Every time I see a thirteen year old girl clunking through an airport or a mall in Ugg boots and a matching velour tracksuit with the word PINK embroidered across her tender young buttocks in collegiate-style lettering, I can’t help but think there is something distastefully wrong with the message. So, I had a good guffaw-coffee-through-the-nose-hole moment today when I read that the CEO of Victoria’s Secret feels that her company has “gotten off our heritage” (wha…?…the woman needs to look up the definition of the word) by becoming “too sexy.”
The company, according to her, needs a return to their intended ideal of ultra-feminine and I have to agree, since there are a lot of things more feminine than women (of all ages) browsing the aisles of Costco, clad in Victoria’s Secret PUSSY PINK line? When I see that young girl obliviously advertising her vagina across her backside as she boards a Southwest flight to Scottsdale, smacking her bubble gum, holding her In Style magazine and squeezing the oversized teddy bear tucked under her arm, I don’t instantly associate her with ultra-feminine. Of course, it could be that the Uggs cancel out the feminine quota of the tush lettering.
In aiming for the über-femme, I think the CEO should take a more direct approach; a more educational, empowering, PSA sort of angle. I suggest she go straight-up blatant on the consumer with her ass-messages and begin offering a line with choices like LABIA, MONS, PUBIS, VULVA and CLITORIS. Maybe that’s too clinical for some, but I’d wear those pants long before I ever shook my milkshake with a euphemism for my lady bits plastered on it. Because those other words? Those words are ultra-feminine.
10 responses so far ↓
1 san // Mar 1, 2008 at 5:55 pm
You know, being a foreigner sometimes is a good thing. I wasn’t aware of any other meaning of the word “pink” than that it was describing a color.
Your post just opened my eyes to a whole new universe of meaning.
Ouch.
2 Fashion » Attire for the thinking woman // Mar 1, 2008 at 6:56 pm
[...] Scottish Roundup wrote an interesting post today on Attire for the thinking womanHere’s a quick excerptEvery time I see a thirteen year old girl clunking through an airport or a mall in Ugg boots and a matching velour tracksuit with the word PINK [...]
3 Mrs. G. // Mar 1, 2008 at 7:50 pm
Yea, ass writing in general leaves me cold. But I would totally consider wearing mons pants.
It bugs me to see young girls sexualized so early. It really does.
4 Cheri // Mar 1, 2008 at 9:41 pm
Word.
And can I just add that I cringe when I see a child wearing clothing that says “Juicy Girl”? UGG! And I don’t mean boots.
5 ro // Mar 1, 2008 at 10:06 pm
Yes!!!
Allmost of my students have worn similar uniforms and I have repeatedly tried to talk to them about the attire (as part of marketing/communications strategies of course). Most of their replies have been:“But nooo, it’s just pink and it’s sooooo cute!”
‘Nuff said.
6 Bipolarlawyercook // Mar 2, 2008 at 2:35 pm
Huzzah. I am in total agreement. But maybe that’s not a good thing, since I have been accused of “dressing like the Amish” by not just one friend.
7 Megs // Mar 2, 2008 at 10:28 pm
It’s nice to know that I’m not the only person that thinks like this. I hate the velour jumpsuit…despise it in fact! There’s too many cute things to wear to ever be caught dead in one of those!
8 Prof. J. // Mar 3, 2008 at 3:39 am
I’m with Cheri–those “Juicy” shirts make me a little sick.
9 Jenn // Mar 3, 2008 at 2:52 pm
personally I hate to advertise anything on my ass… and boy am I naive! I thought PINK was a color. And stupid thing to put on your ass.
Its the cute-ification of women in our society that makes me ill.
10 robyn // Mar 3, 2008 at 10:20 pm
I must have lived a very sheltered life, because I had never heard of “pink” being a euphemism for lady parts. I thought Victoria’s Secret had become sort of trashy of late, but you have opened my eyes to the very extent of it!
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