[Phpwomen] PHPWomen Merchandise: Good Idea?

[Petra Dreiskamper]

Hi all,

Seeing this whole discussion unfold makes me almost feel sorry I even 
mentioned the pink elephant at all.

Just for the record: I do not wear make up or even like pink, I just 
thought that the blue
elephant could do with a pink counterpart om my desk. That's all.
I certainly did not want to start a discussion on how to best represent 
us as feminine geeks: I never meant it to be taken that seriously.

Apart from that: I guess Lorna is right in saying we're getting sidetracked.
If it's such a costly thing it's perhaps a far better idea to focus on 
T-shirts or baseball caps and jackets etc. with some really cool logo's 
or (funny) geeky lines?
Maybe even a T-shirt to accompany the cook book?

Petra


Lorna Mitchell wrote:
> I think the elephpant is pretty much out of our price league anyway,
> as Johanna points out, the seutp costs are quite large.  Perhaps we
> could take a look at the suppliers others have mentioned, and think
> about starting off with getting some ideas for t-shirt designs?  I
> love all the ideas I've seen but I think we need to just start
> somewhere!
>
> Lorna
>
> On 07/03/2009, Elizabeth Naramore <elizabeth at naramore.net> wrote:
>   
>> On Sat, Mar 7, 2009 at 10:54 AM, Elizabeth M Smith <
>> auroraeosrose at shitennou.com> wrote:
>>
>>     
>>>> Just a few comments about reinforcing 'girly' stereotypes in a group's
>>>> emblem.
>>>>
>>>> * Pink: This has been the stereotyped 'girl colour' since around
>>>> WWII[0]. Not all girls like pink, and some girls and women will get
>>>> quite offended if it's suggested they wear it, let alone be represented
>>>> by it.
>>>>
>>>> * Make up, nail polish: Some girls and women do not wear make up or nail
>>>> polish as they not feeling comfortable about having to alter their
>>>> appearance to be accepted, or resent the idea that they are expected to
>>>> decorate themselves for the viewing pleasure of men.
>>>>
>>>> * Bows: Without the lipstick, the bow on Ms Pacman would make her look
>>>> like a 5 year old. (With the lipstick, she looks like those 50 year old
>>>> women you see in the mall with caked-on makeup, wearing the latest tween
>>>> fashions)
>>>>
>>>> * Jewellery: Of all the girly stereotypes, this is probably the least
>>>> girly one. Jewellery such as rings, chains and piercings are commonplace
>>>> for both genders.
>>>>
>>>> The Gnome Women project had the dilemma where their members did not feel
>>>> like they'd be taken seriously if they used such stereotypes[1].
>>>> Unfortunately, there's not much you can do to make a footprint girly,
>>>> without resorting to nail polish, high-heels, flowers or jewellery, and
>>>> afaik they ended up not getting anywhere.
>>>>
>>>> Personally, I would react unfavourably to a pink or made-up elePHPant.
>>>> It just would not speak to me at all.
>>>>
>>>> Taking the above into account, what I would react well to would be a
>>>> chain or leather thread around the elePHPant's neck, with a little
>>>> female emblem pendant. You could even do this *separately*, for the
>>>> existing elePHPants! Just get the chain/thread size right, and voila!
>>>>         
>>> And quite frankly I would find THIS offensive - to each their own I
>>> guess.  I find it silly to walk on eggshells all over the place to not
>>> offend this group or that group.  You won't find something that makes
>>> everyone happy.
>>>       
>> I tend to agree with this, and while I understand where Melissa is also
>> coming from, I think that there is absolutely nothing wrong with being
>> feminine and a geek at the same time.  Yes, I wear makeup and nail polish ..
>> but it's not for the viewing pleasure of men (hell, I've been married for 11
>> years and I work at home - I have no one to impress ;) ) , I do it because
>> it makes me feel good and the makeup covers up my blemishes :). Does that
>> make me less of a geek? Does that make people not take me seriously? I'd
>> like to think not.
>>
>> I think putting the elephpant in a big frilly dress with a parasol might be
>> a bit over the top, but I also think it's okay to give her a little bit of a
>> feminine bling. :)
>>
>> I also think that there's nothing wrong with breaking the "typical female
>> geek" stereotype either :)  Xeni Jardin seems to be doing okay.
>>
>> Just my 2 cents.. if this is something we feel strongly about, maybe we
>> could open up discussion on the forums. I think there are some deeper issues
>> here that are interesting to discuss besides *just* the color of the
>> elephpant- for me, at least, it's interesting to talk about what being a
>> geek girl means to each one of us.
>>
>> Cheers!
>> E.
>>
>>     
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