UPDATE: I’ve exchanged a few emails with Alex, and he tells me that while he wasn’t involved with the creation of the shirts, his company did distribute them through an online store. Now that there’s been an outcry, they’ve shut down the online store. So I’m taking his name off this post and deleting the comments that he didn’t actually make.
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I think it’s great that two such disparate sides of the feminist (or, expat feminist) blogosphere (Ren and Buried Alive) can come together to condemn this asshole.
I know that’s not *quite* what happened, but you know, rose colored hindsight, etc.
Isn’t he just precious? Pinchem widdle cheeks, bless.
Vanessa: yeah, brings a god-dam tear to your eye, it do. or something.
charmer, ain’t he?
[...] by Renegade Evolution He’s quite the charmer and businessman…and apparently, finds violence against sex workers [...]
How in the hell would anyone think that’s funny?
It just boggles my mind.
Wow you guys are serious huh.. If I may, what is the consensus around here for funny? Or even satire, comedy, “toilet humor”… I mean I am not saying “chopping up hookers” is funny, while it kinda is, would you guys find it funny if it said chopping up “giggalos”? B/C I would get a chuckle from that too and probably purchase the pair so me and my B/F could wear them side by side and laugh at ppl’s reactions.
Sorry got off track, but judging by the reaction the harmless shirt got from you lovely ladies/lads (dont wanna offend!) I am curious to where you guys get your fix of humor, again, not saying the shirt refrenced in the post is “status quo” humor, the question is seperate from the shirt….
Proud Barack Obama Supporter***
Would that there’d simply be no market for that rubbish in the first place. But on philosophical grounds, I probably need more coffee: «While we cannot prove it in a way that will convince everybody, we believe that this may further harm to women, but we accept that sometimes, people end up in a situation where they end up taking care of their own/their loved ones/their dependents immediate need first, to the *potential* detriment of the nameless, faceless “all women.”» — Which of porn, t-shirts, and prostitution does this cover, and why? It seems at first glance like we have to defend (or accept) all, or none?
For Maud’s sake there’s a MYSPACE page.
And it has 1,793 friends. I would have thought that violated some sort of terms of service agreement.
“Harpies” PLUS “damned feminists ain’t got a sense of humour”? Priceless.
Alex’s balls? Meet Mr Scissors.
(What, it’s a joke!)
How far have our comedy standards declined when anyone can find a guy “uproariously funny” just for uttering the words “cuttin’ up hookers”? That barely even qualifies as a catchphrase.
On a related note, those are some ugly-ass shirts.
I agree with Doug on the “ugly-ass shirts” comment. It’s literally just shirts with the words ‘Cuttin’ Up Hookers” written on them. So not only is he humour challenged but ‘art’ and ‘creativity’ are also concepts that are completely foreign to him.
Gay people are lowlifes?
OMG! It’s ironic bigotry man!
Linked here before I think, but never hurts:
Isn’t dudes hating on women just SO FUNNY? And CREATIVE? And so so rebellious and cool and omg EDGY?
Idjit. And yeah, the shirts are ugly as hell. Moron is trading on the sheer brilliance of his ironic bigotry to sell it for him. Cuz hating women is art in and of itself, riiiiight?
pfft. HTML screw up. Sorry.
Not only that, but he just became an uncle to a baby girl, according to his blog.
I wonder if she’ll think the t-shirt is uproariously funny? Or whether he’ll think of her as a harpy someday too?
Ugh. Calling this guy “special” is an insult to any “special” community.
EG – I would guess it’s the chosen behavior vs. born into it thing he’s going for there.
Which would make “Stab T-shirt designers” the height of hilarity, I guess.
#5: In a country where Meet the Spartans, Scary Movie 4, and Epic Movie all topped the box office charts for at least a week (and presumably made an assload of money, because there’s no end in sight of them), you may not want to know the answer to that question.
Awesome, the latest in stupid hipster fashion trends. Well, let’s hope the tasteless bar is high enough that it doesn’t get off the ground… this is worse than that ironic “KILL WHITEY” crap.
The only way these shirts would be funny is if they contained a mechanism that set you on fire for putting one on.
I have a theory here.
Misogyny; a forced, desperate quality to his “jokes”; angry indignation at Jewish people being compared to any other minority group; an inability to give up on a clearly losing battle in a comments thread; a belief that short bursts of virtually-selected-at-random words is uproarious . . .
Has anyone ever seen this Tchekmeian guy and Jeff Goldstein of “Protein Wisdom” in the same room?
Please don’t ever compare jews to hookers or gays again. That is just plain insulting, and you should know better if you really are one.
…wow, someone’s seriously uptight. [insert your own Alex's-sphincter-relaxing comment here]
But on the plus side I have to say, he does a fantastic job of “keeping with the low-life theme.” He holds the note consistently in every comment he makes. I’d give him 9 out of 10 on the Internet Lowlife Scale.
Hey Alex– The feminists are right on this one. You’re a shithead.
Dicks like him make me wish I still had my “Free Aileen Wuornos” t-shirt. Aileen Wuornos killed johns who were abusive to sex workers. she started doing so after being rape.
Of course it is a far worse crime for sex workers to kill their tricks than it is for their tricks to kill them and so the state executed her.
See the movie “Monster”.
I lived near Sunset and Fairfax in the 1970s whemn the Hillside Stranglers were kidnapping, raping and murdering (lynching) sex workers from my neighborhood. The got life.
Aileen Wuornos was a hero.
“Cuttin’ up hookers” T-SHIRTS??
That’s supposed to be “funny”?
Beyond my comprehension.
This is further proof of how far we have fallen, how dumb, how ignorant, our nation has become.
I guess we are beginning to deserve both our “leaders”, and what’s happening to us.
All women should learn to shoot, and have some means of self-protection with them, and at home. The current climate is not conducive to long term health.
My name is Alex Tchekmeian. I am 21 year old entrepreneur who is absolutely taken back by what is occurring right now.
My company is a t-shirt manufacturing and distribution warehouse. I am a regular guy who started receiving many emails regarding “my clothing line called cuttin’ up hookers.” and how disappointed people were in me.
After doing some extensive research I found this web site that somebody went on and posted fake comments trying to mask themselves as me. I have no direct affiliation with this clothing brand and people are acting as if it was my idea…
I am so beside myself because I would never write the things that were written here. I hope that this message gets through to people so that this can come to an end.
I am putting myself out there out of honesty so that this can be resolved. The truth of the matter is I have no affiliation with this organization and I do not support it. Somebody has posted falsified comments attempting to take a direct hit to my reputation and hard work.
My direct email is alex@aktenterprises.com.
Oy vey! Loosen up! Don’t you have a sense of humor??
Have a coupla tequila shots and come back when your sphincter has relaxed a notch. Lighten up, life is fun!
/snark
So anti-Semitic jokes are “just plain insulting” but misogynist hooker jokes are comedy gold. Fuckin’ hypocrite.
I think I’m as sensitive to anti-Semitism as anyone – and more than many – but that “compare Jews to hookers and gays” comment just boggles my mind. What a schmuck.
(oh, look, schmuck is in the Firefox spellcheck. They must know Alex)
Well of course. What includes him personally is OFFENSIVE!11!!!11!!! What doesn’t include him personally is “oh you’re just sensitive. Other people think I’m funny!! I swear!!”
He’s a douchebag of the lowest order.
T-shirts with any sort of slogans/statements were never my first choice in clothing…and I tend to go out of my way to avoid such t-shirts in the first place when purchasing new clothes.
Is it just me, or is the pattern of speech in this post’s title reminiscent of the stereotypical “proper” bourgeois Victorian of the late 19th/early 20th century?
I wouldn’t be surprised that, if push comes to shove, that he cited older female relatives incessantly pinching his cheeks as one reason why he started making those T-shirts.
Aren’t there any legal scholars who would argue pinching cheeks may possibly constitute “cruel and unusual” punishment? :)
I would, but only because certain misspellings slay me.
Giggalo (n): A gigabyte’s worth of gigolo pr0n.
-cocks head- mkay. So, before my and this link go up, someone at RE’s publically suggests that this might not, in fact, be the real Alex T, but in fact a well-known troll. I write, well it DOES seem odd that anyone could be THIS stupid, lemme take this down while I double check. I double check the site. There’s a direct link at the bottom of the Cuttin’ Up Hookers page to AKT Productions, this guy’s base of operations. So I figure, right then, on with the show, and put the post back up.
Shortly thereafter, there’s a (now unlinked) comment by “Alex” at RE’s saying:
alex said…
Ok, um, some assclown was impersonating me and I’m sorry if anyone was unduly offended.
I love all women, not the least of which hookers!
So as a token of goodwill, I’m willing to send anyone a free “Cuttin’ Up Hookers” T-shirt personally signed by my radboy designer, Jared. And if you send in some photos of you wearing them, I might even add them to my site.
Let’s just stop the hate and let the good times roll, people! ;)
***
shortly after THAT, there’s this exchange at Buried Alive:
mkay. now he, or someone, says this over at Buried Alive:
My name is Alex Tchekmeian. I am 21 year old entrepreneur who is absolutely taken back by what is occurring right now.
My company is a t-shirt manufacturing and distribution warehouse. I am a regular guy who started receiving many emails regarding “my clothing line called cuttin’ up hookers.” and how disappointed people were in me.
After doing some extensive research I found this web site that somebody went on and posted fake comments trying to mask themselves as me. I have no direct affiliation with this clothing brand and people are acting as if it was my idea…
I am so beside myself because I would never write the things that were written here. I hope that this message gets through to people so that this can come to an end.
I am putting myself out there out of honesty so that this can be resolved. The truth of the matter is I have no affiliation with this organization and I do not support it. Somebody has posted falsified comments attempting to take a direct hit to my reputation and hard work.
My direct email is alex@aktenterprises.com.
Comment by Alex Tchekmeian – The REAL One April 14, 2008 @ 3:26 pm
(”Will the Real Alex Tchekmeian please stand up?”)
All right–welcome Alex. I am confused–does your company own District Lines?
Comment by pisaquaririse April 14, 2008 @ 3:38 pm
Yes, my company does in fact own District Lines.
Comment by Alex Tchekmeian – The REAL One April 14, 2008 @ 3:42 pm
Then you own “Cuttin’ Up Hookers” line of t-shirts, yes?
Comment by pisaquaririse April 14, 2008 @ 4:02 pm
While we do own clothing companies within AKT Enterprises (Messhead, Fuller and Skuzzy), Cuttin’ Up Hookers is not one of them. We are responsible for the printing and distribution of the Cuttin’ Up Hookers brand, however, we are not in any way the creators or promoters of the brand.
District Lines powers over 250 individual online stores, ranging from clothing companies, charities, activists and bands.
Comment by Alex Tchekmeian – The REAL One April 14, 2008
*****
Fascinating, really.
In either case it does seem that someone is doing Alex a public service, because as the REAL Alex is, by his own admission, “responsible for the printing and distribution of the Cuttin’ Up Hookers” brand, he might want to take this opportunity to be apprised that many young men and women do not, in fact, approve of this particular fine line of merchandise, and he may wish to be disassociated with it henceforth.
I will also, without further comment, note this quote from his BusinessWeek profile:
Alex the “REAL” one has come forth on my blog (and e-mail) to say he is not the creator of the shirts. However, he still claims to distribute and print the shirts whilst holding strong that he is not affiliated with nor supportive of them.
This makes sense if your brain resembles a pretzel.
Actually, judging by his name, I’m guessing he’s not Jewish — he just has a faint sense that making fun of Jews for being Jewish is bad or something.
Now a t-shirt about cutting up Armenians … that would be teh funny.
My husband was watching a documentary about them one night and suddenly realized that they committed the actual crimes about four blocks from his apartment in Glendale. That was a pretty creepy moment for him.
Though, IIRC, they were prosecuted for their crimes while the death penalty was banned in California, so it’s not an exact comparison with Wuoronos. Same reason why Charlie Manson and his pals come up for parole every decade or so.
Where can I get an Aileen Wuornos T-shirt? She really was a true hero.
Alex, or rather “Alex” was in fact claiming to be Jewish, earlier on. Indeed having suffered the effects of anti-Semitism, in another thread. which, given that he apparently went to some Christian middle school or something (it was in a google search, Alex was a keynote speaker), wouldn’t surprise me. It does make me want to sink into the ground, though, considering.
and, yeah, the REAL Alex, whoever he is, is clearly just a genius; else how would he be a gazillionaire at his age?
Oh, and the problem is we don’t get their g-g-g-eneration, according to two new handles over at Renegade’s whose links both go to someone calling himself “Stefan Kane.”
tbear said…
Oh get off this dude’s jock, people.
What it really boils down to here is free market demand and the post-Howard Stern shock pop culture amongst us today. Which is why anyone over 25 won’t get our humor. There’s a huge generation and cultural gap here.
We were raised on Stern, Springer, Britney Spears and internet porn. We need higher stimulus and to have our boundaries pushed farther.
You guys just don’t get us. You’re out of touch. We get the joke. You obviously don’t. But it’s not meant for you, it’s for us. Look, I’m sure they whined about rap music when you were growing up too. And rock music before that. And this is no different.
link goes here:
http://www.myspace.com/punchmorebabies
note that this also goes to Orlando, where Alex is based, the guy’s 22, Alex refers to all his merchandising as being “in house,” and this dude wishes us to “get off [Alex's] jock.” even though apparently Alex is now (jokingly? half-assedly? more oh so ironic humor we just don’t get?) trying to dissociate himself from that particular clever T-shirt line.
but I mean yeah, I don’t imagine BusinessWeek or the Christian school or whoever else would be too terribly amused by either that T-shirt or the sort of hateful drivel “Alex” was spewing, next time there’s an interview or keynote address opportunity, I mean.
it is good that Alex feels confident enough in his moneymaking ability that he doesn’t need investors, I must say.
http://images.businessweek.com/ss/07/10/1022_25and_under/source/26.htm
Today, 20-employee AKT Enterprises consists of 15 businesses that revolve around the music industry and include merchandising, Web development, and online ticketing services. Most of AKT’s clients are hardcore bands and record labels. Tchekmeian says the business had $1.3 million revenues in 2006 and estimates it will earn just over $3 million in 2007, with the bulk of the income coming from merchandising, all of which is produced in-house, because he doesn’t “trust the quality of anyone else out there.” As the business has grown, he says he’s received a number of offers from potential investors but has turned them down because now he doesn’t need the money.
ah, youth.
I think it should at least be clarified in the text of the main post that he’s not the “creator” of the shirts and not (?) the author of the “jews to hookers or gays” comment (if that’s actually the case, I’m somewhat confused). Printing and distribution may constitute substantial promotional activities, but major publishers still reprint and distribute “Mein Kampf” and similar works. Wal-Mart and Amazon are also distributors of a lot of things that people find disagreeable, but it would be inaccurate to identify their respective chairmen as “creators” of those products.
Stuff like this makes me wish I was part of a feminism mafia group that went out and targeted assholes who think they’re funny. And sometimes if the assholes think they’re really funny, we’ll torture them a little bit and make them feel unmanly.
But then I remember that we’re fighting with words and not bullets, and although I want to fight peacefully and get my point across … sometimes that makes me feel just a little bit sad, deep down. Because why do all the radicals on the other side get to be murderers, and we don’t? And I remember … yes, we’re trying to be peaceful so we can keep sticking it to them every time they’re violent. Ugh, being the good ones sucks sometimes!
Lord almighty you guys LOVE agreeing with each other don’t you. Talk about bandwagon mentality, jeesh.
Wow your intellectual dominance of peons like me is stunning. That said I have to say I find this site entertaining in the sense that I have never, ever, encountered such a group of hyper sensitive people in my life. My god, if you don’t like it, don’t buy it, it’s that simple. Yet people like you guys, or the majority of you guys, spend hours ripping the person who makes the shirt, at time using more vulgar statements then the shirt you are supposedly “protesting.”
I mean relax, enjoy life, stop being so angry. And if you are so fed up with everything around you then leave, go wherever super intellects go when their surrounding no longer fit their prowess.
OK then leave, instead the same person making this comment goes on to state the following:
Wow, sick in the head much? My god do you realize that shit like that is looked at by 95% of the country as fucking bizarre?
Then you argue it’s not you thats twisted in the head, its everyone else. OK so be it, continue to believe that the 5% that share these downright comical feelings about abstract issues such as a fucking kid making an “offensive, sick, blah, blah, blah” t-shirt” are the norm, and you will remain in front of your computer venting about shit you hate. Fine by me, keeps you out of the general population.
BTW, great job advertising the shit out of the product, I can only imagine how many of these “detested shirts” this site has managed to sell for the guy. I know I bought my boyfriend one. Crack job! Feminists UNITE!
you know, i feel a strong urge to cut HIM up and laugh my FUCKING ASS OFF OVER IT.
Mnemosyne: While I don’t know the origin of his surname, please don’t think you can assume whether or not someone is Jewish based on his/her last name! We’re not all Goldsteins and Cohens, you know, especially since Judaism is traced through the maternal line.
That being said, it saddens me that I’m not surprised that people find the concept of mutilating and/or murdering people to be funny. I am still disgusted, of course. Seriously…
Not happy that he’s clearly Russian but am happy that he’s not a Republican. :-)
This seems to be a common angle of the new American young man: being mean for meanness sake is cool! I’m all for irreverence provided it has a larger point and functions properly as satire. But nowadays, it’s just meanness masquarading as irreverence with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. The “reward” for acting this way is pissing people off, generally by attacking what are perceived society’s weakest members. That’s why guys like Brendan Steinhauser of FreedomWorks used to hold “affirmative action bake-sales” (where the price was cheaper if you were a minority) at UTexas. Once again, the point is to demonize and humiliate a section of society, not actually foment any real change.
Speaking for myself, I would love to be in a feminist mafia. Do we get pink pistols, or did Bill O Reilly make that up?
“That’s why guys like Brendan Steinhauser of FreedomWorks used to hold “affirmative action bake-sales” (where the price was cheaper if you were a minority) at UTexas.”
Um? My university’s feminist organization routinely sets up an unequal pay lemonade stand (can’t remember exactly what they call it). The women get lemonade for 75 cents (or whatever) while the men have to pay a full dollar. The point, of course, is to say to the men, “Yeah, you think this is unfair? Think of how we feel.” I personally like the concept, are the bake-sales you mention different?
38: well, you see, it would appear that “Cuttin’ Up Hookers” is in fact the brainchild of one of his crack team members, who also lives in Orlando, is about his age, and, I’m sure, is in no way a buddy with little Alex, one Stefan Kane.
http://pro file.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=2594379
stefan kane’s Blurbs
About me:
I own Cuttin’ Up Hookers Apparel. I drink more slurpees than you. Try me.
Who I’d like to meet:
sluts.
http://pro file.myspace.com/cuttinuphookers
http://akt enterprises.com/insider/stefan-kane/
tefan Kane – Screen Printing
AKT Enterprises Team Member Profile
Stefan Kane – Screen PrintingAge: 22
Sex: Male
Hometown: Cooper City, FL
Area of Expertise: Screen Printing
Weapon of Choice: Sidekick ID
Skills: 4/4, 6/8 Auto, Heat Press
Team Member Since: 2006
Words to Live by: “You guys ready to headbang?”
the rest of the crack team:
http://akte nterprises.com/team_profiles.php
All women should learn to shoot, and have some means of self-protection with them, and at home. The current climate is not conducive to long term health.
Wow, sick in the head much? My god do you realize that shit like that is looked at by 95% of the country as fucking bizarre?
As opposed to Cuttin’ Up Hookers and other “lowlifes,” which is simple good hearty fun, because it’s not as though “hookers’ are people, or that they do in fact get murdered on a depressingly regular basis.
As for the rest, though, Martha: you object to self-defense? And, really, why, no, in fact, quite a number of people in this fine land are apparently fine and dandy with the idea of carrying guns around, “self-defense,” and so forth. Perhaps it’s the idea of -women- having guns that you object to, Martha? Awfully sensitive of you, don’t you think? I mean, hey, if you don’t want to carry a gun, don’t carry one, right? And I mean, it’s not like you have anything to WORRY about or anything, right? I mean, it’s not like you might ever feel personally implicated by a declaration of fantasized violence, right? Lighten up! It’s just good wacky fun in here!! ;-)
p.s. “you’re the vulgarian, you fuck.”
That’s it, though, isn’t it? You really think it’s a question of people being shocked, SHOCKED, because it’s -vulgar.- As opposed to I don’t know taking it fucking personally, because -this shit really happens-. Because -hookers aren’t people,- just, what, funny punchlines, and people we, or our boyfriends, get to use like toilets and then have some funny stories to tell about later, right?
Say hi to Mummy and Daddy, you entitled little creeps. Meanwhile, sure, beer bongs and cheap T-shirts, smug assholery and whining when called on it. Christ forbid someone ruin the party.
Oh, personally? I like my country fine. It’s worthless little skidmarks like you that I can -really- do without.
“abstract issues.”
amazing.
Buh-bye, Martha!
Stefan Kane… Yep, there he is right on the AKT website wearing a “Cuttin’ up Hookers” t-shirt. Gotta wonder if he met little Alex at Christian school? Thanks for the detective work, belle.
Considering someone or other linked right back to his myspace in his profile whilst trolling at RE’s, not really much detective work involved, really. One or both of them or someone else fucking around at the office, no doubt.
As a former “hooker” and sex worker, as someone who has many close friends that were or are in the sex industry I can say without question this t-shirt sucks. Having had a former co worker, Kristen Crowley, who was murdered in 1996 by two disgusting thugs that crushed her skull with a huge rock,,,,, I guess I just don’t see the humor.
What’s next? Gary Ridgeway for President t-shirts?
There is no comedy, no humor in this,
While you have freedom of speech and can print all of these shirts you want, exercising your freedom of speech and willingness to capitalize on horrific murder says a lot about character.
Jill, I’ll just copy what I posted over at my blog and put it here, in case the Real Alex is reading.
Okay sports fans, it seems if perhaps, finally, maybe, the real Alex (amid all the fake Alexes who are actually doing the real Alex more harm than good) has spoken, at long last, via email, to someone who posted on this matter. He’s not real happy that various angry feminists, women, and sex workers have been firing off nasty calls and letters to places where he engages in speaking and outreach- and that he is discontinuing his support/promotion of the CUH line of clothing…or so he says. If the real Alex is reading….well, Alex, we shall watch and see if that is true.
However, it also appears that the real Alex, or at least the fellow who sent this email (and you know, I tend to believe this is probably the real Alex-as the real Alex probably would actually speak if his speaking engagements and whatnot were being placed into questionable future status and all), well, he is not the same person as the Other Alexes who have left all the trolling comments, or so say the IP addies.
However…there is this:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=2594379
stefan kane’s Blurbs
About me: I own Cuttin’ Up Hookers Apparel. I drink more slurpees than you. Try me.
Who I’d like to meet: sluts.
It appears that Stefan Kane, not Alex, is the mind behind Cuttin’ Up Hookers, lives in the Orlando Area, and is employed by Alex- a “team memeber” of aktenenterprises. in fact, in his photo for the Aktenenterprises “team” web page, Stefan is wearing one of his CUH shirts. Now, Stefan can wear whatever he wants, make his shirts if he wants, so on, so forth…
But Real Alex….we are a bit skeptical that you will pull support from one of your “Crack Team Members” who boldly wears the very sort of shirt you supposedly didn’t know people would object to your company website. Also, the trolls pretending to be you are not helping you out in the least-so you say yourself. Enough of us grumpy, unhip “hookers” and other assorted women & men who just don’t “get” the humor of this clothing line will be watching and waiting. Yep, sure enough, Stefan has the right to make and wear his shirts….even sell them. We have the right to protest his shirts and speak freely out against them to anyone and everyone we choose to speak to about it, including those with whom you set up public speaking engagements with, do outreach for, so on, so forth. He has the right to say and do it, we have the right to disagree with it…loudly, and alas, Real Alex, you will probably be the one who suffers the most for it-because it seems you have the most to lose.
Real Alex and Stefan can comment if they want, trolls, well, you aren’t helping either of them really, but the fact remains: We Don’t Find the Shirts Funny, and will continue to protest them. Real Alex, do what thou will.
NOW I get the resemblance. He’s a shaved Screech.
[...] April 15, 2008 at 10:44 pm (Advertising, Isms, Women’s Health) Tags: “humor”, apparel, assholes, misogyny Humor without misogyny is like…not funny at all guys. [...]
Because it’s not like prostitutes are totally devalued in our society to the point that directing humor at their (regular) murders ought to be shameful. I further enjoy the idea that humor cannot exist without misogyny and that if I don’t find this funny, I don’t find anything funny.
Will they be coming out with cutting up ethnic groups t-shirts in the future?
Yeah, um, about that charity, I was actually just looking at that? and I mean, that’s really nice and all? but, I’m thinking: company among the top 25 at BusinessWeek, and, like, the most recent donation is: drumsticks? Just the sticks? Hokay.
Interesting subtext to the pics there, too, I note.
http://www.givethemwingstofly.com/
AS for the two (count ‘em) women working there: why would we be surprised? It’s not like they’re “hookers” or “lowlifes,” after all.
You know, back when I was in high school (creak, groan), in 1991, during Gulf War I, I remeber a number of my classmates, -edgy- young men, of course, wearing shirts with such charming slogans as “Smoke a Camel: Bomb Their Ass, Take Their Gas.”
and there’s an ever so clever picture in my yearbook of another wacky young man (who was also Jewish: god, why do so many of My People have to be such embarrassing fuckheads?) mugging in blackface and a fright wig. Just exuberant youth having fun, you know. Talkin’ bout our g-g-g-eneration. And hey, the prom king was black (such a nice young man, and such a fine example, everyone said so, particularly whenever the subject of racism came up in say my AP class and he, the only black dude in there, was sitting there politely agreeing with the professor that no, affirmative action really isn’t necessary; look at HIM! there’s no more racism in this country! p.s. fags should be shipped off to their own island, though, cuz that’s totally different), and the T-shirt wearers had female friends who laughed at their jokes, so really, what was the problem?
Guess I was a humorless harpie even back then, you know.
But, -cutting edge.-
Well, the Myspace page is still up. Doesn’t look like they’ve stopped hawking them online to me:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=194130747
And here they are being sold at a website called kaboodle.com:
http://www.kaboodle.com/reviews/product-description-649
Stefan Kane still sporting that charming facial expression while wearing his trusty “Cuttin’ up Hookers” t-shirt on the AKT Enterprises website:
http://aktenterprises.com/insider/stefan-kane/
Jeez… Were you planning to double check about this? And are they still selling them at concerts? Did they discontinue them or just shut down the main website? Big difference.
So, the Myspace page is particularly telling. It says: “‘Cuttin’ up Hookers’ Apparel Store OFFLINE TEMPORARILY.” That means this is temporary. You know, until the people stop complaining. All of the very same photos remain right there on the website. The site is not in fact down–you just can’t buy shit from it at this moment. Moreover, it’s just “offline.” It hasn’t been shut down. So, you could ostensibly still buy this stuff from calling the company or showing up at some venue where they have a stand… I’m just saying. And you CAN buy them online at kaboodle.com.
Maybe you’re satisfied with this, Jill, but I still think it’s pretty despicable. And I don’t think this should be written off as a minor hitch for them.
Pisaquari just posted this over at Belle’s blog:
Via Mr. Kane’s myspace:
About me:
I own Cuttin’ Up Hookers Apparel. Can’t stop, won’t stop.
Who I’d like to meet:
protesters.
Somebody email the research to Gloria Steinem or Katha Pollitt (since, in another little skirmish involving Seal Press, they’re apparently the only feminists — other than Jessica — who have credible voices that can be listened to these days).
They can get in touch with Forbes and Business Week.
@ Rika
Yes, the minorities were charged less while whites were charged more. It was supposed to show how “unfair” affirmative action was and get whites angry and shame minorities. Very different than your effort, which turned the tables, unlike Brendan’s.
Mkay, so what it looks like is, CUH is the brainchild of the Stefan Kane person, whereas the whole shindig is Alex T. and his partner, who is the one who was profiled as the big entrepreneur and apparently is not really all that willing to go to the wall for the sake of this one T-shirt line. Whether he’s still helping his buddy is another question. Meanwhile, though: I doubt there’s much one can do wrt individual myspace or people setting up shop on their own at concerts and such–well, I don’t know what myspace’s policy is on such matters, someone want to look into that?
AS for kaboodle, though, that seems to be a separate deal; some sort of conglomerate online something or other for various fashion lines/brands, including Nordstrom and Brookstone. If one wanted them to stop carrying CUH, or indeed the entire District line (also, who owns the whole District line?), it’d probably be best to contact -them- directly, now.
here: kaboodle:
http://www.kaboodle.com/zd/help/faq.html
http://www.kaboodle.com/zm/about
About Kaboodle
Way back in 2004, Manish and his wife, Asha, grew frustrated during the remodeling of their home. They found the process of sharing and discovering new products and retailers that matched their personal sense of taste and style difficult. As it stood, the online shopping platforms were weak and most sites just compiled product catalogs, leaving people to fend for themselves in a sea of information. Finding and keeping track of one’s favorite products online and deciding what to buy was a painful and inefficient experience. So, in 2005, Manish and co-founders Keiron and Chetan, who both shared his vision of a new approach to online shopping, got together to transform the process into a more social and much simpler experience.
Kaboodle is a social shopping community where people discover, recommend and share products. Kaboodle’s powerful shopping tools allow people to organize their shopping through lists, discover new things from people with similar style, get discounts on popular products and find best prices. At the heart of Kaboodle is a fun and engaging community of people who love to shop. Community members create and join groups, share advice, feedback and product suggestions and personalize their profiles with polls and other widgets. Kaboodle was launched in 2006 and has 500,000 registered users and over 6 million monthly visitors.
Oh, look: here’s a form where you can send them feedback.
http://www.kaboodle.com/za/feedback?p_ret=%2fzd%2fhelp%2ffaq.html
[...] Feministe » Alex Karekin Tchekmeian is a special young man “Well, count me as one of the internet harpies. But at least count me as someone who passed eighth grade civics (note to Alex: People on the internet saying you’re an asshole are not infringing on your free speech rights).” (tags: assholes feminism bullshit violence hate tshirts) [...]
That’s a fascinating theory, but if someone is twisted enough to think that “some women are annoying” is a good reason to make shirts saying “it’s funny to injure some completely different women”, that’s his fault, not the fault of cheek-pinching women. I’m not particularly fond of it myself, but no, it’s not quite on par with injuring powerless people for fun.
So, they’re taking it all down because there was protest?
Dude, take it down because it’s wrong. Or, better yet, don’t put it up in the first place.
This is just not feeling like a victory. It’s feeling like a “Okay, already, just stop pestering me.”
Oh, duh.
That makes sense sickle. Should have gotten it the first time.
Anna: you take what you can get. It -is- a victory. You can’t install empathy where there isn’t any. It sucks that some people, apparently including these, are only developed to the point of “better not do ___ or I’ll get in trouble,” but if that’s what it takes then so be it.
And then you go and appeal to empathy with the people who DO have it.
Talk to people at their own level. And this -particular- gentleman believes that “money talks, bullshit walks.”
So.
Belledame222 is my hero, especially for #49.
Because women should seek men’s permission before using coarse language when discussing the rape and murder of women. By men.
sounds like O’Reilly had the feminist mafia confused with the homosexual agenda.