Holy shit, it really is everywhere.

[Orrex]

I'm not reporting anything you didn't already know, and it's not as though I doubted it, but every so often I see a small but ugly bit of online sexism that stands out even against the background haze of general misogyny.

Both for nostalgia (don't judge) and because I have young kids, I'm very aware of the toy brand Mega Bloks, a building product similar to LEGO. I follow their page on Facebook, and one of their product lines is a Barbie-themed line of construction toys.

Honestly, the series suffers from the ongoing problem that Barbie is mostly interested in "girlie stuff," but I'm glad to see construction toys reaching out to girls when the hobby has been mostly boy-oriented for decades. Happily, this has recently improved a bit with LEGO's Friends line-up, and--even better--LEGO's series of science-themed toy sets with female figures: chemists, astronomers, etc.

In any case, the people at Mega Bloks posted pictures of two upcoming Barbie sets and asked readers to chime in and comment about which they like better: "tea time" or "horse stable." I'd like to see "surgical theater" or "board room," but I'm not holding my breath.

Predictably, the first male response was

I prefer a day in the kitchen... ..jk

Hardy har har! Very clever! And it's not sexist because you're "jk."

And the second male promptly posted

My daughter loves divorced barbie ...
She comes with kens house kens car and kens stables ....

Seriously? What's wrong with these assholes?

Don't they care that people can see their names? Don't they care that young girls will be reading that page? Did they really have to go out of their way to declare their misogyny on a page specifically meant to showcase children's toys?

Sickeningly, I imagine that the answers are:
1. They don't care
2. No, they really don't care
3. Yes, they really had to

Way to represent, guys. Your mothers, sisters, wives, girlfriends and/or daughters would be so proud.


Again, I know that this is nothing new to you here, but I truly didn't expect to run into it in what I that was a safe environment.

I've alerted that page's moderator (or whatever the FB term is), so maybe those posts will be deleted. But still...

[seabeyond]

1. it is everywhere, all the fuggin' time just batting up against women and girls constantly.

and you know what? men are tired of hearing it. ya. men. are tired of hearing it. tired of women saying, stop....

well, how about women and girls having to hear it all the fuggin' time.

make me a samwich.

no really, just joking.

it is being done for a reason. the men know it. the women listening know it. and we each know the other knows.

and women are suppose to suck it up.

thank you orrex, just for acknowledging it.

[Orrex]

3. Well, Facebook apparently thinks that such posts are just fine

I suppose that the comments don't rise to the level of "hate speech," but they didn't offer any other suitable categories for my alert.

Stay classy, Facebook!

[ismnotwasm]

4. They are intertwined with society

I like arguing face to face far better than on-line, but I recently got in an argument over a graphic involving a joke and chloroforming women. I won the argument by pointing out that chloroform has to be dosed properly or they'd be engaging in necrophilia as well as rape. These are people I mostly know, so they shut up. Another time a friend posted a picture of himself with an obviously large breasted woman. There were jokes, but On of the comments was "who is she and how much did she cost" --pissed more than me off and we told that asshole off.

My friend was classy though he said 'that's private and she's priceless"

[Orrex]

5. I saw the chloroform "joke." Oh so witty.

You're right about face-to-face rather than online. It's amazing how brave these people are when they're on the other side of a screen.

I'm still waiting to see if the board's "admin" will do anything about the posts, but I'm not optimistic.

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

2. "Seriously? What's wrong with these assholes?"

Well, they're assholes. You already put it clearly.

That's nothing compared to some of the racist, homophobic and sexist shit that I have seen in advertising.

The world does suck and it needs to change.

Dads that have daughters are just as sexist as those who don't.

[Orrex]

6. Update with a bit of good news

As I mentioned upthread, Facebook itself had no interest in curbing the misogyny on this family-friendly page about kids' toys, but the moderator took my feedback very seriously.

I PM'ed the mod(s) yesterday to bring the offending posts to their attention, and I received a response today thanking me for my concern and to inform me that they've already hidden those replies and blocked the users from the group.

Glad to see that they were so receptive and quick to act.


And thanks for letting me vent!

[ismnotwasm]

7. Good deal!

[seabeyond]

8. good to hear orrex and thanks for the update and your action.

now those can argue, freedom of speech, which is what i am thinking about today. on the other hand, i am tired of the overwhelming insults cause of ones freedom of speech. i was thinking, it is societal pressure, that will dictate a curbed in comments like this. and you proved exactly how effective that is, and the moderators took action, again, part of that squeaky wheel.