Body Politics,
News Flash
Bluenotes makes light of date rape with “no means have another drink” t-shirt
This just in: Bluenotes is selling a t-shirt for men that says in big letters (excuse the weird formatting):
” NO
MEANS
HAVE
aNOther
DRINK ”
Oh Lord. For the full article, plus photo go here.
At least the Avalon East Coalition Against Violence from Newfoundland is already on this one.
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19 comments
Obviously I should read our website before I post - I just noticed that pike posted about this t-shirt already, in reference to Stacey May's last blog. Sorry!
Posted by thea
February 20, 2007, 1:44 PM
Sigh.
Posted by melinda
February 20, 2007, 2:28 PM
I tried and tried to come up with a head office phone number so we could bombard them with calls...but the number is strangely missing from the website...
The best I could come up with was an email address:
talkback@bluenotesjeans.com
If I find a number I'll post it here.
Hilariously, Bluenote's "corporate responsibility" includes Kids Help Phone. So what are they recommeding telling date rape victims when they call in? You should have had another drink?
Posted by Stacey May
February 20, 2007, 3:48 PM
Hey, good sleuthing work Stacey May! I called my neighbourhood Bluenotes and asked for head office's number (sometimes the fact that I sound like a young, inexperienced girl comes in handy) and this is what I got:
416 789 9092
The message when you call says you've reached the YM Group, and I don't know if it's possible to get through to a human being, but maybe it's worth a try.
Posted by thea
February 20, 2007, 4:14 PM
I once saw an ad for one of those "extreme" gum flavours on the side of a building in Toronto.
The slogan: "Knocks you out faster than a jealous boyfriend."
At least that particularly horrible,offensive statement was confined to a single building.
Posted by Angela
February 20, 2007, 9:04 PM
A while ago a group of young women in the USA organized a boycott (girlcott?) of Abercrombie & Fitch's T-shirts, which were along similar sexist lines as Bluenotes' (i.e. "who needs brains when I've got these," or something dreadful like that). I think they were successful in getting the shirts pulled, and they got a ton of mainstream media attention. It was an inspiring moment.
But this slogan is so disgustingly violent, I'd love to know exactly what the conversation was in the T-shirt design office when this one came up.
Posted by Nicole
February 20, 2007, 9:06 PM
Here's a story in the Globe and Mail about this: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servle...
Posted by Nicole
February 23, 2007, 1:07 PM
[...] Spoofing a slogan used in date-rape and violence awareness campaigns by the Canadian Federation of Students for the last 10 years, the shirts have attracted the attention of a number of media outlets and publications, including the Globe and Mail, Canada East Online, Shameless Magazine, and my friends over at Torontoist. Brent Farrington, national deputy chair of the Canadian Federation of Students, has been quoted decrying the shirt’s message. “I think it’s incredibly unfortunate that it is . . . inversing the meaning of this slogan to mean it’s okay to date rape somebody. Not only is that socially irresponsible, it’s corporately irresponsible,” he said. [...]
Posted by Bluenotes in Hot Water Over ‘Have Another’ Shirt
February 24, 2007, 12 AM
Good news!
There was lots of letters and phone calls from individuals and groups all across Canada (not just the CFS) but here is an update of what happened:
Date-rape T-shirts pulled from shelves
CFS challenges Bluenotes clothing company for copyright infringement, bad taste
By Tristan Lapointe
Read full article here: http://www.mcgilldaily.com/view.php?a...
Posted by Monika
March 1, 2007, 9:47 PM
Can you people not take a joke?!
Have any of you every had a date?....with a boy?
Are you guys offended by PDA'S?
Really now there are way more offensive tee-shirts out there.....
There are more things in life to worry about,
GET OVER IT!!!
Posted by Angela
March 5, 2007, 11:57 PM
Um, just curious, but since when is date rape a public display of affection?
Or is that just another completely irrelevent and unrelated question, much like whether or not we've been on a date? With a boy?
Posted by Stacey
March 7, 2007, 1:14 PM
Im pretty sure Bluenotes being a Company with family values or what ever they say, didnt imply rape. I personally do not like that store, But would a company really do that?! It's just a shirt. For the people who did buy it, probably thought it meant something totally different.
Posted by Angela
March 10, 2007, 11:29 PM
Hey Angela, I don't think Bluenotes intentionally was trying to advocate the mass date raping of women. But in spite of whatever intentions they might have, that's what the slogan "no means have another drink" means. To spell it out, it's saying, "Hey baby, if you think you don't want to have sex with me, you should have a few more drinks and then you'll be so trashed, it won't be hard to take advantage of you."
80% of women know the men who attack them. That means that the vast vast majority of rape is date or marital rape.
If we lived in a world where the commodification of drunken high school and teenage girls was NOT hot business (see Nicole's post on Girls Gone Wild from 7 August '06) and if we lived in a world withOUT stats like, 1 in 4 Canadian women have been or will be sexually assualted in their lifetime (check: http://www.wavaw.ca/informed_stats.php) I would agree with you that:
1) there are way bigger things to worry about than violence against women
2) Bluenotes was just having a little, harmless joke.
And I definitely would rather live in a world like that. But we don't.
Posted by thea
March 11, 2007, 6:09 PM
Angela,
I am curious as to how this t-shirt's message is any different from the angry signs posted by men at Queens in the 90s that read "'No' means 'Kick her in the teeth'" or "'No' means 'more beer'" or "'No' means 'Down on your knees, bitch'" in response to the CFS "No means No" campaign... the very same campaign that this Bluenotes shirt "parodies".
Many people are so quick to silence women who are speaking out against violence, and I feel that by telling women to "get over it" or saying it's "just a joke", we're allowing the "little" things to get by and make room for larger problems to manifest unnoticed and go on as being condoned.
I hope you can see where I'm coming from.
Posted by kim
April 12, 2007, 8:36 AM
when it says:
NO MEANS
HAVE aNOther
DRINK
Isn't the "hidden" message, "no means have no drink?!"
Posted by Sandra
May 2, 2007, 9:08 PM
Personally, from my point of view...
"No means have aNOther drink"
Simply means that the word 'no' is in the word 'another'. Implying for friends (especially on birthdays or other special occasions) to keep drinking and partying.
It says that the writing is on a guys shirt. How many guys buy their buddies drinks on birthdays and what-not? No where does it say anything about a female saying no.
And what if it means that the guy wearing it is the one saying no, and to buy him another drink?
Honestly, this saying can be taken in so many different ways, I just didn't get the date rape thing out of it
Posted by Antonio
July 3, 2007, 11:53 AM
[...] of a number of media outlets and publications, including the Globe and Mail, Canada East Online, Shameless Magazine, and my friends over at Torontoist. Brent Farrington, national deputy chair of the Canadian [...]
Posted by Bluenotes in Hot Water Over ‘Have Another’ Shirt
July 29, 2007, 7:01 PM
There is very old saying "when she says no she means yes". Shortened to "no means yes" which is a long running joke about women,and men trying to understand them.
Not only for relationship matters but it referred to back when ladies played "hard to get" or did not want to come of as easy or low class. It meant for 'gentlemen' (term used on purpose) to "be persistent" and not give up on the first attempt to win over a girl's affections.
It was NOT instruction to keep trying no matter what or anything related to rape. The "No means No" campaign was built on this pre-existing saying, that was it's appeal.
So the recent twist on a very old saying by Bluenotes, while not a wise idea in today's super sensitive politically correct and conspiracy minded population, was meant in humour -in the drink to losen your inhibitions category, not a strategy for forced sex. All the dramatic s[eople immediately, and quite ignorantly, mistook it and were offended. Think about it, would they REALLY have put out shirts to promote rape. they obviously mistook the general population's intelligence for granted and underestimated the level of sensitivity people have on something that can be viewed several ways -but they are not evil people.
That said, I'd wager to bet very few of the people commenting here have not offered to buy a drink, or had a drink at a club hoping to losen up or gain the courage to approach someone or dance the way they want to. It's pretty much why we all drink. Any person who has accepted a drink from a stranger, ever, must thus endorse the philosophy of no means have another drink, or they would say no thank you.
Posted by No Drama
April 24, 2008, 12:23 PM
Okay, not only is this competely ridiculous?
But who seriously spends this much time over a t shirt.
Honestly, that could mean 59384 different things.
I work at bluenotes and I know for a fact that it's not what it means.
How?
Because me and my district manager actually had a talk about it,
and he called head office and figured it out.
Bluenotes company did not intentionally try to twist any kind of old slogan or phrase,
all they meant was simply,
no means have another drink,
plain and simple,
no subliminal messages.
thanks.
Posted by Matt
May 13, 2008, 12:58 AM
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