Really Marvel?

[anakhouri]

The Black Widow one is a little annoying- it sounds childish and condescending. But in general the collection seems OK.

And the ones I don't like (the 'I need a hero' ones), you know...I just won't buy.

[siead_lietrathua]

i only kiss/ date/ etc super hero shirts have been around for forever... i remember getting a spiderman one i repainted into deadpool heh.

i think there is only sexism if you want to see it, like alot of things in today's media. noone is forcing you to buy only mens or womens clothing, it's just advertised that way.

i woulld think my shirt that says "of course you don't have wings, you're a boy!" could be seen as more sexist than those just because it only really works if a girl wears it. (gelfling referances ftw)

[Lady_Foxfire]

as for
"I only date/kiss heros" I'm wondering how that is somehow "sexist", would you prefer "I only date/kiss total jerks", just trying to wrap my brain around how positive=negative.

It's sexist because it implies that the default role for a woman is to be the hero's love interest, and not the hero herself. I understand that this isn't the world's most pressing issue, but it is one of the thousands of little insults women face on a daily basis, and it adds up.

[Hyena Dandy]

the men's boxers only feature the villains-but since that's against men(implying villainy), it can't be sexist

I see a pair of men's boxers with logos all over them.

[Andara Bledin]

It's sexist because it implies that the default role for a woman is to be the hero's love interest, and not the hero herself. I understand that this isn't the world's most pressing issue, but it is one of the thousands of little insults women face on a daily basis, and it adds up.

What's to stop a guy from wearing that same shirt? Is it still sexist if he'll only date heroes? And what if they're both heroes, like Cyclops and Phoenix? There's an awful lot of assumptions being made, and some of the sexist ones aren't being made by the ones selling the clothing.

[siead_lietrathua]

What's to stop a guy from wearing that same shirt? Is it still sexist if he'll only date heroes? And what if they're both heroes, like Cyclops and Phoenix? There's an awful lot of assumptions being made, and some of the sexist ones aren't being made by the ones selling the clothing.

agreed. after all, what clothing one chooses to wear is up to the individual person, child, and their guardian. if a parent won't let their kid wear a "boys" or "girls" shirt based on gender stereotype messages, that's their fault, not the fault of the company. after all, i don't see it stopping the bronies.
edit: i checked the marvel site. it seems rather than having subcategories for mens, womens, boys and girls to differentiate the sizing, having it listed as "for men" or "for girls" is their way of indicating the sizes. if they were listed without a gender indicator, it would make picking a size a pain. for example, i'm a men's 1x but a women's 2x. if i don't know what the gender-size is i'll end up with too big or too small clothes.
they also have a bright pink iron man shirt listed as mens. if they were really obsessed with gender roles that wouldn't be there.

they also have this one, which is their female equivilant of a hero shirt i guess, and is more along the lines of breaking gender roles that women can only be pretty background characters
http://www.marvelstore.com/tees-tops...12502/1000221/

[Bloodsoul]

Now I want a shirt that reads, "I Only Date Peripheral Side Characters."

[Andara Bledin]

Now I want a shirt that reads, "I Only Date Peripheral Side Characters."

I need one that says, "I Only Date Plucky Sidekicks."

[Lady_Foxfire]

What's to stop a guy from wearing that same shirt? Is it still sexist if he'll only date heroes? And what if they're both heroes, like Cyclops and Phoenix? There's an awful lot of assumptions being made, and some of the sexist ones aren't being made by the ones selling the clothing.

There's nothing stopping people from wearing the shirt marketed to the other gender, but the fact is that the shirt that is labeled a "men's shirt" says "be a hero" and the one marketed to women says "date a hero". If one of the men's shirt said "I only date heroines", and one of the women's shirts said "be a heroine" then there wouldn't be a problem, because the same messages would be being sent to both genders, but they're not. Women are getting a different message, and that is that they are primarily love interests, not heroines.

In short: Context matters.

[siead_lietrathua]

T... but the fact is that the shirt that is labeled a "men's shirt" says "be a hero" and the one marketed to women says "date a hero"...

as i said above, that's how they divide up their sizes though. by adding for men/ women/ boys/ girls after the name of the item. if you go to other sites the exact same shirts are listed under the exact same genders, just divided up onto separate pages.
you HAVE to divide clothing by gender for sizing purposes.

i get the message bugs some people, but on the marvel site, and other nerd sites it does have tons of clothing with positive female characters like wonder woman. there are shirts out there like "self rescuing princess" or like these:
http://www.superherostuff.com/dc-her...junrsgrlsbettr
http://www.superherostuff.com/marvel...vlrtrogrlsrljr
http://www.superherostuff.com/dc-her...cgrlpowrhearts

heck we can also argue that the BOYS shirts are sexist. by "forcing" boys to choose shirts saying they want to be heros, it will forever doom them with self hate for not ending up tall enough, strong enough, smart enough or etc. they will feel inferior to the concept of a hero and it will damage them for all eternity!!! or, ya know, they thought it was a cool shirt with wolverine on it.

it's not sexist. it may be targeted marketing, they wouldn't make the shirts if there wasn't a demand for them.

edit: went back to the marvel store. looks like the "i need a hero" has actually sold out of their store, though i still saw some left on superhero stuff. so, ya, consumer demand.

[Lady_Foxfire]

as i said above, that's how they divide up their sizes though. by adding for men/ women/ boys/ girls after the name of the item. if you go to other sites the exact same shirts are listed under the exact same genders, just divided up onto separate pages.
you HAVE to divide clothing by gender for sizing purposes.

The problem is not them dividing shirts by gender; women have very differently shaped torsos than men, so of course the cuts and sizes need to be different. The problem is that the shirts have different messages on them, and while either of those messages is fine on their own, when you divide them up by gender like that it looks a lot like they're endorsing traditional gender roles. It may have been unintentional, but it still pings on a lot of peoples "sexist bullshit" detectors.

[Andara Bledin]

I hear that about the fits, but have yet to actually encounter that in the real world. A large percentage of the women I know end up buying shirts listed as men's just so they'll fit right. I'm sure there are women who fit women's shirts; I just don't know of any in my life.

[Kheldarson]

I fit women's cut shirts. But my upper body's kinda small.

You know what kind of shirt I'd want, honestly? "I'm the one who keeps the hero in line." Mad props to gals like Pepper Potts who put up with Stark's bull all day long and keep the ego pricked.

[bex1218]

I hear that about the fits, but have yet to actually encounter that in the real world. A large percentage of the women I know end up buying shirts listed as men's just so they'll fit right. I'm sure there are women who fit women's shirts; I just don't know of any in my life.

I know some men who would look better in "women's" shirts than I do .

I prefer t-shirts that were made for "men", myself. I am a bit on the chubby side. Plus most of the time the "women's" clothes cost more than the "men's" cause I have to get a 2 or 3 X for "women's" (and sometimes its still too tight) or a L or XL for "men's". Those extra X's makes it cost a bit more.


(The quotes with "women" and "men" is for my firm belief that gender should not play a huge role in clothing. Fitting is a whole new issue.)

[siead_lietrathua]

...cause I have to get a 2 or 3 X for "women's" (and sometimes its still too tight) or a L or XL for "men's". Those extra X's makes it cost a bit more....

which is kinda what i meant by clothing separated for sizing.

....if they were listed without a gender indicator, it would make picking a size a pain. for example, i'm a men's 1x but a women's 2x....

...and while either of those messages is fine on their own, when you divide them up by gender like that it looks a lot like they're endorsing traditional gender roles....

which is why i posted examples of shirts for women that do not follow the same message standard. there are are plenty of girl power shirts out there, if someone wants to wear one they can find them.
i find geek women, and any other women, are smart enough to wear what they want to, and if one chooses to wear an "i need a hero" shirt, then it's her choice. maybe she wants to bone tony stark or something, who am i to judge. lol.