Asda, a UK store chain, is under fire right now for what would have been a silly reason just a few years ago. But today it’s apparently a major controversy. You see, the store offered a blue shirt with the offensive and dangerous phrase “Boys Will Be Boys” on it. The Horror!!!!
No, seriously, apparently this is absolutely horrible.
A children’s sweatshirt sold by supermarket chain Asda has sparked an online row after a shopper deemed its slogan to be sexist.
“Quite literally gobsmacked and raging to see this in Asda Huntly,” wrote Debbie Dee in a Facebook post, picturing the blue top bearing the slogan ‘Boys Will Be Boys.’
The sweatshirt, priced at £4, prompted Ms Dee’s ire as she deemend the phrase to be “very problematic.”
“It has historically and is still being used to excuse bad behaviour (in boys and men) like hitting, being destructive or boisterous. And even as far as excusing rape and sexual assault,” she wrote.
“Look I get it. Most people say this and and don’t mean any harm by it. But boys having their behaviour excused like this from an early age – this message of being above the rules, it sticks.
“This idea trivialises male behaviour and is the beginning of how society has one rule and set of expectations for boys and another for girls.
“In my opinion, this particular phrase perpetuates rape culture. How many women have been harassed by men and had it explained away as ‘boys will be boys?'”
Sweet Ziggy Stardust on a rainbow sprinkled unicycle, really?
Dear @asda, the phrase 'boys will be boys' breeds a culture where men aren't accountable for their actions, a rape culture if you will. No. pic.twitter.com/o6fVK8Pccp
— 🌹Mi, oh Mi 🌈 (@DarlingGenghis) May 15, 2017
First, let’s address the idea that the phrase is used to excuse sexual assault. I won’t say it hasn’t, because I’m not an idiot, but I will say that it’s generally used by one kind of person for such things: jackasses. That’s it. Decent people don’t excuse rape. Period. Jackasses, however, will use whatever is convenient.
Second, it’s never been about boys being above the rules or anything of the sort. It’s about the fact that boys are typically more rambunctious than girls, and that it isn’t a bad or horrible thing that should be discouraged so long as no one gets hurt. If someone is hurt by accident, it’s not the end of the world. If someone is hurt on purpose, then “boys will be boys” doesn’t apply—unless you’re a jackass.
The fact is that society has always had one set of expectations for boys and another for girls. Feminism hasn’t changed that; it’s merely changed what is expected. For example, boys are expected to curb any natural tendencies toward being active and boisterous so that more demure girls aren’t overshadowed or other such nonsense.
Frankly, I want to find that shirt in an adult size. At least one potential outlet for it has been closed because feminists can’t stand anything that isn’t on their approved list. Free speech is irrelevant, only the narrative matters.
Well, guess what? Boys will be boys, and nothing you do will change that.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member