I hope it won't change yours!

Encouraging Girls Without Dissing Boys

The topic of feminist messages for boys has been on my mind for some time, but it's been coming up a lot so far this year.

I got a comment in an order from Melissa in El Paso, TX saying:

"I love how the site and products encourage girls to be strong without engaging in boy-bashing (I have a son too!)."

This might seem hard to believe, but I'd never quite thought about it that way. I mean I've always hated that slogan, "Girls rule, boys drool." It just doesn't make sense to me to be encouraging one person while putting down another. I want all the Sticker Sisters goodies to have a celebratory, fun tone that doesn't come at the expense of anyone else.

I was thinking about this when Janet in San Francisco e-mailed me for advice:

"In a couple of months I have a chance to go to a family reunion and deliver stickers, shoelaces, bandaids...into the hands of at least eight grand-nieces whose parents may or may not get the reasoning. (Ages: 18 months to 15 years, with a cluster in the 5-10 range).

Meanwhile, the girls have three brothers/cousins in the impressionable age range of 5-7. They will get gifts too. To inoculate the boys against "girls-rule" teasing (which can lead to a backlash by parents and other folk, thus negating the valuable consciousness-raising), I'm looking for some good messages to incorporate on the boys' gifts. You've undoubtedly thought this question through: I notice that your messages are pro-girl but not anti-boy. What messages do you like for giving confidence to boys, without putting girls down?"

So that brings me to my biggest challenge. While Sticker Sisters will always be focused on girl-positive messages, I've had a lot of requests for items for boys as well. Of course boys can wear "Girls Rock," "Action Not Glamour," or "My Kind of Princess..." t-shirts. And I've had some very cool ones do just that! But let's be real--most boys aren't going to wear those shirts.

Anyone have ideas on messages that would be appealing to girls and boys?