I don’t know about you but I frequently get excite about pens.
FashionablyEvilAugust 29, 2012 at 3:23 pm | Permalink
Spoken like a dude who just doesn’t appreciate HOW LONG we women have been waiting for pens just for us. This has been a major feminist issue since the Seneca Falls Convention and the drafting of the Declaration of Sentiments.
Hey, okay, I got The Boy the Three Wolf Moon shirt for Christmas two years ago, and his life has become AWESOME. He got a raise, grew an inch and a half taller, discovered a talent for microelectronics, and found a great deal on kayak. So let’s not go thinking that every product that gets exceptional reviews is a joke, okay? Some of them are legitimately outstanding.
Cactus WrenAugust 30, 2012 at 12:01 am | Permalink
Shit I have a purple bic pen at home…checks balls, oh thank god still there!
You can vote the comments up to.
Dear Bic,
Black, blue and red ink are standard for work because (1) they photocopy decently, (2) historical reasons, (3) don’t make a reader’s eyes bleed and (4) indicate function (e.g. red for markups). Not because they are “man” colors. By defining typical art colors as female Bic is pushing school age females (this product is on market during back to school season so guess the target audience) to view these color choices as acceptable for work. This crap is why people feel compelled to write business articles about not doing work in weird colors that hurt everyone’s eyes.
For use of such colors, incidentally by a male artist who obviously did not heed the warning on the package, please see here:
I didn’t even notice the colors- I have a freaky migraine and really shouldn’t be on the puter- but, yeah, god freaking knows why marketers don’t get that 5 year old girls see pastels as integral to femininity and adult women, not so much. And while I generally approve of making products that cater not only to larger hands, I gotta say that I’m pretty okay with pen size as is. I don’t find myself thinking “holy crap, that pen’s hard to grip” the way I do, say, a shovel.
FYI, Bic, fine pens are already available in smaller sizes. Ladies who can write shit can, for the most part, read shit, including product labels.
As far as I can tell, the Cristal (what’s up with that spelling?) For Her are black ink. Though it is true that pastel colored inks are quite common in school supplies marketed to girls.
Marksman2010August 29, 2012 at 4:35 pm | Permalink
I’m an office-supplies nerd.
There must be others out there like me…
FashionablyEvilAugust 29, 2012 at 5:04 pm | Permalink
Oh, I am too. I have a great fondness for browsing at office supply stores. I have also been known to select a pen based on my mood (in the “Ugh, I don’t want to write with a ballpoint pen!” sort of way).
So am I. I recently took over half an hour figuring out that an oddball set of dry-erase markers really WERE different shades and not just slightly-off labels. Now I have as many colours as I’m likely to need.
I’ve got a BFF that would be happy spending several hours browsing Staples for the best pens and notebooks. She’s also really fold of things that organize paper.
OMG the Container Store is my personal heaveeeeeeen. They have SO MANY CONTAINERS! For almost everything! (ALTHOUGH I will say that I am currently looking for cute stackable bathroom baskets — maybe wicker? — with lids. They don’t seem to have those. It’s shattering my entire universe).
This reminds me of when I was in 7th grade and my math teacher called my mother at work, pulled her out of an important meeting, with the Grave News that I was:
1. Completing math assignments in ink.
2. Not only using ink, but completing them in strange colors such as green and purple.
3. Not only completing them in green and purple, but sometimes even switching colors from problem to problem!
He was Very Concerned that this was not how a normal boy did math assignments, and felt she had to know right away. In some order she laughed at him and then admonished him for wasting her time with such nonsense, which apparently distressed him because he wasn’t prepared for a woman to respond to him in such a manner and hung up muttering something about how unladylike she was. I’m pretty sure at the parent-teacher conference that year they didn’t speak to each other.
The best was the dumbass who realized that all the reviews were fake and making fun of the stupid product, but got all pissy and was all like, “It’s just a stupid pen. In other countries people have REAL PROBLEMS.”
pheenobarbidollAugust 30, 2012 at 2:47 pm | Permalink
Those other countries don’t have the right pens, obviously.
FYouMudFlapsAugust 30, 2012 at 2:22 am | Permalink
Heh, jolly good time that was. Look for my review, ApesFromSpace.
Wow that’s fail. Pink pens? Why not, if you are making pens in all other colors. Super-specific ‘for her’ pens? BWHAHAHAHAHAHheaddesk! This is funnier than the time that Cheveron’s website got filled with troll advertisment submissions.
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I had way too much fun reading those comments. I LOVE IT!
Obvious fake comments? Its hard to get as excited as we are led those commenters are getting excite about a pen.
Womp womp :-(
I don’t know about you but I frequently get excite about pens.
Spoken like a dude who just doesn’t appreciate HOW LONG we women have been waiting for pens just for us. This has been a major feminist issue since the Seneca Falls Convention and the drafting of the Declaration of Sentiments.
Men! Totally clueless.
Oh, be nice to him. Every village needs its local naif.
I kind of liked the comment about wishing there were one with wings for heavy-writing days.
What about one with a hat for bad-handwriting days?
I liked the poem.
I also recommend the comments here. Clearly the Brits are on top of this phenomenon as well.
Hilarious!
Does anyone know who started this?
There is this whole subculture of spoof reviewers. My friend Christina is one of them:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/pdp/profile/A34P74M2CSC0O9?ie=UTF8&ref_=ya%5F%5F56
Brings to mind classics like “three wolf moon shirt” and “banana slicer”.
Hey, okay, I got The Boy the Three Wolf Moon shirt for Christmas two years ago, and his life has become AWESOME. He got a raise, grew an inch and a half taller, discovered a talent for microelectronics, and found a great deal on kayak. So let’s not go thinking that every product that gets exceptional reviews is a joke, okay? Some of them are legitimately outstanding.
Or this immortal review of the Diva MoonCup:
http://www.amazon.com/review/R39TB4HUVK8Z6
Shit I have a purple bic pen at home…checks balls, oh thank god still there!
You can vote the comments up to.
Dear Bic,
Black, blue and red ink are standard for work because (1) they photocopy decently, (2) historical reasons, (3) don’t make a reader’s eyes bleed and (4) indicate function (e.g. red for markups). Not because they are “man” colors. By defining typical art colors as female Bic is pushing school age females (this product is on market during back to school season so guess the target audience) to view these color choices as acceptable for work. This crap is why people feel compelled to write business articles about not doing work in weird colors that hurt everyone’s eyes.
For use of such colors, incidentally by a male artist who obviously did not heed the warning on the package, please see here:
http://datelinenews.org/ballpoint-pen-drawings-of-artist-samuel-silva-become-viral-photos/991227
I didn’t even notice the colors- I have a freaky migraine and really shouldn’t be on the puter- but, yeah, god freaking knows why marketers don’t get that 5 year old girls see pastels as integral to femininity and adult women, not so much. And while I generally approve of making products that cater not only to larger hands, I gotta say that I’m pretty okay with pen size as is. I don’t find myself thinking “holy crap, that pen’s hard to grip” the way I do, say, a shovel.
FYI, Bic, fine pens are already available in smaller sizes. Ladies who can write shit can, for the most part, read shit, including product labels.
As far as I can tell, the Cristal (what’s up with that spelling?) For Her are black ink. Though it is true that pastel colored inks are quite common in school supplies marketed to girls.
I’m an office-supplies nerd.
There must be others out there like me…
Oh, I am too. I have a great fondness for browsing at office supply stores. I have also been known to select a pen based on my mood (in the “Ugh, I don’t want to write with a ballpoint pen!” sort of way).
So am I. I recently took over half an hour figuring out that an oddball set of dry-erase markers really WERE different shades and not just slightly-off labels. Now I have as many colours as I’m likely to need.
Me too! I do a little happy dance when we get a new shipment of supplies at the office!
I’ve got a BFF that would be happy spending several hours browsing Staples for the best pens and notebooks. She’s also really fold of things that organize paper.
WHAT IS THIS ABOUT.
And by “fold” I mean “fond.” Grumble grumble.
Seriously? You don’t get this?
I bet you don’t read Container Store catalogs in the bathtub, either.
OMG the Container Store is my personal heaveeeeeeen. They have SO MANY CONTAINERS! For almost everything! (ALTHOUGH I will say that I am currently looking for cute stackable bathroom baskets — maybe wicker? — with lids. They don’t seem to have those. It’s shattering my entire universe).
Wait! I spoke too soon. The Container Store is God. My faith is restored.
People (she says wiping her eyes) please, I waste enough time already, I did not need to learn about this!
I must check if those pens sell in New Zealand. My legal career depends on it.
Faith in humanity restored.
This reminds me of when I was in 7th grade and my math teacher called my mother at work, pulled her out of an important meeting, with the Grave News that I was:
1. Completing math assignments in ink.
2. Not only using ink, but completing them in strange colors such as green and purple.
3. Not only completing them in green and purple, but sometimes even switching colors from problem to problem!
He was Very Concerned that this was not how a normal boy did math assignments, and felt she had to know right away. In some order she laughed at him and then admonished him for wasting her time with such nonsense, which apparently distressed him because he wasn’t prepared for a woman to respond to him in such a manner and hung up muttering something about how unladylike she was. I’m pretty sure at the parent-teacher conference that year they didn’t speak to each other.
Oh my god, this is hilarious and fantastic beyond words. Thank you for sharing! :)
The best was the dumbass who realized that all the reviews were fake and making fun of the stupid product, but got all pissy and was all like, “It’s just a stupid pen. In other countries people have REAL PROBLEMS.”
Those other countries don’t have the right pens, obviously.
Heh, jolly good time that was. Look for my review, ApesFromSpace.
Loved it!
Win.
Wow that’s fail. Pink pens? Why not, if you are making pens in all other colors. Super-specific ‘for her’ pens? BWHAHAHAHAHAHheaddesk! This is funnier than the time that Cheveron’s website got filled with troll advertisment submissions.
Quite funny overall