The try-hards at Roger David are promoting two new t-shirts for the boys, featuring women who are gagged, with strips across their eyes and semi-naked, as the latest fashion statement.
The woman in the ‘Annie Hollywood’ t-shirt (produced by ‘Blood Is The New Black’) looks as though she has been roughed up. She appears disheveled and exhausted, her image reminiscent of a crime scenes photo. The other two women have a strip across their eyes, suggesting a loss of identity and dehumanisation. Their semi-naked bodies are pimped through a t-shirt.
The designs are not iconic. They’re not retro (even if adapting a Roxy Music album cover). They’re not art.
What we are seeing here is the glamourising of abuse, the suggestion of sexual aggression, a hint that women want to be treated roughly.
The abuse is glamourised not just for the perpetrator, but for the victim too. As though it’s not only hot to be the pimp, but it’s sexy to be dominated, coerced, submissive, abused – possibly even raped.
It’s as though a little bit of the pimp cool that’s pushed by Hollywood, MTV, in hip hop and rap (see earlier post ) will rub off on the wearer, just like the wearer of a global brand hopes that some of the brand’s ‘personality’ and ‘cool’ will rub off on them.
Roger David really like their domination and abuse tees. They feature as first items on their home page and on their Facebook.
But it’s not just Roger David mainstreaming contempt for women wrapped up in a tee.
A mate came across this at the Birkenhead point Authentic outlet store in Sydney the other day.
What is this? A plug for trafficking? Bring ‘em over, the more exotic and servile the better!
Then there’s others available from online stores , treating rape as a joke and portraying little girls as little sluts.
“It’s not rape if you yell Surprise!” 
…to name but a few.
A sexual assault survivor told me that for her, the t-shirts are highly triggering of assault memories and she suspects that other survivors will find them so too. So as well as putting women and girls in physical danger, t-shirts like this serve as a form of mental torture too.
Women gagged, women who can’t see, women transported away from their homes to service men elsewhere. We have to ask why the demand for these shirts and why men’s stores are pimping these porn-industry inspired messages about what women are good for.
208 Responses
The above examples are not clever, witty or humerous. I’m disgusted – and, hence, will use the power of my consumer dollar accordingly!
I emailed Roger David Friday 15 Jan. (on behalf of Kids Free 2B Kids) So far no response. This is not good enough. When images like this are mainstreamed and appear in average (very average) menswear stores, then we all need to get very vocal.
The men who wear these become walking billboards and everyone else is involuntarily exposed. Roger David should apologise and withdraw the t-shirts immediately.
Thanks for this post, Melinda.
Your point ‘…t-shirts like this serve as a form of mental torture too’ is such an important one.
Why aren’t the rights of women and girls to feel safe prioritized over the rights of those who see the hallmarks and imagery of sexual violence as somehow ‘fashion forward’?
How can women and girls feel safe when ‘Sometimes no means yes’ is paraded around in front of us on t-shirts – when we know that for too many women and children, our right to refuse sexual advances – to say ‘no’ – is so often violently, brutally disregarded?
When did it become OK to refer to girls as little sluts? When did it become OK to joke about sexual assault? Ask a rape survivor if whether ‘surprise sex’ sounds better to her than ‘rape’. Crap like this is Just. Not. Funny.
This is a seriously disturbing trend, and one that must be stopped in its tracks… NOW!
Here is my letter. The question is, what will we do if they do not respond to letters?
I would like to know what you as a company are trying to say with your sexual abuse styled t-shirts. One of your shirts features a gagged woman. This looks like a photo you would expect to find in a serial killer’s collection. The other shirt features two women, one topless holding her breasts, the other in her underwear holding her crotch, both have their faces partially covered. What is happening in this image? Are they waiting to be purchased? Is Roger David sexing up human trafficking here? My first thought when I saw these shirts was “what sort of loser would wear these shirts? My second thought was “what sort of loser would create, sell and – i’m going to make a wild guess here – defend them?” Perhaps you can answer these questions for me. I know many, many women who would also like to know.
Seems to me the joke is on the guy who wears this crap.
He longs for pimp-cool. Becomes a legend in his own mind once RD has his money, and he loves himself for a day. Four decades later every woman who saw him, her friends, and her friends’ friends still talk about the a**hole in the tee. Basically he’s wearing, “Guess what! I have to pay for all my sex!” Way to go when you die alone, moron.
These ‘designers’ are not just attacking women. They’re exploiting groups of idiot young males who have no one to look them in the eye and tell them they can be better. No one to tell them how the best love springs from actually trying to navigate life with a real woman.
I am just sad for these blind, stupid dupes.
Thank you for alerting us to what is happening in this store. I am astounded that they have been produced let alone being bought and worn. I have sent a message to Roger David and will passing on this information to my friends for them to also act.
That’s disgusting! The stats are undeniable for the gross amount of sexual abuse what are their designers thinking? What are their managers thinking to approve these? How are they honestly funny? Our objections here aren’t prudish, they’re forward thinking. It’s time to bring these corporations into line.
As a survivor sexual and physical of abuse I must say this rips at my heart and soul! I cannot believe what I am seeing in the form of these T-Shirts. I have a 5 year old son and it pains me to think of what it will be like for him when he is older, what he will be bombarded with in the name of ‘fashion’, humor, marketing and alike – Any man that will condone such things and have the moral confusion to wear such a thing is deserving of an ‘accessory to a crime’ violation and should be charged! Too harsh, well ask other abuse survivors their opinion?
This is not fashion in any form of the word, it is exploitation and ‘sexual abuse approval’ in it’s vilest of forms.
My 7 year old daughter is already bombarded with images and words that should never be at the forefront of stores, billboards, commercials and magazines today. What will it take to educate the public at how damaging this type of marketing can be. It boggles my mind! Why don’t we just say “hey, it’s okay to be raped, women are pieces of meat, un-equal to men, deserving of abuse, so wear a shirt and let the world know”! It makes me feel sick to my stomach!
Andrew said, ‘These ‘designers’ are not just attacking women. They’re exploiting groups of idiot young males who have no one to look them in the eye and tell them they can be better. No one to tell them how the best love springs from actually trying to navigate life with a real woman.’
What a great point, Andrew. Young men are being duped here too, through being served up ideas about how ‘cool’ it is to dominate and exploit women. What messages do these tees give to young men (and boys!) about what a respectful relationship can be? Much easier to dominate and exploit than bother working on a relationship together, right? ‘Cos that stuff’s hard work… (probably made much harder by the fact no woman would want to come near someone wearing a t-shirt like that!)
I completely agree! I have also emailed Roger David as has my mother and my 17 yr old brother!!! No one that I know will ever buy from that store again and I will be displaying my DISGUST for this ridiculous excuse for fashion in front of every one! IT IS NOT OKAY TO DESIGN SHIRTS LIKE THIS. IT IS NOT OKAY TO ENCOURAGE ABUSE OF WOMEN AND THEIR BODIES. MOST OF ALL IT IS NOT OKAY TO IGNORE THESE ISSUES ANY LONGER. I have in the past but this has pushed me over the edge! because if enough people get upset then who knows maybe these idiots might take their humiliating line of the shelves.
I really do appreciate all the men in MY life because I know that they care about the women around them but there are so many women out there who do not have that rare blessing! It should not be rare for men to care for women because it is their GOD-given responsibility and it should be their pleasure! But sadly the world doesn’t see things like I see them and women ARE being abused every hour of every day somewhere in the world.
Thank you very much Melinda for this post! God bless you!
I’m appalled that Roger David would be marketing these demeaning, violence-inspiring, women-hating shirts. My husband and teenage son certainly won’t be shopping there and I will be encouraging my friends and theirs to boycott the place as well. I remember as a kid having a giggle at RD’s catalogues of conservatively dressed, middle class men. Is this RD’s idea of getting “with it”? It stinks. For everyone – their customers and their partners, their children and their associates.
I just submitted the following on their website:
I’ve just seen pictures of your ridiculous rape-themed t-shirts, and I am completely disgusted.
Does Roger David as a company have such little regard for women and girls that they think these designs are fashionable? The image of a bound and gagged young woman completely debases the value of females in society.
Do you really mean to send the message to your customers, and in turn many more people in the unfortunate event that someone buys these shirts and wears them, that a woman is an object that can be possessed? What you are showing the world is that you think it is OK to take, keep and use a woman under duress because it’s “cool”, and she really isn’t worth anything anyway.
I will definitely not shop in any of your stores from now on, and will actively spread the word across social networking sites about Roger David’s repugnant attitude towards women. It’s not true that any publicity is good publicity – when you cause such revulsion as this you can’t help but lose customers that won’t be replaced.
The link between pornographic, debasing visual material, like these grotesque, tasteless T-shirts, and the abuse of women is well established. Anyone who advertises his own moral corruption by wearing one, and is sufficiently gullible to pay to do so, is seriously in need of help. Only the weakest and most inadequate of men would feel empowered by robbing a woman of her dignity, freedom or identity.
Anything which endorses the sex trade – one of the ugliest forms of inhumanity – is a serious affront and the label should be boycotted. By endorsing the attitudes implicit in the T-shirts, Roger David reveals contempt for both men and women, presumably reserving respect for profit alone. Only when garments such as these cease to be profitable will higher standards prevail.
I will never shopping in Roger David. I will take every opportunity to speak badly of Roger David. I hope they lose business and customers. I hope they come out publicly and apologise to women. I hope the CEO loses his job over this.
Can you tell I’m mad?
Great article. I”ve submitted the following to RD:
I am writing to ask if you are able to justify your decision to sell t-shirts diplaying, in the first case, a picture of a dishevelled, gagged woman, and secondly, two blindfolded, semi-naked women. To anyone who has not yet been completely densensitized by the increasing prevalence of dehumanizing, degrading images of women, these t-shirts are offensive. Worn in a workplace, however casual the dress code, they would constitute sexual harrassment, by creating an environment that is hostile, intimidating (given the violent overtones) and offensive to women. I wonder, then, why you are encouraging boys and young men to create such an environment for the girls and women around them by selling them these t-shirts? I look forward to hearing your response.
Thanks for drawing our attention to this Melinda. Glamourising sexual violence against women seems to be normative now, marketed as radical, cool, edgy and rebellious. It is interesting that the brand is called ‘blood is the new black’, it fits with a broader fetishization of blood and sexual violence in pop culture which has emerged in the last few years. Whose blood is the new black?
I also think that if the gagged woman on the t-shirt was black and not a young white girl they would not have manufactured it because in some ways (but not always) racial hatred has become more visible than misogyny which now often masquerades as S and M chic or just a bit of fun. As for those pro-rape t-shirts…. Perhaps the melancholy many young women experience has got something to do with being constantly bombarded with messages that they are second class citizens and that there is no real way of speaking back without risking further humiliation or being accused of being a feminist etc etc. Mega misogyny is so mainstream that it is now OK to sell rape proud t-shirts…
I am so glad that there are people out there who are doing something about this. If we don’t vocalize ourselves over these matters then outlets like Roger David will go on thinking these kind of images are ok, even fashionable! I have put the link on my facebook page and I am asking all of my friends to protest, and protest we shall!
I have sent in my complaint via their website and will be sharing this info with all my contacts. The more complaints the faster they will react and hopefully take these off the shelves. It is disgusting to think that throughout the entire design process no one in that company thought that they would be inappropriate.
I just sent the following message to RD, doubt I’ll get a reply!
_____________________
I just wanted to raise my concern and disgust at your new range of mens tee’s.
As a SURVIVOR of sexual abuse, I can tell you from personal experience that there is nothing even remotely funny about them. I can also tell you that they are trigging of the emotional blackness that most victims feel.
Do you know how many victims of sexual abuse go on to suicide? No? Well, neither do I, but I can tell you that seeing messages such as “Its not rape if you yell Surprise” and “Its not rape, its surprise sex” on tee’s as a “joke” make me wonder why I have even bothered to try and keep going for all these years.
What will it take for you to withdraw these disgusting and demaning tees from the market and make a public appology? The death of someone who has been triggered? The death of someone who was raped because the guys who buy these tees think that to “surprise” a woman is funny and moral?
I pray that you, or your family never experience sexual voilence, and have to be faced with these kind of messages.
This is atrocious! I have noticed of late that more and more of this sort of t-shirt is being worn by men. Makes me want to go up and shake them! What are the legislators in this country doing? Why aren’t they banned? If it was something that demoralized the muslim community or the homosexual community it would be banned. You are doing a great job – finally some-one is standing up!
This is what I left on Roger David’s website.
I open up your website only to see that Roger David is selling t-shirts promoting the gagging of women for sex. What message are you sending men, that women are a piece of meat out there of their sexual pleasure? Aa a mother of boys and girls I am appalled that your shop has stooped so low to display such predatory type merchandise.
I demand as a women that these are immediately removed from your stores, website and anywhere else you are promoting them.
A man wearing a shirt like this is not showing any respect to a woman but treating her like his play thing.
Please advise what you are going to do about this merchandise?
I will be telling my husband and male friends not to shop at your store ever. I feel sick in the stomach when I see this merchandise in the main stream stores. There was a time when this only appeared behind the closed doors of sex shops now it is appearing in our stores for all to see.
It is time to act before your merchandise leads to more rape and sex crimes against women.
I am not anti-men nor anti-sex. I am anti-abuse. Not only do these shirts depict abuse the act of designing, producing, selling or wearing these shirts is an act of abuse.
What a tragedy to think there is a Market for these products!
What a tragedy to think that our society is so afraid of being prudish & constraining freedoms that we would allow such products to be sold!
Two words for Roger David – SEX CRIME.
I can’t see how they could be condoning this if they aren’t already doing it themselves.
SICK. Repugnant. A sad indictment on the behaviour of the RD team and their target audience.
Who hired the deisgner? Who approved the design? Who didn’t speak up when they saw it in the new season preview?
Like I said to RD, I bet it’s not their sister in the photo.
So many stores now are turning their customers away with this type of pernicious, desperate, attention seeking product.
I’ll just add them to the list (Supre, Cotton on, Jay Jays, Target) of stores not to be patronised.
My husband and I have also written to Roger David to express our disgust. We have advised them that we are making a formal complaint and that, under the Consumer Protection Act, this means we are expecting a written reply within 28 days or we will refer the complaint to the Consumer Protection Office. I encourage other people contacting them to do this also to ensure they take your comments seriously.
You have got to be kidding me ladies? Honestly? It’s a frigging T-shirt can you honestly tell me that you believe Roger David are committing a “sex crime” – quote, by selling these shirts?that’s ludicris we live in a world where people have a right to voice their opinions and ideas and of course we all have the right to disagree but that’s not to say it’s your responsibility to stand up against the consumer powers in the war for womens rights and respect. Use your free will to disagree all you like, but lighten up, fortunatley there’s still far more people in this country that have retained their sense of humor.
Paul R
do you think statement IT’S NOT RAPE IF YOU YELL SURPRISE is funny….?
I am absolutely appalled that Roger David would stoop so low as to print and sell these t-shirts. I will certainly never support them with my dollars.
I am appalled also that people would stoop so low as to purchase one and then wear it. My response is like that of the lady in the ad of the speeding male driver “No one thinks big of you”. It just isn’t cool to wear something like that. I agree that we all have the right to wear what we like, within the confines of the law, but what about the rights of unsuspecting and unprepared passersby, some of whom would be both women who have been abused, and children who are formulating their opinion of male/female roles and behaviour. The people NOT wearing the shirts also have a right not to be confronted with this kind of visual imagery.
I hope Roger David are inundated with complaint emails and a reduction in their sales. Thank you, Melinda, for bringing this to our attention.
Shocking! RD should be held accountable (charged ) for inciting violence against women! As a mother of three girls, i am concerned and disgusted!!
Re: Paul’s comments
Somebody get this man some good jokes fast. He is in a desperate situation if he finds these shirts funny.
I am appalled and disgusted at these T-shirts. I will not support them with my money either!
@ Paul R … So, why aren’t they images of gagged MEN???
I was raped. I was 16. He knew I was just legal, meaning it would be difficult to get a conviction had his scare tactics not worked and I’d reported it, which I didn’t. He also had been molesting me for years. He didn’t yell surprise. If he had, it still would have been rape. It still would have been something I didn’t want to happen. No means no. It doesn’t mean yes, sometimes. It doesn’t mean yes, if you put someone in the situation where they’re scared for their life so they’ll agree. It doesn’t mean yes EVER.
NO means exactly that. It means “get your hands off me I’m not interested in having sex with you and that will remain the same, no matter how much you try to push me into it.” The idea that we’re promoting that it means something else makes me feel physically ill.
The Canberra Rape Crisis Centre had a slogan a few years back which was “There’s nothing sexier than consent” and “No doesn’t mean yes” and “if she can’t say no, it doesn’t mean yes”. Why aren’t Roger David putting THAT on t-shirts?
Just like the above mentioned SA survivor, I find these shirts very triggering. They make me angry, yes, but they remind me.
5pm tomorrow I will send letters (I’m apparently working on an assignment or something at the moment – you know “working” on an assignment. Which really means cooking, cleaning and writing lengthy replies to blogs – haha). This is maybe something that could be taken further than just Roger David management. What do you think Melinda?
Thank you for bringing this to our attention, Melinda.
Oh N, I wish I could give you a hug. Thanks for sharing your story, it is so important that we continue speaking out about these issues and that women like yourself are not silenced. It is not fair that something that causes so much pain for so many is being considered a joke by these clothing manufacturers. Things are going to change N. They just have to.
ps.regarding assignments: i totally know how you feel, my house is never cleaner than when i have an assignment to complete. x
Hi, This is the third time I have seen this story ‘reported’ today but I am yet to see any proof, any examples, any photographs, anything on the mainstream media. IF this is true, I do not condone it. It’s abhorrent. BUT should Roger David stores be vilified in a manner such as this if there is no proof. So far all I see is people banging on about it on blogs and facebook. And some pictures that could have come from anywhere. I just looked through the Roger David Website and Facebook sites. Nothing there except a half hidden girl on the front of a t-shirt with something over her mouth.
Were they there and now moved?
Please do NOT confuse my post with any type of consent towards such behavior . . . if that behavior does indeed exist. But vilification and bandwagon jumping is foolish without evidence.
Drew
Roger David,
Take a moment to consider the following:
• Eighty-five percent of all consumer purchases are made by women
• Women control 60 percent of all purchases of men’s clothing
• Your ‘Blood is the New Black’ ‘fashion’ line uses the imagery of sexual violence and human trafficking – gagging, blindfolding, semi-naked women, and crime-scene styling
• An estimated one in three women is sexually abused before they turn 18; and one in five women experience sexual violence after the age of 15
• Your sexual violence imagery triggers and repulses sexual assault survivors
• Your sexual violence imagery appals and disgusts women who aren’t, and
• When it comes to social media, women rule.
Talk about keeping the customer happy.
Good taste, human rights and human dignity aside, aren’t you missing something?
You do the math.
I look forward to seeing this line withdrawn immediately.
Hi, thanks for raising this, I’m shocked and appalled and have told Roger David so.
I’ve also posted a link to this on facebook and asked everyone to tell everyone to boycott Roger David.
Lets see if I get a reply.
Thanks again
Sharon
It probably wont have any REAL impact, but a FaceBook petition has been started to get these shirts OFF the shelf.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=297103333592&ref=nf
The women on the Roger David t-shirts more than likely agreed to be photographed like that and probably got paid for it.
Facebook petition, my backside.
We need to front Roger David stores and — calmly but uncompromisingly — shame the store managers into pulling them off the shelf.
In response to the views of Paul R, may I ask you and others who share your view to considering the following;
I am one of those statistics which another woman shared above. I was dragged into a car an abused by two men at the age of 8. This happens, it’s real for women.
An arrogant bastard stating that I should lighten up when I see images of this kind is ludicrous (I stole your word there Paul but spelt it correctly).
Have you considered the years of flash backs, having to turn away from images to keep sane and stop the very torment and anguish which happens both day and night for victims like me?
It’s sad that my story is repeated over and over, many girls and women have the harsh reality to deal with in their inner thoughts constantly. These t.shirts remind us. It may be some kind of joke to you but for me these images repulse me and are like a sordid souvenir of years of hurt.
I have lots of good men in my life and fortunately your view is not a reflections of all men’s, but you give a superficial, ignorant and arrogant comment.
I would urge Roger David to withdraw these t-shirts immediately. They harm real women.
MD
T. Jamieson, what is your point exactly? How about you scroll up and look at the comments from sexual assault survivors. Is this info supposed to be comforting to them? That someone got paid to make abuse fashionable?
Ok I understand the “suprise sex” ones are horrible, but the first two from roger david are simply artist expression.
Take it with a grain of salt and get off your high horse, Rape is horrible but these shirts neither promote or sell abuse or rape!
In fact I would say that it works the other way, The idea of the shirt is to promote shock and awe….
from the early stages of fashion / art different concepts have been used to convay an artists msg, this is simply another and to attack david jones is just poor taste you all have no idea of the 100’s of other brands that have already done shirts like this and won awards all over the world, takes two in the shirt from the US, Akomplice, Ksubi, Dissizit, FUCT and the list goes on….
Get a life honestly and write about something worth reading.
Come on,
I hear you on artist expression. But let’s look at the whole picture. Roger David promote a line they call ‘Blood is the New Black’. One of the tees is a woman who looks as though she is gagged. Another is of semi-naked women, who cannot be identified due to the strip blacking out their eyes. Another looks roughed up, with a microphone cord wound up her arm.
What is it, do you think, that Roger David want to achieve by calling this line ‘Blood is the New Black’?
Why are the pictures of women – but no men, similarly treated, in sight?
Why the woman’s mouth ‘gagged’? Why the women blindfolded – or blocked out – semi-naked? I’d be really interested to hear your interpretation of this line, its name, and the accompanying pictures. Can we take these images one by one? Or is the context important here? What about the name of the line?
Is it valid to point out what appears to be a fashion trend in glorifying domination and submission – particularly when women are the only ones being portrayed as submissive?
And in putting images like this on t-shirts, to which everyone is exposed, including children – who are in the process of forming their own ideas and opinions of gender roles, what it means to be a man, what it means to be a woman – are we not shaping how children will come to understand relationships and power dynamics between men and women?
What are our responsibilities when it comes to those who have limited ability to interpret media messages?
What’s your take on all of this?
And in saying ‘get a life’, what do you mean? Like, movies? Clubbing? Shopping? Fashion? What, in your view, constitutes a life?
“come on?” – you really don’t get it do you. Artistic expression? what is the artist trying to express? half naked women lined up, their faces covered? a woman on her knees, gagged? These images are triggering for survivors of sexual assault, scroll up and read for yourself, some have commented here, are you going to say that they just don’t appreciate the “artistic expression” and should get off their high horse? The ability to upset vulnerable people does not make someone an artist.
We really haven’t come very far have we in terms of how men view sexual assault. I think it’s getting worse. A friend of mine was raped when she was 13, it has affected her whole life. Drugs, alcohol, anxiety, depression, bad relationships, I reckon it’s all tied to that event, I think she knows it is too. The guy is now successful, having appeared in magazines and on tv. It tore her up, she had to take time off work, she had a breakdown.
Let Roger David know what you think. OK I did:
I will keep this simple. After seeing the new tshirts (you know the ones) I have decided that I will not spend a cent in your stores again.
Once again Melinda, you highlight an important issue.
I wrote to Roger David on the 18th December after seeing these t-shirts in the Hornsby store – I have yet to receive any kind of response.
These images are cruel to the core. They represent torture for women who have gone through abuse, they reflect a marketing strategy which is depraved and sickening. It chills me to think that imagery like this is being used in the name of fashion.
Roger David is catering for men who may entertain fantasies of abusing women. I hope they recognise the seriousness of this.
@ Shona I will reply to you in the morning,
@ Kelly “We really haven’t come very far have we in terms of how men view sexual assault.”
I take offence to that statement I believe men have come very far and yes rape does happen (to both females AND males) but as a community we stand togeather on that fact that it needs to be stopped, I have had very closed friends that have gone through the torment of sexual abuse, and yes it is very hard.
I would also like to note that I am a female not a MALE
If these were slogans directed or demeaning of a particular cultural group, i.e racism, they would be deemed unacceptable, but because they are about women it’s ok? How could these t-shirts possibly be made? What sort of moron would actually wear one?
2 new t-shirts from Roger David.
Degrading to women who aren’t in the photographs-maybe.
Unless she was forced into the photograph on the t-shirt on the left I believe we can see a woman expressing that she likes the idea of that cloth between her lips by simply being photographed in that way.
The photo on the left possibly promotes the idea of submission to having a piece of cloth in her mouth.
The photo on the right 2 anonymous female figures with an artistic black strip ‘clearly not a blindfold’ that ties them together visually.
Connotations are in the mind of the person looking at the t-shirt.
Art.
Those two t-shirts anyway.
‘Blood is the new black’. Where’s your head at?
When did the naked and/or semi naked female body become offensive?
If these images are triggering for anyone, continue to voice your opinion. Do what you can and must. Don’t look at them.
“come on?” I never said that I thought you were male, my second para was a general statement. It’s interesting that you take offence to my statement, but you cannot understand why we would take offence to these t-shirts that make abuse “cool” and rape “funny.”
I believe the shirts that make a joke out of rape completely undermine your position that we have come “very far.” The fact that people are defending these shirts, telling us to “lighten up” and reminding us about how “funny” they are also undermine your argument. The fact that men are buying them and companies ignore complaints about them. The fact that sexual assault survivors have posted to this blog about how the shirts trigger them, yet even they are told to “get a life.”
Aaaah.. OK ‘Come On’– how about don’t bother reading the blog if you don’t think it’s worth reading!!!
You think attacking ‘David Jones’ ( it’s actually Roger David) is ‘just poor taste’ but you don’t see the t-shirts as poor taste…. right!!!
The whole issue around ‘art’ ‘is tres questionable…and just because it’s been done before – doesn’t mean it’s acceptable or right.
Apparently the Roxy Music album cover (and now Roger David t-shirt – tho slightly altered from original) was banned in the US, Spain and the Nederland’s when it came out in 1974.
Interesting, Melinda, that it’s men posting on your blog who are defending the images.
I have to say there are also many many good men out there who do not support images that objectify and sexualise women, and ‘James’ is a good example.
Roger David cannot pretend they had innocent intentions with this branding and labelling. And using the ‘artist expression’ claim in its defence is absurd.
Mixing fashion with lack of social responsibility, violence and degrading women is something that is becoming more and more widespread, this blog has highlighted that on a few occasions.
Supre and Roger David equally have been two companies who have done this in recent times. Artist expression at the cost of enhancing the cause of cruelty and debasing people (so often women) is not acceptable.
I honour the bravery of people on this blog who are speaking up against this, and also the women whose personal stories cause others like us to keep speaking up. We shouldn’t stand to allow fashion to degrade or promote violence against women.
This is appalling. As a survivor of domestic abuse myself, and someone who actively encourages other women to leave their abusers, I find these T-shirts highly offensive. There is a moral boundary here and you’ve well and truly crossed it.
There is nothing clever, strong, or manly about using your physical strength to dominate and intimidate someone who is physically weaker than you.
This is not art. I am a designer by trade and I pity the sad designer(s) who pimped their “skills” out to create this gutter trash. Shame on them, and shame on the sick individuals who would actually buy and wear this nonsense.
Roger David – I will never set foot in your store again. I will never support your company with a single cent. You disgust me.
Why are there women agreeing to be in the photos at all if it’s so offensive to women?
@ T.Jamieson –
Re. your musings as to whether or not these women were free and willing to be shot for ‘art’ … there is evidence that more women pictured in such poses for p*rn etc have it done so against their will and as an extension of abuse and trafficking.
This is what these depict.
Re. your recommendation ‘not to look at them’ – Well, they are made to shock and be noticed – perhaps especially for guys who otherwise would not be … but hey, if you are a guy who falls into that category I’ll be sure not to look at you when you come up to me to ask me out.
T. Jamieson,
Naked and/or semi naked female body not offensive. Have no problems with it. I’d imagine a few women here have one themselves, actually. Probably also not offended by it – or others, for that matter. Kind of misses the point.
Artistic black strip that ties them together visually: Fabulous! An artistic device! So, why across the eyes? Why not across their foreheads? Shoulders? Elbows? Calves? Pinkie fingers? Aren’t choices made all the time with visual content? And if so, why the eyes? What’s the message there?
‘Where’s your head at?’ Fairly clear where people’s heads are at with above comments. What about yours? What does ‘Blood is the New Black’ mean to you?
Don’t look at them? Good solution. Fairly difficult when outside own house. Unless you know of a good AR app with adjustable ‘misogyny’ filters. Ah, but even then… It’s kind of like saying ‘If prejudice offends you, just look the other way.’ I’d rather not.
Connotations are in the mind of the person looking at the t-shirt? Absolutely. Connotations are also in the mind of the person/people constructing the image. Connotations are also received by those unable to critically analyse and deconstruct the images they are faced with every day, or even understand that all media is constructed. Like kids. And your solution to that is?
T. Jamieson – your argument that ‘those who don’t like it, shouldn’t look’ is proposterous. How are we supposed to ‘not look’ at these images? it’s not like we can predict what visual images are going to come into our immediate view whilst out and about. Why is the fact that these images are triggering for sexual assault and domestic violence survivors, met with no comment from you? Do you really not care that these women are re-victimised by these images ? Is your need for sexual gratification superior to the safety and respect for women ?
As another post stated, these are not isolated images. These images reflect ‘pimp culture’ gone mainstream – glamourising the sexual trafficking and sexual violence against women. These images are becoming increasingly normalised in our culture- making it ‘chic’ to hurt women. What about this appeals to you so much ?
To say that women choose to be photographed in this way and make money from it is simplifying what in reality is a very complex situation. Yes, there are also ‘mamsons’ (female pimps) who make their living off of ‘pimping out’ young girls as prostitutes. Because the mamasons get wealthy and might even enjoy doing this, does this then make it okay? Should we turn a blind eye to the girls who are repeatedly brutalised and damaged by this exploitation?
apparently the ignorant asshats who have left comments regarding these tshirts as humorous do not have mothers, sisters, aunts, grandmothers, or daughters. in fact, i would love to see those individuals share their thoughts mentioned above with their mothers.
as a rape survivor and victim advocate, i am disgusted and ashamed but unfortunately i am not surprised.
i fully intend on shedding my own light with regards to this vile fashion statement on my own blog, where i provide information about rape survivorship and advocacy.
the only way roger david can rectify this is to apologize for creating the shirts in the first place, immediately take them off the shelves, and take whatever proceeds he has made from the sale of these shirts and donate them to a women’s crisis center.
As a rape survivor myself I am disgusted & shocked. Why would any man even want to put this crap on a shirt! Does he not realize how many women are raped everyday?? Obviously no one from his family has ever had to suffer through a tragic event such as this. I am a mom of 3 great boys also & I know I have raised them to respect women not demean them!! Where are your morals Roger David or were you never taught any?? I have spent a lot of money in your stores in the past but NEVER again will I ever give you a penny of my hard earned money!!If I had known what kind of person you were I would have never given you a penny to begin with. These shirts make me feel like it was okay for what happened to me!! Thanks for bringing back the worst memories of my life that I have worked so hard to forget!!! I have spent the last 6 years trying to forget that awful night. You are lucky that you dont know what it is like to be raped & beaten for no reason. You need to have enough respect for all us rape victims & pull these shirts off the shelves!! As I am typing this I am wondering if you have any respect for yourself! You need to fix this Roger David! If you are any kind of human being you will stop this!
RD, you’re an embarrassment to real men.
I don’t know who RD is and I am glad to now make sure his products do not make my Bucket List. Men should be ashamed to have him in their pool.
This is highly offensive. I cannot believe this garbage is allowed to be out there. Not only will I not ever buy anything associated with this store… I am going to tell everybody I know how offensive this store is….
This is not the first time RD have been in controversial circumstances. They also had a tee with a little girl on it, smoking…
I know someone who works at RD and has seen one of those tees as discussed, but said the other one must be new. So these tees do exist and we know that RD are not shy of controversial imagery. What great PR for them.
I’m sad “BOYS” are going to be exposed to this (a man wont see the humour in this). I don’t want my son growing up thinking this is a visually or sexually appealing image nor do I want him thinking thats acceptable behaviour towards women.
Where is the respect and love between men and women – don’t they appreciate women for who they are without having to ‘do’ things to them for their own visual pleasure? We can’t keep pushing the envelope, we’re creating a society of men who are going to grow up with a range of social and relationship issues and are not being taught any better.
Although some of the T-Shirts are offensive to some, they do represent what the exploitation of sexuality for profit has come to in America. Stopping the purchase of liberally covering clothing and instead picking more conservative attire is one sure way to reduce the exploitation of sexuality and things like these will never get press.
You need to rethink the messages you are sending. You are offending and degrading women.. You think this is funny. It’s not. Think of all the women who ever meant anything to you and picture them in those pictures or better yet a future loved one. You may care you may not. I hope you lose a fortune. I am all for freedom of speech I just don’t care for what you are saying.
This is absolutely revolting.
How can anyone from Roger David’s design team possibly be proud of themselves for slapping images of domestic violence on their clothing line? I sincerely doubt that any women who work for that company have any kind of a back-bone and find it rather charming when their chauvenistic superiors slap them on their asses and give them a sleazy little wink.
As for the model, what was she thinking, posing for this? I know what its like to need an income, but I suppose some women have no limits and will do anything for a quick buck.
Roger David needs to be publicly Lynched for this. Has it been reported to any of the current affairs programs? Im going to notifty Sunrise. As a woman who has been a victim of domestic violence, on on behalf of my friend who lost her life to domestic violence (and the bastard got away with it) this is NOT acceptable.
Interestingly the girl in the photo, Annie Hardy, is the lead singer of a band Giant Drag
http://www.facebook.com/GiantDrag?v=info
I believe that the idea behind the photo is about how hollywood gags people.
I AM OUTRAGED! Absolutely offensive and to the ass that has the nerve to call this artist expression,”brain dead”! I am an artist and understand the difference in perspective but I will tell you this is disgusting and obviously you have no clue of what horrific abuse is happening to women children babies ect. Purely WE DON’T WaNT TO SEE THIS GARBAGE!..god forbid I ever see this on the streets or my children for that matter, sickening and distorted minds out there, there is NO defense to this!
FYI – the “Annie Hollywood” photo features musician Annie Hardy from the band Giant Drag. Annie’s a jokester and willingly put her own belt in her mouth, and her photographer-friend, who photographs all of her album art, could take a photo of her.
Do your research before you mis-judge.
No “mis judment”. It Is what it is and if she or you or anyone is ok with this then yall have issues…period.
No “mis- judgment”. It Is what it is and if she or you or anyone is ok with this then yall have issues…period.
Have just emailed RD as well to ask why they’re referencing pornography in order to make money out of their products.
Thanks to Melinda, and to all the excellent posts here.
The ‘artistic merit’/free speech argument is bogus on the grounds that the RD images are clearly hate speech directed against women. The reality is that women are bound and gagged and raped every day by men at this point in world history–conveying the reality of our situation in pictures shown on t’shirts is not stopping the abuse, it’s promoting it as cool and sexy.
I am disgusted by this. What kind of company would put this out? Not a company that thinks too highly of any employees that are women.
I just emailed Roger David informing them I would never ever purchase menswear from their stores again. My closing comment was : “You have disgraced yourselves.”
Audrey,
The fact that the original image was willingly taken in a different context has little to do with the way Roger David is choosing to market it now, and the rather different message it sends when in isolation on a t-shirt, with none of the background information re ‘Hollywood gagging people’, etc.
By all means do research before one misjudges, but how do you propose your average man/woman (or for that matter, CHILD) in the street can possibly do so when they are simply confronted with a person wearing the shirt?
I don’t see your average 13-17 year old boy seeing such an image and thinking, “wow, wonder what that means?”. Consciously or subconsciously, I fear the thoughts that cross his mind will be far from analytical – or helpful.
The whole ‘artistic licence’ issue has begun to sicken me (as a creative artist) – it’s long past time creative artists of all fields took responsibilty for the tremendous power of influence we can wield over others.
I’m outraged someone didn’t veto the designs before they were actually produced!
If Roger David aren’t replying to your emails how about flooding their facebook fan page. Perhaps then they’ll listen?
http://www.facebook.com/RogerDavid
“Art”, sites, organizations… that bear “fight or kick or punch like a girl” slogans are catchy, and usually well-intentioned, but way off point and (subconsciously) promote violence. A female warrior respects herself, her environment and all people and knows when to fight the good fight. She can be or is prepared, should it be professionally or by instinct, to respond to immediate physical danger. Moreover, the “fight” is through a combination of mental and spiritual awareness prowess, backed by the physicality, as a last resort. I’ve been rated expert with various weapons (former USAF) but I intentionally do not rely on those resources. That would be to dilute my instincts, unless it were an immediately available object at the point of confrontation. I reject any portrayal of women physically hitting each other for promotional purposes. It’s not amusing to send that message out to our children.
I completely agree that the latter images are absolutely wrong. I don’t endorse it whatsover. It was just interesting to see one my friends (I work with Annie) being called “roughed up/dishelved” when that photo captures Annie exactly as she is everyday. I don’t personally find that photo to be endorsing the gagging of women, either.
Thank you for bringing this to my attention. Let’s hope consumers stage a “class act lawsuit” by refusing to purchase any item from this store, watch the sales drop! I can only hope the female staff lodge claims for sexual harrassment, which it is, by expecting them to promote and sell these slogans and images.
I have written quite a letter and feel a phone call to their national manager is on the cards.
Sick bastards who thought up this concept to gain media attention – what if some guy dating theri daughter wore this shirt and thought it appropriate to rape her, or that trafficking women is okay, or that paedophilia is acceptable and unpunishable?!
Some of the dialogue taking place on this blog is in my opinion far more ill-informed and irresponsible, than some of you consider this tee-shirt image to be. To begin with, please do your research – none of the images advocating rape, or the trafficking of women (shown at the top of the page) are found in the Roger David Stores. Please do as I have done and take a look for yourselves. Secondly, I am yet to learn which store IS responsible for distributing such harmful messages; however I urge you to target them with your slander and enthusiasm, as it is they who should be disgraced and held accountable. The message sent through such slogans is entirely insulting, and entirely damaging to young women.
As I see it, RD’s T-shirt encourages a discussion based solely on the ability of wealth, fame and notoriety, to suffocate the lives of young women, and destroy the individual’s sense of self. I consider it to in no way sexualise violence against women, or encourage a notion of subordination. As it has been disclose by the artist, this shot was taken with 100% consent. Very few women in this discussion board have recognised the ‘Hollywood’ motif as the central theme to this Image, instead jumping straight behind the security of the hyperbolic circus.
Please allow art to serve its purpose, and also, give your children a little more credit; they are not morons, and are entirely capable of deciphering the true point of discussion from this image themselves. All of your slander and aggression promotes exactly what you are trying to defend.
To violence against women… Australia says No
To violence against women… Roger David says YES!
Roger David are obviously not going to reply, so make sure your voice is heard through the relevant government department – enquiries@fahcsia.gov.au
Frankie,
I think you might be right, I just asked my 6 year old what he thought of this photo. He launched into a speech about how Hollywood silences women and through reading the body language of the woman, was able to determine that the image was taken with 100% consent. His reading on the history of music in pop culture allowed him to recognise the context in which the photo was taken. He also challenged me about my interpretation of the image and suggested that I focus on the “Hollywood” motif as a central theme.
One of my other children simply wondered why someone would buy a shirt with a gagged woman pictured on the front, “what happened to her?” she wondered. This was followed up with a question about why their other shirts also show women in a similar way. what a moron!
So, Frankie, are you saying that Roger David deliberately chose to use these imges to actively encourage society to engage in meaningful dialogue about how women are suffocated by wealth, fame and notoriety?
Gosh, how foolish of me to think that it was just an ignorant, thoughtless and arrogant choice based on the notion that controversy and sex sells.
Now I can’t wait to cross a guy wearing one, so that we can engage in stimulating and profound conversation that is destined to forward the issue of the objectificaiton and sexualisation of women on the planet.
Context makes a difference!
I never found shirts like these funny, until I read this article – and all the comments of people who are likewise offended.
I get it now, thanks lol
Thanks for your feedback “lol” your comments more than prove our point.
you need to make it clearer that the slogans are not Roger David- facebook is going crazy but roger david is getting the blame for them too. and so the real culprits are getting missed.
So the women here who find the gagged photo offensive are to be patronised for not being cool enough to know the ironic postmodern sub-cultural reference?
Frankie wrote ‘Please allow art to serve its purpose, and also, give your children a little more credit; they are not morons, and are entirely capable of deciphering the true point of discussion from this image themselves. All of your slander and aggression promotes exactly what you are trying to defend.’
I think the covert insult here is that such women are uptight hysterical mothers who lack a sophisticated understanding of ‘art’. The same old boring anti-feminist stereotypes: women who speak out about violence against women are reactionary wowers, no fun angry frumps, probably frigid, maybe lesbians and quite possibly stupid. Are all the major international NGOs and numerous government departments across the globe that recognise violence against women is a statistical reality, and linked to the subordination of women also mumsie wowers and hysterics? Get real.
Glorifying the knowing kid consumer who is somehow equipped with a sophisticated ironic postmodern appreciation of layers of inter-textual references is standard corporate apologist rhetoric. The real irony is that these kind of positions pose as radical and cutting edge, just as corporations have long posed as $ubver$ive and cool.
‘Please allow art to serve its true purpose’….which in this context means making profit from particular images of women.
I came across a link advertising this site/issue, on Facebook and checked it out.
I have ONE thing to say to the ‘get a life’ proposers. I can’t remember who I should attribute this quote but
” all that is needed for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing”.
So, tho I live thousands of miles away from the nearest RD store, I wrote to them:
You probably don’t give a rats’ … what a person who has never purchased your goods thinks of your new collection.
I heard about your offensive new line of t-shirts on Melinda Tankard Reist’s website via a link on Facebook.
I’m disgusted that your line ever made it this far. I’m apalled that you haven’t committed a crime in producing this sorry excuse for clothing.
It is incitement to violence, encouraging people to consider a crime as a laughing matter, a petty thing, reducing the seriousness of a violation of human rights.
Whenever I get around to visiting my various relatives and friends in your country I’ll be sure to let my opinion on your store be known – that’s if you survive in business that long.
Yours Sincerely,
*********************(included in original)
PS; to the poster who said check it out before ranting off -or something along those lines – I looked at the website. I didn’t see the full collection but enough to know the above claims are true.
And whatever anyone might say about interpretting the images… the words are crystal clear and completely unacceptable in any civilised world.
And (it’s hard to leave it alone), I’m not surprised that ‘come on’ wasn’t brave enough to post a name, even a fairly anonymous first name.
Valerie
Abigail, your comment just made my day. Bravo.
you all need to get a life
if all you do all day is complain about tshirts i feel sorry for you all
We can all try and outdo one another with clever comments. The truth is, this is a sad indictement of what talented people like clothing designers feel is necessary to pedal their wares. If you’re in this industry, why don’t you take a leaf out of so many other talented Australian designers’ books and make a positive difference to the lives of the people who wear your clothing. I commend designers who make the wearers of their clothes feel good about themselves and do not seek to shock in order to sell. They are the merchants we will support with our hard earned salaries and little plastic cards. Shame on you.
Hey tj –
You arent quite getting it are you….did you not read Abigal Brays post….its more than ….
Quote ‘you all need to get a life
if all you do all day is complain about tshirts i feel sorry for you all’ unquote.
Read this….
‘Glorifying the knowing kid consumer who is somehow equipped with a sophisticated ironic postmodern appreciation of layers of inter-textual references is standard corporate apologist rhetoric. The real irony is that these kind of positions pose as radical and cutting edge, just as corporations have long posed as $ubver$ive and cool.’
That was something worth repeating…are you getting it now tj????
Small voice – I think tj may be a shop assistant at one of the RD stores!
This is appalling! who could possibly find these T-shirts amusing, entertaining or interesting? I will boycott Roger David.
RD are wrong to sell these T-shirts. But the only reason they sell is because there is a need.
Why is there a need for men to buy these T-shirts in the first place?
Something has happened between my generation and this one. With all the advances across all sectors of the community and awareness of womens issues and human rights in general, why has it come to this?
Only a very small percentage of blokes I hung out with or had anything to do with across work, sport, Uni, neighbourhood etc, would ever refer to raping a woman. Many joked about making it with a woman, but consensually, never ever violently. Yet, my wife has shown me disgusting text messages on my daughter’s mobile phone of boys “jokingly” calling girls bitches, sluts and ho’s. (they say this to each other, as if it’s alright) When I reacted about this and sought to act on it, I was informed that it’s just what teenagers call each other. Girls now accept this language from boys. The word “bitch slap” is common and no one thinks it’s a big deal.
Please someone tell me, with all of the focus on the rights of individuals these days, with the increased concern with protecting women, why we have come so far but BACKWARDS.
I may be old fashioned, but I was raised to always seek to protect women (family or not). And sorry if this is patronising or demeaning, it isn’t meant to be. But could we have transferred away this responsibility from young men now, who subconsciously believe that “society” and its norms will protect women?
If so, we’ve all bought a big fat lie. Because I think we have a whole bunch of men now that don;t know what their role is. This isn’t just about t-shirts and getting them stopped. It’s about identity
That’s just disgusting! I can’t believe that despite all the negative responses that such t-shirts get, they still make them.
The trivializing rape lines are sick and distasteful. I wonder what kind of guys actually wear them.
Your blog is misleading and implies Roger David sell the slogan tee!
I went into stores today and they do not sell any of these tee.
If you are really concerned about domestic violence you would not write this bog.
As all this blog is doing is inciting violence and promoting rape and everything else you talk about. I believe the blogger must be a lesbian and upset about men not giving her any attention
I think the blogger has lost her strap on – sexy land is open 24/7 your should go out and buy one
Jodie, the article clearly states which are from Roger David and which are not.
As for the rest of your comments, you clearly don’t have anything interesting or intelligent to say.
An open letter to Roger David… http://www.mybottlesup.com/insanity/2010/01/an-open-letter-to-roger-david/
How very uncool.
WOW!! Just shows the lack of intelligence (Jodie) that is out there!….very sad.
And to Frankie..”Your children are not morons” your absolutely right on that point and in my opinion that’s about all, obviously you couldn’t comprehend what women who have been through these horrible experiences will think when they see people wearing and promoting abuse towards women, it doesn’t matter WHO is the designer its the message it portrays and as far as the “person” posing in the pics giving consent is again besides the point, we as women should not find this exceptable in any way,and damn right we are angered and offended by such tasteless poor excuse of “artist expression” as a few of you put it. These Acts are happening to women, children ect. all over the world everyday, you both must live in a box, not have children and you hopefully and obviously have not experienced any of the horrible abusive terrifying acts that have happened to the many women in the world and the many women who have shared in this blog, my heart goes out to them and I pray for a safer future for our childrens generation and I will continue to have a voice and do whatever I can to support the value and respect towards women, children ect.
Excuse me, but you forgot to post a link where I can buy these shirts.
Unbelievable! Here is some jackass in the states who likes these shirts and think rape IS funny!
http://voxday.blogspot.com/2010/01/mailvox-in-fairness-you-do-prefer-bad.html
Check out the scary comments from his readers!
If any of you complaining about these t-shirts support abortion, you are hypocrites and should shut your mouths. The Abortion-Breast Cancer link has now been firmly established, so what these shirts display is on par with deceiving women into increasing their risks for radical double mastectomies. Abortion increases your risk for TNBC (triple negative breast cancer) by at least 40%, according to the former head of the NIH.
I deplore violence against women, but I also note with cynical acceptance how any thoughts you don’t agree with should, in your opinion, be outlawed. A bunch of little fascists you are, indeed.
Finally, in case any of you misandrists accuse me of being single, sexually frustrated and/or latently homosexual, I am married to a paragon of womanhood and we have an awesomely cute little dude in a crib, and I would lay down my life protecting both of them.
Who said we support abortion!…here we go again, please do us all a favor and shut your mouth, go focus on your family and some REAL soul searching…again like I said we will continue to speak our minds about whatever we believe no matter what it is!
I would love to know how you open-minded defenders of all that is pure and decent and really humorous will react to this one:
http://www.tshirthell.com/miscpages/whores_winner_0108.htm
‘Cause, y’know, I think it’s funny as hell.
Jen,
I am not saying you do support abortion. I am saying that if any of the people on this site who are expressing moral outrage at these shirts are pro-abortion, they should shut their mouths. Being anti-abortion and against these shirts is very consistent.
NO! not ok.
I’ve sent a message through to DJs – it makes me sick – I have a 9yr boy and 3 girls 8,6 and 2. These are crazy messages that our children may see walking, on a person around the street – this makes it very hard to guard their young prescious eyes. My hope is that they are never the offender or the offeneded in sexual abuse – something I hope no one ever has to encounter – these stupid shirt encourage it. ARGHGHGHGH
sorry – i meant RD’s
Love the shirts! Where can I get them?
totally agree steve there awsome need to get them into the k btw the one on the right is just an album cover with a small black of black added wow
and my favourite quite of the decade
You can always trust a woman to attempt criminalizing opinions with which she disagrees. No, you insanely cretinous would-be fascist,
.
http://www.doublex.com/section/health-science/im-too-sexy-my-onesie
This is a very good read about the sexualisation of boys at an early age, also relating to clothing.
“You can always trust a woman to attempt criminalizing opinions with which she disagrees. No, you insanely cretinous would-be fascist,”
Who talked about criminalising opinions? We’re simply voicing ours and putting pressure on Roger David to withdraw them.
Do you support the opinions of other organisations that use and promote violence? Neo-nazi’s? The Ku Klux Klan? What about images that stereotype and degrade other races, is that a-ok with you? I’m sure that any protest from african american’s or jewish people for example, is simply because they haven’t reached a point where they find their own history of oppression and violence funny. Is that your view?
It’s not free speech if only those in power are allowed to speak. If you turn rape into a joke, or make abuse “so hot right now” at Roger David, particularly when rape and sexual abuse is an issue that affects thousands and thousands of women and children, expect us to exercise our free speech.
There should be a group on facebook titled Melinda Tankard Reist promotes and endorses Rape, Violence and crime against woman as this is what her blog does!
Disgusting, appalling, abusive, bullying, repulsive, offensive……and every other word that describes my disgust in this brand…..
Even the artist quoted on the Roger David Facebook site said it was just a random photo that had no meaning. There goes the ‘art card’. But if they want to be disengenuous and say it’s all about art, number one, provactive art belongs in an art gallery so that those who are upset by violent or disturbing imagery can avoid it. That was one of Bill Henson’s main defences in the recent controversy. Art belongs in an art gallery, porn belongs in a porn publication. People have a right to choose.
Also, this is not provocative, thought provking, unique or inspiring art. Images of women naked, submissive, in sexually suggestive poses, bound, gagged restrained etc. have been standard artistic fare for centuries. There is nothing original about it. It’s not cutting edge, it does not push boundaries. It merely upholds and age old satus quo, ie. women as object.
I also doubt very much that the men who wear these t-shirts are thinking about the speech rights of women in Hollywood or expressing their ironic sensibilities via rape jokes. They are either trying to shock or offend at the expense of those less fortunate than themselves, or lack the critical thinking skills to seperate art from exploitation and commercial enterprise. Look on the bright side. At least we can spot the poor, confused souls a mile away.
“http://www.doublex.com/section/health-science/im-too-sexy-my-onesie
This is a very good read about the sexualisation of boys at an early age, also relating to clothing.”
KW, what most feminists don’t understand here is that they have brought this culture to us in the form of soft misandry, taught to us in our schools, and then acted out in a multi-generational self fulfilling prophecy. The fact is, state-sponsored sexism against males have taught us that men are inherently stupid, and the only reason they tend to be dominant is because of an insecurity brought on by these flaws. Literature, social studies, and anything else taught in schools today that reflects an anthropological mantra have taught these things for decades. Teaching boys this image that they are more than likely going to grow into inherently stupid men who have oppressed women for centuries will create this behavior. I believed that it caused Blacks to increase their crime rate, and I believe it causes men to behave like this in general today. Case in point: why would we choose, as a nation, shows like The Simpsons, Family Guy, and American Dad as mainstream, prime-time entertainment, whereas “The Man’s Show” is relegated to the eleventh hour with all the drunks and the losers who mostly don’t work or buy anything?
Thanks for alerting us to this gobsmackingly idiotic campaign. Will never buy from Roger David again and will be telling all my friends. I really am speechless at this disgusting campaign.
Personally, I think these t-shirts draw the attention to the issues and people are getting all “hot under the collar” about nothing.
The image portrays a beat up woman who has “hollywood” over her mouth. She is being silenced by Hollywood in this symbol. Hollywood is misogynistic. It portarys ambugiuity in sexual relations and women as servile idiots that only want to get married to some white jock. If these t-shirts show Hollywood for what it really is, then the t-shirts are doing us a favor.
Also, some people made the valid point that a*holes would buy these shirts. Yes, and when they do, as this media beat up will increase the odds of, their friends should tell them exactly what they think. Maybe the social humiliation will teach them a thing or two about empathy and solve some of the problem.
If you are a victim of sexual assault and memories are being triggered as a result of the t.shirts I have written about and/or by insensitive remarks made by some here and you feel you need to talk about it, please contact services (Australian) in the link below. If you live in another country, please seek out counselling services in your area.
Melinda
http://www.dvirc.org.au/ServicesHub/ServicesIndex.htm
Melinda, I hope you are not perceiving my comments as insensitive; I have every good intention. There should be no reason women should be degraded like this, and the unfortunate reality is that it only happens because there are people who will it to happen. It is unfortunate that our children of both genders have been brought into this fray for generations, and there is a mechanism at play here that points to fascism leading us all, every step of the way, down this dark road, under the false banner of equal rights. It has corrupted our children. What ever happened to the idea that women should be put on a pedestal, and given due respect as women? What ever happened to chivalry, and the idea that women are given careful consideration, and honor, in their roles? I mean, granted, it wasn’t a perfect world we clung to before, but I really believe that it has gotten worse by design. I am a single father with two daughters, and I have seen this kind of thing coming for years. Now I have to accept the fact that not only will this be rampant, but I will be almost powerless to do anything about it. I grieve with anyone here who has seen this horrible crime.
Wow with all the real problems in the world you are upset over a T-shirt that says something you don’t like ~ alert the jackboots. Funny how the tape over someone’s mouth is fine so long as it is a *man* you want to silence who is guilty of thought crime. Obviously the problem here is that these T-shirts are just not modern enough for your tastes such as oh say these:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_yqtwGqQYuvg/RsYEreAFegI/AAAAAAAAAGM/sGr8XtOwwK8/s1600-h/NoBoTShirts.jpg
which openly show violence against men. Stop being a pouty puss and realize that in this life things will offend you and all the kings horses and kings men (as cowardly feminist women NEVER would be able to enforce the rigid speech codes THEMSELVES that they advocate for pretty much everything outside the most narrow of thinking)
I believe that Men or Women portrayed in this way is awful! Not just “women” but in this case it is towards women OBVIOUSLY, this is not a “feminist” thing either this is about “these” shirts..and our opinion of the abuse towards women they obviously display, yes its a wiiiide issue all over the world and I am speaking for myself, my children and any other people that are offended by this and that’s it,many of us are are just going to have to agree to disagree ..sad but true…my opinion stands strong!
@ ME ” poutie puss” that’s what we are apparently to “you” for having a voice about this and sharing our strong opinions,(intelligent, not!) these shirts resemble a HUGE problem in this world and us women,men ect. should stand together and speak our minds not battle against eachother about every other issue its again about the issue at hand and its sad to see so many people so very ignorant about this, melinda is not promoting this for any other reason than to make us aware of these issues and I’m greatful, I truly hope I do not have to see any ignorant people wearing or promoting these violent shirts on the streets.
@ Etti and Kelly well said! I enjoyed reading your posts.
Concidering that women do most of the buying for their men you really have lost more customers than you could gain from the few oddballs that would buy these pathetic attempts to shock. They are just tacky and juvenile and not what you would expect from a well know and once respected store, you most likely will sell them but what after that once you have lost the real paying customers in favour of the few low-lives that will purchase these because without such props they would not be noticed. Again all I can think of to describe these people is the word pathetic.
It’s interesting how the papers keep writing about “feminists” posting about this issue. I have nothing against the word “feminist,” except that I don’t think it’s an accurate description of the women who have posted responses on Melinda Tankard Reist’s website about this issue. “Feminist” implies that they are used to speaking up against the inequalities between men and women, yet this is not what’s happening here. Many of these women are not familiar with advocacy – they are your homemaker, school teacher, doctor, wife, daughter, sexual assault surivor etc- who are so upset by this issue that they feel compelled to go out of their usual way to post a comment. I think many women are now waking up to the fact that while on paper, our society condemns rape, in reality how gender relations are played out is very different -we are living in a ‘rape culture’ and what we are now witnessing are women who don’t necessarily identify as feminists, speaking out against this.
@Steve and Adam – How old are you??? Obviously you both have no lives and no intelligence what-so-ever seeing as both of you have nothing even remotely intelligent to contribute. I’d also just like to say goodluck to you both with ever getn a g/f and keeping them, especially if ur going to be walking around wearing such idiotic clothing items.
@Candy – You obviously can’t read or else you’d know what this blog actually says. Maybe next time, perhaps, try to actually read the blog instead of just guessing what it says.. you might learn a thing or two! Melinda is an amazing woman helping to change the world for the better, which is more than I can say for you and your 3 lines of negative rubbish!
@Me – Where on earth did you get the idea that any of us thought it was okay for t-shirts to bear photos of allegedly abused men???? I have read every single post on this blog and no where has anyone even mentioned it being ok if it’s men. What people HAVE stated is the obvious – that Roger David is a MEN’S clothing store and that they feature only clothing that bears bound and gagged WOMEN, NOT MEN because that wouldn’t sell in a men’s store.. would it??! Also I think I speak for everyone who has posted on this blog when I say we would all be just as offended and just as concerned if we and our children were confronted with t-shirts bearing abused men on them. We don’t all just have daughters, we have sons too and abuse is abuse. We don’t want our sons or daughters to grow up disrespecting the opposite sex, or being sucked in by companies that resort to horrendous clothing lines in order to get attention. It’s pathetic which ever way you look at it. Also, just because things are always going to offend us, doesn’t mean w have to sit back and accept that this is the way things are. Do you have any children Me???????
And as for cowardly, we are anything but!! We stand up for what we disagree with. What do you do???
“It’s interesting how the papers keep writing about “feminists” posting about this issue.”
Bonnie, whenever the subject of rape comes up, you can pretty much bet that feminism will come up. The reason for this is that feminism has been the driving force behind re-defining rape to mean what it does today. The word “rape” really belongs to them.
Rape used to be a Christian concept in which moral foundation and theology made it a particularly bad crime that was uniquely against women. It meant stealing their virginity, or impregnating them against their will. It meant taking from them the very thing that they used as a bargaining chip for marriage. Technically, rape against a man could exist, but it was not dealt with in the severity that rape against a woman was, nor did it receive the public response or the outcry that rape against a woman did.
Feminists have taken this word, and have falsely inflated it’s perpetration, all in the name of a false martyrdom that they have used, politically, for rights that are uniquely for women. They have also redefined it to mean something that it never did, such as women copulating while drunk. I’m sorry to have to point this out, but anyone who argues that pleasure is a moral good, while rape (in today’s context) is a moral evil, will garner no attention or consideration from most men, especially the ones acting out the self-fulfilling prophecy that the state has taught them in schools for decades. You cannot tell a person who suffers every second from sexual signals, due to an over-abundance of testosterone, that his female counterpart should not be touched when she suffers from a temporary allowance of them, and expect this person not to laugh you off the stage.
The unfortunate thing is, now that rape is re-defined to mean what it does today, is that I have to watch my daughters grow up in the environment that the narcissism of weleslian feminist fore-mothers have created for them. Now, I have never touched a drop of alchohol in my life, and presumably, my daughters won’t either. But the day may come when they are no longer even safe to walk the streets, because rape is no longer a crime, now that the moral foundation behind it has been lost. And by that, I mean that rape will be illegal, but not really. You can say something’s illegal all day long, but as long as there are nominal repercussions for it, nothing will be enforced.
If feminists, and feminists-at-heart continue down this path, then we will eventually be like the African continent, where rape is commonplace, and expected for any woman who sets foot outside the home. Or, maybe we will be lucky enough to have Sharia law, and all women are covered; at least that provides some sense of safety for them, however nominal it may be.
Here is hoping a denial of service hacker comes to terms with his or her craft and sicks their skills on the troll – he deserves any and all internet traffic that chokes his miserable web site and pathetic attempt at commerce.
Andy, I’m guessing you are in your early 20’s because that is about how old I was when I was still drinking the koolaid.
Stifling free speech is only going to exacerbate the problem. Just because you won’t acknowledge the problem does not mean it isn’t there. I know that most feminists think fascism is the answer, but in truth, it only makes it worse. Prohibition of free speech will only enrage the use of it.
Yes, the shirts that directly relate to rape are inappropriate, however, you stupid idiots need to see that the shirts from Roger David do not in any way suggest rape or violence against women. It amazes me that extreme feminists such as yourselves have nothing better to do than make you look stupid to the public.
I thought i have seen it all when it comes to bad taste,these shirts are offensive and disgusting and if Roger David does decide to sell them regardless of a common sense of decency, is it worth loosing many loyal customers just to sell shirts to a few moronic idiots who probably would just wear one for shock value.
Nickelbak, you clearly have a very limited understanding of the complexities of rape.
And to say that ONLY feminists would speak out against this issue- well, how do you define ‘feminist?’ Are you saying the moment ANY woman speaks out against rape she immediately meets the definition of ‘feminist’?
Are you saying that media images have no effect on people whatsoever? Because if you had bothered to read the personal stories of sexual assault survivors on this site, you would notice that many of them have stated that they feel ‘triggered’ and re-traumatised by these images and messages such as “it’s not RAPE it’s SURPRISE SEX!”
the fact that you would defend such messages disgusts me. one has to wonder what why you would go out of your way to do so – any decent man (like my hubby) would defend a woman’s right to bodily integrity. We are actually human, in case you hadn’t noticed?
Bonnie, I think you need to brush up on your reading comprehension. I am not saying that a feminist is the only one that would speak out against rape, nor have I implied it. I am saying they have redefined it to mean something it never did, and now my daughters are going to have to deal with their aftermath. And since there seems to be no women’s movement that is against this perversion, I can pretty much say with confidence that the issue ultimately belongs to them.
And since I lack understanding of the complexities of rape, why don’t you explain to me what I am lacking, instead of using the “men will never understand what us girls have to go through” routine. What makes you think I am not reading the anecdotes of the other posters? Is there something I said that indicates I don’t?
Thirdly, Can you point out to me somewhere that I said something in defense of these messages on these T-shirts?
It will be interesting to see WHEN some young innocent girl or woman is attacked & hurt by a man wearing one of these t-shirts how well they will fare in the ensuing law suit. Personally i hope it renders them bankrupt.
Whilst I do understand what point you’re trying to make here, one of the t-shirt is an slightly altered cover of the Roxy Music album (do I hear you crying to THEM about that cover? No) and the other one is by photographer Dan Monick and is a pop-culture photograph of Annie Hardy (from the band Giant Drag) which is actually also produced for sale by Urban Outfitters in the USA.
I definitely think the second lot of t-shirt you have listed above are in a different category from the first lot. I don’t agree with the second lot of shirt you have shown (and I think anyone who wears them definitely have very limited cranial activity) however, I don’t see anything wrong with the top two, sold at Roger David.
PS: this article is highly misleading and kind of indicates that Rodger David is responsible for ALL the tshirts (if you got hot-headed by the title, chances are you may not have read it properly).
Nickelback
‘And since I lack understanding of the complexities of rape, why don’t you [Bonny] explain to me what I am lacking, instead of using the “men will never understand what us girls have to go through” routine.’
The very thing you ‘lack’ IS an understanding of ‘what us girls have to go through’ – and you lack it in spades. In your dour, paternalistic world, only virgins get raped and only men have any agency over their actions. Women exist only in terms of how they are perceived by men. Men do, women are done to.
Good luck with your daughters. Either they’ll grow up to be the vacuous, submissive creatures of your fantasies or they’ll decide you are irrelevant to their agenda and go their own way. Better still, I hope they become radical feminists.
These are a disgrace….and the people who sell them or would wear them are equally a disgrace. They are NOT funny.
All interesting. Whilst there are available from alternative t-shirt suppliers completely inappropriate printed content that wouldn’t be available in a mainstream shopping centre – there is the ability to boycott and advise others within your network to ensure through “word of mouth” that a substandard clothing store like Roger David be avoided. It will leave their management in a precariously busy situation having to respond to more than just a website complaining, they will no doubt also have to face the music to centre store management who will feel the need to take action with enough complaint received.
Roger David as we all know supplies the “want to be but can’t afford the real thing” clientele. Their management know their customers well because as the saying goes, “it takes one to know one”. Congratulations to the substandard management decision to move forward with again, another line of clothing “copying” what others do. Due to their manegment’s limited IQ they have successfully shifted even further from their prosective market – those with the intellectual and financial ability to exercise choice.
I have sent a notice to the Victorian Education department advising them to release in parent communication notices (managed by parents of children for parents of children) to avoid the store.
these t shirts make me wanna pay a visit to roger david rape and beat him then put it on a billboard see how he feels!!!!
Emily B, there is nothing misleading about the article. If you bother to read it you will see that it clearly states where the shirts are from, and I quote:
“Roger David really like their domination and abuse tees. They feature as first items on their home page and on their Facebook.
But it’s not just Roger David mainstreaming contempt for women wrapped up in a tee.
A mate came across this at the Birkenhead point Authentic outlet store in Sydney the other day.”
and then:
“Then there’s others available from online stores , treating rape as a joke and portraying little girls as little sluts.”
The article couldn’t be more clear, so those saying it is “misleading” simply haven’t bothered to read it.
Thank you for fighting for change in areas such as this. My email to RD was this:
I am appalled at Roger Davids decision to sell the “Blood is the New Black” range. It is completely demorilising towards women. My family of five will not be shopping in your stores again and I have every intention of alerting my social network contacts. There is no excuse for such poor judgement – and no amount of advertising dollar can bring back the customers which you will lose over this distasteful clothing. Your approach is unAustralian.
PS. I am not a feminist – I am a mother of two daughters and one son – aiming to bring my children up to have respect and moral values.
Things like this are only changed by the voice of those who are willing to make a stand. I encourage everyone to speak up… and be part of shaping the standard.
Subversive action: Go and spend spend an hour or two in Roger David’s trying on expensive suits and get the store manager hot and sweaty thinking about the huge commission coming their way as they ring up a $1000 plus sale and just before you hand over your credit card ask “Isn’t this the store that sold T-shirts exploiting women?” and then walk out without purchasing.
Boys are stupid, throw rocks at them?
And now that this story has “hit” main stream papers… http://www.theage.com.au/national/outrage-over-graphic-tshirts-prompts-pornography-row-20100123-mrqu.html
let’s hope that within the federal government office responsible for censoring and rating imagery exposed to children – that they get a hold of Roger David’s management tomorrow morning!
Images that show men, women or children in a violent, over sexualizes or objectified manner are just not acceptable! Whilst we sit by and say nothing, companies will continue to push the boundaries…it is vital that we as consumers, together make a stand, to stop t-shirts like this…. you should be ashamed of your product Roger David! Not only will I not shop at Roger David, I will ensure I tell everyone I know that Roger David supports the violent sexualisation of women!
I am completely disgusted that anyone would make these t-shirts and shocked that anyone would be stupid enough to buy them. I have been sexually assaulted and it makes me sick to my stomach that anyone would label what happened “suprise sex”. How would he feel if someone had ‘”SUPRISE SEX” w/ his mother or daughter? When i look at those images it brings me right back to the days when my life changed forever. I just cannot believe this, he should feel very ashamed.
“In your dour, paternalistic world, only virgins get raped and only men have any agency over their actions. Women exist only in terms of how they are perceived by men. Men do, women are done to.”
Wow, did you require any thought in this automated, droned response MK? As if I haven’t heard this straw man attack before. But, for argument’s sake, why don’t you articulate the particulars? Or, are you afraid of being exposed as an irrational creature?
Oh, never mind, I will just get started right away, as if I am expecting you to come up with anything original. I know this will be cognitive dissonance for you, MK, so I suggest you read it a few times before you respond, to avoid being exposed as an idiot. The main point here, MK, in case you missed it, is that rape has no moral foundation anymore. There is nothing that stands beneath it to sustain it as a crime. Asserting that it is a crime to copulate simply because one of the moods of the moment (which radically changes from one moment to the next) dictated that you weren’t in the mood or even if you are in the mood, when self-induced by intoxication, and when you wake up the next morning and don‘t like the appearance of your sexual partner. If I applied that logic to my situation, then I guess I would have full legal rights to go back as an old man and charge with rape every woman I ever had sex with, simply because my raw sex drive was overloaded by an abundance of testosterone at the time.
The only world here that we can apply dour to is a dour, fascist world where the leftist, fascist state feeds this tripe about men oppressing them for centuries, and then they use the sympathy mount given them by God, nature, or whatever, to convince us that sex is rape, in all its forms, unless the man has written consent from the woman. And I mean that literally. We have feminists like Amynda telling us she was nearly raped in a situation where she was neither assaulted, raped, or had no sex whatsoever. And when it is pointed out that women have power simply because they are women, and have feminine qualities, it is always ignored, downplayed, and shoved under the rug as a supposed non-sequitur.
I’m sorry, but it is just too difficult these days not to notice the polygamous relationship between feminists and the creeping, leftist, fascist state. There is no end to the “paternity” as you call it, only a changing of the names. WIC, AFDC, food stamps, government-mandated child support (whether the little shit actually belongs to that man or not), and the lopsided affairs of so-called affirmative action, are all things the fascist side of the state offers to women in exchange for their dependency to the state.
The difference between us, MK, is that I believe that creatures in and of themselves determine their own independence, and all on their own terms, whether they are male or female, boss or servant, etc. You, on the other hand, somehow found it convenient to believe that men somehow have stolen women’s independence, abusing them in the process, and so you and your ilk are right there to ensure that men are thrown out of their own homes the minute their wives use the legal system against them abusively, and make sure that men are stripped of everything, every time their female counterparts scream (even falsely) that something is unfair. There is a word for this kind of thing, MK. It is called fascism. For shame that this rhetoric was not present when the majority of jobs weren’t just a warm body pressing a button, and actually required physical labor; your ilk would have been laughed in the streets and trodden under foot by both men and women.
It is fembots like you that make the severe abuse my children suffered at the hand of their mother possible. Whenever a father brings up the physical, emotional, and psychological abuse, all the courts can say is, go to the DCFS. And when you try and have this reported to the DCFS, they simply say it is a civil matter, and you will rarely find any follow-up on it (if you are a man), and when it is followed up on, the follow up is nominal. You make it impossible for the father to advocate for the children, even in the face of the very fact that children are 50 times more likely to be abused by their stepfather than by their father. All you care about is that your true husband (the government) makes sure that you get paid, whether by your own merits (rare, but hey, it is possible) or by the sole fact that you are a woman.
When a father tries to make sure that his daughters have their needs when in the possession of their materialistic, spend-crazy mother, and she decides that they should not like you so she destroys the things you get them, and the father has no recourse or legal action he can take, it demonstrates one very important principle: it isn’t important that the father provides for his children, all that is important is that the mother gets paid. You mentioned about my daughters. Well MK, since you feel so aptly qualified to sound off on my family affairs, could I just spell out to you that my daughters hate their mom’s guts? And before you get any ideas, by no doing of my own did this happen. And they know why this happened, so rest assured, it will be millenia before they even think about setting foot in any of your cyborg camps.
Your personal, twisted, made-up vendetta is trite, laughable, and really very pathetic when you consider that it has been well substantiated that women work less than their male counterparts, both in hours they put in at the work place, and what they actually put into the hours. Plus, your neediness on institutions like the government, or even a corporation make it more difficult for you to arbitrate for a higher salary. And then you bitch and moan about how bitterly unfair the workplace is, despite the fact that women are getting into college easier, and getting their degrees in higher numbers than men are.
In the end, as feminists, no matter what kind of lip-service you pin on it, all you are in actual fact are passive recipients to an agenda to promulgate fascism. Because the state makes it possible for you, as a woman to find security in them as your new-found husband for your materialistic wants, and you, as disciples to this new priesthood, regurgitate their rhetoric. The government, as an entity seeking only to expand it’s power, wants to see women keep all their bargaining chips in a marriage (whether legal or common law), but wants to see men lose all theirs, so that the family will be placed at the mercy of the feminist’s whims And this is all done at the expense of your male counter parts, as well as your families, as in the process, families are ripped apart, leaving children without a healthy two parent home that evidence is screaming they actually need.
“Five bucks says she has no problem with male-bashing clothing”
I don’t really know her, but if she is the feminist I think she is, she won’t say anything. This whole feminist thing isn’t about equal rights, nor was it ever, ever since FDR’s “new deal” politics redefined feminism.
Remember when Bill Clinton and his cronies were accused of rape and abuse of their powers to get sexual favors? The fembots were all gagged and tied by their own devices, as not one of them said a word. In fact, I seem to remember a few of them actually defending his blatantly misogynistic behavior. This substantiates my point that it isn’t simply a matter of conditioning women to hate men in elementary school, but
but to actually foster dependency of women on the state.
The marriage to the state that I describe is obviously rhetorical, but it seems they are about as loyal to their new husbands as those Castilian Spanish women are loyal to theirs; willing to kill almost anyone who offends their hubbies, or perhaps so if they had the faculties. Anyone who has been to South America or Spain should see the humor in that. If I were a betting man, I would say that using this rhetoric is actually more on target than anyone else here in this chat is willing to acknowledge.
Nickelback, this article is not about “feminists” and it is not about the serious problems you’ve had with your family break up. This article is about Roger David and others selling degrading t-shirts and we believe they need to be held accountable for it. Those commenting may or may not be feminists but whether they are or not is really besides the point.
Disgraceful! What are Roger David thinking?!?!
I’m banning their clothing at our place and will ask my Facebook http://www.facebook.com/lkphotography & Twitter http://twitter.com/LK_Photography followers to do the same.
Thanks for bringing this to our attention.
I counsel victims of sexual abuse , rape , incest and domestic violence. This is not only highly offensive it is a promotion of immoral , criminal behaviour. Not only will I be boycotting all roger david stores , I will also encourage the many , many , people that I come into contact with to do the same.
If some of the marketing people from RD. just sat with my of my clients for 1 hour to see the devastation and complete destruction of a persons ‘ life because of sexual exploitation they might actually reignite their consciences to promote their clothing with pure hearts instead of this kind of sickening , unjust, filthy,marketing promotion.
Please RD executives “get a life” so that women can have one also.
“Nickelback, this article is not about “feminists” and it is not about the serious problems you’ve had with your family break up.”
MK thought it would be relevant to comment on my family, after I pointed out that it was the sole work of feminists that the word “rape” has been taken, and made it something very different than what it used to mean, and that as a result, I have very large concerns about the future of the country that my daughters will be living in. So, yes, it was a bit off topic, but I am simply pointing out that rape in all its contexts largely belong to the feminists, because they have taken the seriousness of the crime, and trashed it by making it lose its original definition; one that actually has a moral foundation in the Bible.
I am by no means condoning the T-shirts; I find them disgusting as well. I am not saying that all women women should have no concern over this offensive merchandise unless they are feminists. But unfortunately, through the constant, narcissistic politicizing of the word “rape” by feminists, its true seriousness has been minimized. This makes it impossible not to bring up modern feminism in this discussion, and because modern feminism will inevitably be brought up, it is impossible not to bring up their craft, and why their whole design has been nothing more than an evil, subversive ruse.
I just wrote this to Roger David, but surely we should be targeting the papers to embarrass them to withdraw their “contribution” to the abuse of women.
“Your daughter comes home one night, visibly shaken but can’t look you in the eye when you ask her if she’s ok. She can’t articulate her feelings of horror, guilt, helplessness, shock and violation as the nice boys she met earlier in the pub/party/nightclub, whom she’d had a great time talking to and laughing with, turn on her after a few drinks, after the pub closes, after she’s a bit drunk herself, after the lads think they’ve “earned it”, what with all the effort they’ve put in and the money they’ve spent, after they’ve offered her a lift from the “goodness” of their hearts, after she’s accepted it from the misplaced trust of hers, after they just stop off at a mates, after she’s realised that the mood is turning, after the one she liked makes a grab, after she, embarrassed to be so public says no, then after she,all alone, goes though the night every parent dreads as she”pays her way”,ask yourself “How are our t-shirts which portray women as fuck holes selling?” What would your answer be? Hmm?Sickening.”
This is a bit off topic, but it is my personal opinion that all women who have to decide to abort a pregnancy due to the trauma of rape should be able to press charges of murder to their assailant, and not just charges of rape. I have been a witness to the trauma of rape, and I have had to clean up the mess of some irresponsible pig who reduced someone I loved to an object. It is not fun. And furthermore, I have had to watch someone commit suicide, who was very close to me, that did so because of an abortion she had that was as a result of a rape. Aside from the physiological complications, and the increased risk of TNBC, the traumatic aftermath is horrific. No woman out there should have to think of herself as a murderer because of her religious convictions, or even her own personal beliefs. Fact is, there are a lot of women who can’t emotionally distinguish between a fetus, and a baby that they are holding in their arms. I’m not going to lecture anyone on whether or not a fetus becomes a human being at a certain point, but women feel this. The law should specifically state that she is defending herself, and that her assailant is the murderer of that innocent being she chose to terminate on the grounds of self defense and self preservation of her psyche. Reproductive choice should not just give women nominal protection. There is more to being a good mother than just being able to give your children material needs. A mother needs to be free of any such dichotomy that this terrible situation presents. And the reason I think this is because I believe it is the antidote to the minimizing of the seriousness of the crime that the feminist agenda has given us.
I have worked very hard to get where I am today, and I don’t need a bunch of hideous, offensive, and down-right shameful t-shirts making what I experienced out to be some sort of “clever” joke. Rodger David’s execs can spend a day in my shoes, or the shoes of another sexual assault survivor, and see how fucking funny it is. It’s an absolute tragedy that there are people in this world who think that it is a great idea to mock survivors, jest about rape, and condone the objectification of women. It takes a lot of effort on my part, and on the part of my loved ones, to stay strong every day. If I want to face sexual assault, I will do it in a safe, caring environment, not walking down the street. I don’t want it shoved in my face. I have supportive friends and family and it’s hard enough; what about the people who don’t, who are still being abused? It’s hard enough, and there is enough stigma attached to being a sexual assault survivor, without companies laughing at us. Really, how can these people sleep at night? Fuck freedom of expression. It will never be okay to make light of something so cruel and so serious and so DAMAGING as rape.
And by the way, rape isn’t a feminist issue. It’s an ISSUE.
I’m curious as to your stance regarding all the people shouting “FREE SPEECH”??
We’re having a lot of heated debate over on our FaceBook Page about where Free Speech works into all of this.
Chivalry is deader than dirt, and like Dave Chappelle said, women killed it. What happens when you tell men to treat you like they do other men? Well, sadly for you, they do it. This may come as a surprise to women, but men don’t care what you think about them. Why not? Because you will post outraged screeds about issues like this, then still sleep with them.
Yes, there IS actually something misleading because if you look at all the comments saying “we can’t believe Roger David sell t-shirts with such horrid rape comments!” – ummm, yeah, those ones ARE NOT sold by RD – god Im banging my head against the wall due because some people have just come here and switched their brains off. Misleading because a lot of people haven’t been able to comprehend the post properly. Perhaps that’s just a result of hysteria and non-careful reading who knows.
But a lot of people coming here just jumped to conclusions, submitting themselves to the ridiculous hype. Not many people have come here and thought “Oh hey, ya know what… that Roxy Music record cover t-shirt has probably just been altered to protect copyright. Oh and I can clearly see that it’s not actually a blindfold”. “Oh and the photo by Dan Monick – if you had half a brain then you’d realise that all of his photos look similar (the crime-scene demeanour that is being declared) because they’re taken with a polaroid camera”. And if you want to get your knickers in a proverbial knot then why not realise that Blood is the New Black is run by a WOMAN and Annie Hardy has songs such as YFLMD (you fuck like my dad).
The hysteria and incitement you’ve created is dangerous.
Just because I’m calling you out on this does not, of course, mean I support those ridiculous rape t-shirts. I just think your argument, in this instance, is exceptionally weak. You’ve taken two tshirts with sexual-themes (one from the 1970s) and pasted them up alongside clearly deranged products.
You know…. I think there’s more power in using your brain than simply jumping on this ridiculous bandwagon. Shame on you for enticing rage.
Emily B. it is clearly non-careful reading if people are getting it wrong as the article itself is in no way misleading, it is actually very clear. Given the level of attention this article has caused, it is natural to expect that some would get the facts wrong, this is not the fault of the author, but as you say, people not reading the article. What you call hysteria looks to me to be distress. Many of the women posting here are distressed and if you look through the comments you’ll see that many are survivors of sexual assault and they find these images to be triggering.
Why are you minimizing the impact of the Roger David shirts? It’s not like the rape slogan shirts are really bad and the Roger David one’s less so. The Roger David shirts are still about objectification. It is not just the fact that they are taken with a poloroid camera Emily, it is the fact that the woman appears to be gagged. The average person looking at these shirts is not going to get the back story that Roger David has given about how much fun the woman in the picture had because she just pulled her headband down over her mouth and some person snapped a photo of her. (if you believe that of course) What they are seeing – what they are clearly seeing based on the feedback to this site and elsewhere – is an image of a woman who is gagged.
As for the other image of two women, protecting copyright? Puh-lease. Firstly, I might be wrong, but I doubt this would get them off the hook regarding copyright. Secondly, there is a reason why they altered the photo by covering the eyes as opposed to any other part of her body. Her eyes aren’t important Emily, her exposed body is. This image is one that objectifies women, we see it time and time again, this is not an isolated incident but part of a bigger problem. It might interest you to know that this album cover was in fact banned back in the 70’s. But apparently it’s now good enough for young and old to see whether they like it or not. The research shows that young girls are negatively affected when they see images like this. And again, the average person is not going to be thinking “what is the artist trying to say to us through this image?” All they will see is “two hot women” half naked with their eyes covered. If they’re smart they might begin to ask why women are constantly presented in this way.
Regarding what you consider to be deranged, many of us think that it is clearly deranged to objectify women’s bodies and make images that look like sexual abuse a fashion statement, just as Roger David have done. Many of the women who have posted here are victims of sexual assault and have said that these images are triggering for them. But you call it hysteria Emily?
Regarding the rest of your post where you say things like “if you had half a brain” etc. It is insulting and unnecessary, you are only adding to the distress of those who have bravely spoken up about some very sensitive issues and it’s not easy to talk about such things, but it’s important that we do.
Well, this blog has grown quite large hasn’t it.
I’m quite proud of the groundswell of dis-approval here for the RD T-shirts.
I myself am also appalled at the T’s.
But I am grateful, as I am beginning to become aware, that there are people like most of you guys, who give a damn and are willing to talk and act to voice their disapproval.
A lot of weird shit is going on in this modern world. Society is slowly becoming more permissive, erring on the side of violence.
Violence is in our “wall-to-wall” TV crime show diet on TV at the low end, and creeping in as a reality and a celebration of abuse in rock videos and in other media.
For awhile I was flabbergasted that no-one I knew or had contact with it was talking or otherwise caring about this “creeping in”.
I am glad that there are guys like you who care.
The modern world is abit like Al Gore’s reference to the frog in the beaker.
i.e. put a frog in a beaker of hot water, he’ll jump right out.
But put him in luke warm water and slowly raise to temperature till it boils, and he’ll remain and die there.
Thank God for you guys !
There should be more people raising issues like this and many others.
For awhile now, there has been too much silence.
“Chivalry is deader than dirt, and like Dave Chappelle said, women killed it. What happens when you tell men to treat you like they do other men? Well, sadly for you, they do it. This may come as a surprise to women, but men don’t care what you think about them. Why not? Because you will post outraged screeds about issues like this, then still sleep with them.”
Irony, we must be a little bit more accurate about this than that, if we are to have any meaningful change for the better. Women did not kill it, as you, or Dave Chappelle, or whoever said it. This was a larger, more sinister plot by fascists to push a brand of feminism on us that turns equality on its head, to take it over. This is not anything new; it has been used for over a century in all fascist countries in some way. What is sickening is how governments completely forget about those women’s votes and voices that got them to power in the first place. You can look at any overtly fascist, or even post-fascist country, and what is so sad is that you hear quite a bit how the women think that their men don’t love them if they are not bashing them.
Women should have their voice; God has deemed it so, being no respecter of persons. In fact, Ephesians 5 explains that marriage is a mutual submission, not just of women to men, as some have disingenuously painted it to be. Thieves have snuck into the wheat field and planted the tares. And today, now that modern feminism has grown to maturity, we can distinguish which are the wheat and which are the tares, if we could just remember what the actual wheat looks like.
I really resent the way that you’re telling that my opinion is not valid.
If this post had been written differently, and not included the rape t-shirts, I don’t suspect you would have had as much interest or reaction. Nothing like including a bit of shock value for validations sake, eh?
There’s nothing wrong with exploring how I feel about things and forming my own opinion. In fact I would suggest it is more liberating than just seeing what is presented and just agreeing.
This guy needs to make an appointment to see the Australian of the year! He’s sick.
@ Emily B.
“I really resent the way that you’re telling that my opinion is not valid.”
Nobody said that you weren’t entitled to your opinion Emily. However, you seem to think the author and the posters opinions aren’t valid. You called agreeance on this topic a “ridiculous bandwagon.” You used insults in your posts and implied we weren’t “using our brains.” Accused the author of being “misleading” Accused the author and presumably the posters of “enticing rage.”
“If this post had been written differently, and not included the rape t-shirts, I don’t suspect you would have had as much interest or reaction.”
Yet if you check these links you’ll see that they’ve chosen to feature photos of the Roger David shirts, rather than the other shirts mentioned in the article:
http://www.theage.com.au/national/outrage-over-graphic-tshirts-prompts-pornography-row-20100123-mrqu.html
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,26622096-23272,00.html
“There’s nothing wrong with exploring how I feel about things and forming my own opinion.”
agree completely Emily, I enjoy discussions like this, but stick to the issues and give the insults a miss.
Let your voice be heard petition for this range to be destroyed NOW~~~~!!!!
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/rogerdavid_bloodthenewblack/
Try to imagine the women in the images are your mother, your sister, your cousin, your wife…… They are human beings who are close to you. For the female who was supportive of the the images but declared they were female not male – this means nothing as women have also been the perpetrators of cruelty to females….
The guys who have tried to defend the offensive tshirt designs should be ashamed of themselves. For the brave women who have provided personal accounts of abuse, there should be only an applause.
What is on the tshirts is absolutely wrong particularly from the viewpoint of younger generations being exposed to such images of human degradation. Images of naked women is not new to fashion but we have been trying to break from the degrading portrayal of womanhood that seems to have been popular. Just because images of naked women or other images have appeared does not provide justification for these images. If abused women see such images and feel insulted, something should stop these images. I have not experienced such abuse but the images insult me not because I am on a ‘high horse’ but because if younger, influential men and women and children see the tshirts, the subconsciousness might accept these images as ‘truth’. Essentially this argument is not about fashion and ‘art’ but about human rights and morality. Being ‘art’ does not give licence to abuse of representation of what it means to be a woman. I am pleased to see men have also expressed their disgust about these images and my boyfriend is too.
YOU NEED TO POST YOUR LETTERS, EMAIL IS NOT AN ACCEPTED FORM OF COMMUNICATION WHEN MAKING A COMPLAINT.
T. Jamieson
Blood is the New Black is the name of the U.S label from where at lease one of these t-shirts are from.
2) The picture of the two women has been appropriated, probably illegally, from a Roxy Music Cover. On that cover, the women’s eyes are not covered. It is the deliberate covering of eyes which is of particular issue here. The black strip is dehumanising, it suggests a lack of consent for the women’s identity to be revealed. Cross that with here semi-nakedness and you get an image of sexual powerlessness, trafficking and fetish. If you think it is art, put it in a gallery. There is nothing wrong with the female form, so don’t be silly. It is the context in which it is presented. This context is “here is a photo of a couple of semi-naked women, trying to cover themselves up (does that mean they are trying to protect their nakedness? I suggest that it is. Their identities are irrelevant/secret, so we’ll black out their eyes for you, just like we do in crime photos.
The staff themselves do not know the origins, nor the context of their own merchandise, as outlined in an earlier post on this site.
2)Same with this: The gag photo (Dan Monick-Blood is the new Black) is of Anne Hardy, singer of “Giant Drag” and she is making a comment of how she feels about Hollywood. Fine. It’s art. Put it in a gallery. Have a blurb about the work, putting it in context.
3)Both of these t-shirts are about context. A)it’s highly unlikely that the majority of people will be aware of the context, therefore the public has access to the image only and their meanings, which are completely legitimate, with be gleaned from that. The intended artistic statements being made here, and I speak specifically about the Anne Hardy picture as I find the other entirely without artistic merit, are lost without context. All we see is a disheveled women who is gagged and that image, in isolation, is upsetting.
4)Children (and many adults) do not have a developed sense of irony, a developed world view, a knowledge of semiotics, yet they are exposed to these images without consent (which is at issue here). This is precisely the problem-the bombardment of sexually aggressive imagery and slogans without consent. The Supre T-Shirts, the Lush t-shirts and the others are another thing altogether and should be removed altogether.
There is too much sexual hate-crime, and the statistics are growing, to manipulate, mock, exploit,or glamourise it. And I hope the pockets of Roger David and those who promote this work become so empty that they file their imagined “cutting edge” right down to the nub.
Wow. How inappropriate are those shirts? Thank you for bringing awareness to stuff like this. I’m gonna post and link back to these on my site. It’s disgusting. As if Human Trafficking, rape, etc. are topics to be joked about. I’m sick!
“Mega misogyny is so mainstream that it is now OK to sell rape proud t-shirts…”
To this I’d like to say that rape isn’t a crime exclusive to women.
A lot of the women who have posted here saying “this is my e-mail to Roger David” have written there messages out of rage and half of them aren’t even factual.
“The image of a bound and gagged young woman completely debases the value of females in society.”
I don’t see any woman bound in either of the two T-shirts by this guy. If you look closely at the shirt where the girl is gagged the gage says “Hollywood” (conveniently not written in this article). I think that’s saying more about Hollywood than anything else. This shirt isn’t sexual suggestive in any way I can. She’s a cute girl gagged by Hollywood its symbolism and that’s left out in the article.
The other T-shirt with the girls who are sexually portrayed with the black block covering their eyes That’s more sexually suggestive and it is portraying woman as sexual objects. Alright I mean that’s tasteless and it says something about the person who wears that shirt but it doesn’t support rape and it isn’t raped themed.
They may both be tasteless but they are T-shirts and you don’t have to wear them or buy them for that matter. This Article ties two completely different things together the Roger David shirts which are not explicit to other shirts that are not linked to their company at all that represent rape as a joke.
Rape is very serious but these two shirts don’t depict rape. I wouldn’t buy them myself and you may not like them either and you don’t have to buy them.
Honestly though if I were the guy making these shirts I’d just be laughing at these emails your sending in.
~Olivia~
P.S. It’s unfortunate that some women who have been sexually assaulted are seeing images like these on T-shirts but at least you know to stay away from those people. If anything it could warn you to stay away from those people.
I also Agree with Emily B.
“I really resent the way that you’re telling that my opinion is not valid.
If this post had been written differently, and not included the rape t-shirts, I don’t suspect you would have had as much interest or reaction. Nothing like including a bit of shock value for validations sake, eh?
There’s nothing wrong with exploring how I feel about things and forming my own opinion. In fact I would suggest it is more liberating than just seeing what is presented and just agreeing.”
Re: Olivia…
Whilst you may not feel that these shirts are depicting rape, they are portraying women as sex objects. The shirt with 2 women shows them scantily clad with bars over their eyes, suggesting that their identity is irelevent, and the focus is certainly on their skimpy attire- one of them is not wearing a top and merely is covering her top with her hands. This is portraying women as objects and the fact that anyone thinks this is funny shows a lack of respect for women. We are not objects and we are equal to men. Our purpose is not to please men however and whenever they desire, and these shirts are hinting that that behaviour is ok.
No words.
(speechless is different than gagged, btw)
Well, I couldn’t do *nothing* about it. I walked past Roger David store several times this week at my local Westfield. These t-shirts are on display on a front stand and on the front table inside the door. I watched a young couple walk into the store to shop, and the girls expression was shocked and repulsed. They both walked out of the store – that was one sale Roger David missed! How many more?
Today I left a note on the pile of Tshirts saying “Offensive to Women – Please remove from Sale”.
I will take some note paper with me every time I go shopping and leave a similar note on the pile or blue tack a note on their advertisements. Nothing illegal, just making a point.
Hope I drive the store manager crazy, plus I hope a few shoppers see the notes and realize someone cares.
I just moved from Sydney to outback Northern Territory and I’m so grateful we don’t have a Roger David store here!!!
I sent in this them…
I’ve just seen the tshirts you’re promoting which feature young women gagged, or in nothing but underwear with their eyes covered and I have to be honest, they make my blood boil.
I am a middle school teacher and I would be horrified if any of the girls I teach, who are probably only 5 years younger than the girls in the photos, saw those images. Please don’t tell me it’s not teenagers you’re marketing the shirts to, it’s beside the point who’ll actually be buying them – the images are big enough not to be missed. They’re abhorent.
They’re not ironic, they’re not retro, they serve no purpose but to demean women and cut you a profit. If one of the purposes of these images was as a marketing technique to get people talking about ‘Roger David’, with any publicity being good publicity, then you can also add exploitative to the list.
As a teacher, as a female, as a prior victim of assault I cannot believe you would use these pornographic-esque images on clothing!
Those images are so haunting and degrading, they make my stomach churn.
How is this okay?
I have sent my thoughts into Roger David and will never be shopping there in the future.
I think the above image represents the extent to which female abuse is exempt from our society, and making light hearted satire comedy.
They are not meant to be taken seriously as someone wearing the ‘surprise rape’ t-shirt is not a rapist, merely mocking the selfish who do.
Irrespective of how many women behave in our society, this stuff is revolting and insulting to both women and men. As a father, and REAL man, I would not hesitate to smack anyone in the mouth I saw wearing this trash.
Hows about some effective censorship in this country?
Roger David got a mouth full from me, and will never see my business again.
This is disgraceful, no wonder their is so much violence against women, how can you be so irresponsible and disrespectful towards your Mother, Sister, Aunty, Cousin, Niece and women generally in the community.
to josh (comment above), maybe the t-shirts are not supposed to be taken seriously, but for some women, it pulls some real emotional triggers, and to rom (comment above), obviously you are a true gentleman, and it is so nice to see that a man feels as passionately about this as many women do. And just know that your comment doesn’t go unnappreciated.
Whilst I can laugh at such things as jokes about rape and abuse (I have a morbid humor at times), I don’t really see these shirts as a good idea in public. There is a difference between laughing at dark topics as humor (generally a way for some folk to cope with horrors) and supporting bad things. I in no way support or condone abuse in any form to any person wether male or female, all jokes aside it’s a horrible thing to be raped or abused and I know plenty of guys and girls who can laugh at silly jokes about rape but will kill anyone that tried to hurt their friends, kids, etc.
The dominated female images may work if it was in the context of a BDSM dom/sub CONSENSUAL situation but this just seems to glorify treating women like shit, quite morbid and some really something that should be shown around kids etc in public. Laugh at home with adults/whatever. For them to work though you’d need men to be the gagged ones as well, a range of shirts where both genders can swap between a dom/sub to demolish any idea that 1 gender is more dominant over the other.
I’d like to know if the women here were angry when the boys are stupid, throw rocks at them style shirts appeared? Apparently they were funny too even though they pretty much degrade males and make it acceptable to physically abuse them by some peoples logic in here.
If these shirts are degrading women and lowering their values, I’d like to know why in movies it’s still funny and perfectly acceptable for women to hit men in the testicles and have it to be satirical and funny, over many movies and a few decades, which from other comments arguments could clearly indicate a lack of respect for men. Wouldn’t be very funny if guys were hitting girls in the crotch would it? I’m sure people would be up in arms about abuse against women.
Just some food for thought, it’s not only women who lack respect in media.
I want to do this as well but I did not know anything about this kind of information. I have to find more information. Thanks for sharing. It is definitely helpful for me.