{"id":217,"date":"2012-08-30T23:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-08-30T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/Wordpress\/?p=217"},"modified":"2012-08-30T23:00:00","modified_gmt":"2012-08-30T23:00:00","slug":"gendered_pens_draw_feminist_scorn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/articles\/gendered_pens_draw_feminist_scorn","title":{"rendered":"Gendered Pens Draw Feminist Scorn"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" src=\"\/images\/NewsImages\/2012\/bic-for-her-pens.jpg\" alt=\"Pink BIC &ldquo;For Her&rdquo; pens\" \/><\/p>\n<p>BIC has elicited scorn, ridicule and bemusement after launching a range of pink and purple <a href=\"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/pens-pencils\/c-3018\">pens<\/a> just &ldquo;for her&rdquo;.<\/p>\n<p>The pens, priced 70% more than identical regular pens, have &ldquo;attractive barrel design available in pink and purple&#8230;designed to fit comfortably in a woman&#8217;s hand.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>This somewhat <i>Stepford Wives<\/i> approach to gendered marketing has angered some, like Lindy West writing for women&#8217;s interest site <a href=\"http:\/\/jezebel.com\/5938681\/bics-ridiculous-lady+pens-cost-70-more-than-identical-regular-pens\" onclick=\"PS.Core.Popup(this, 800, 600);return false;\" title=\"Opens in a new window\">Jezebel<\/a> who branded the &ldquo;Lady-Pens&rdquo; as &ldquo;ridiculous&rdquo; and &ldquo;sexist&rdquo;. She drew attention to the fact that they are significantly more expensive than identical non-gendered pens.<\/p>\n<p>But while some may see the &ldquo;BIC For Her&rdquo; range as clumsy, stereotypical gendering, the pen is attracting far more attention than most stationery products normally do. In particular, hundreds have left (mostly ironic) reviews of the pen on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/product-reviews\/B004FTGJUW\/ref=cm_cr_dp_see_all_btm?ie=UTF8&amp;showViewpoints=1&amp;sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending\" onclick=\"PS.Core.Popup(this, 800, 600);return false;\" title=\"Opens in a new window\">Amazon<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>There, a Jane Bullfinch wrote, &ldquo;Finally, a company is addressing our needs!! This pen is light-weight enough even for the most anemic of ladies. Now I can write my grocery lists and love letters to my husband, no matter what time of the month it is!&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Said S. Darwell-taylor, &ldquo;<strong>Girlie fantastic<\/strong>. These are just perfect for writing pretty little shopping lists, for those notes explaining to the owners of the cars I&#8217;ve hit that I just don&#8217;t understand spacial awareness and for turning all those dots above i&#8217;s into the most adorable smiley faces ever. My only complaint being that so many of them seem to leak monthly.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>But a male reviewer (daveyclayton) was disappointed: &ldquo;<strong>No good for man hands<\/strong>. I bought this pen (in error, evidently) to write my reports of each day&#8217;s tree felling activities in my job as a lumberjack. It is no good. It slips from between my calloused, gnarly fingers like a gossamer thread gently descending to earth between two giant redwood trunks.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Probably happy at the product&#8217;s attention, a BIC spokeswoman took it all in her stride: &ldquo;It is great to see people having fun with the product and we&#8217;re delighted to have brought a bit of much needed glamour to stationery cupboards everywhere.&rdquo;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>BIC has elicited scorn, ridicule and bemusement after launching a range of pink and purple pens just &ldquo;for her&rdquo;. The pens, priced 70% more than identical regular pens, have &ldquo;attractive barrel design available in pink and purple&#8230;designed to fit comfortably in a woman&#8217;s hand.&rdquo; This somewhat Stepford Wives approach to gendered marketing has angered some, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-Office_Supplies_Industry_News","category-Pens_and_Pencils"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Gendered Pens Draw Feminist Scorn<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/articles\/gendered_pens_draw_feminist_scorn\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gendered Pens Draw Feminist Scorn\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"BIC has elicited scorn, ridicule and bemusement after launching a range of pink and purple pens just &ldquo;for her&rdquo;. The pens, priced 70% more than identical regular pens, have &ldquo;attractive barrel design available in pink and purple&#8230;designed to fit comfortably in a woman&#8217;s hand.&rdquo; This somewhat Stepford Wives approach to gendered marketing has angered some, [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/articles\/gendered_pens_draw_feminist_scorn\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"paperstone\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-08-30T23:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Paperstone\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@paperstone\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@paperstone\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Paperstone\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.paperstone.co.uk\\\/News\\\/articles\\\/gendered_pens_draw_feminist_scorn#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.paperstone.co.uk\\\/News\\\/articles\\\/gendered_pens_draw_feminist_scorn\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Paperstone\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.paperstone.co.uk\\\/News\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/16493c53ebac7f24b6afedd03648489b\"},\"headline\":\"Gendered Pens Draw Feminist Scorn\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-08-30T23:00:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.paperstone.co.uk\\\/News\\\/articles\\\/gendered_pens_draw_feminist_scorn\"},\"wordCount\":371,\"commentCount\":0,\"articleSection\":[\"Office Supplies Industry News\",\"Pens &amp; Pencils\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.paperstone.co.uk\\\/News\\\/articles\\\/gendered_pens_draw_feminist_scorn#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.paperstone.co.uk\\\/News\\\/articles\\\/gendered_pens_draw_feminist_scorn\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.paperstone.co.uk\\\/News\\\/articles\\\/gendered_pens_draw_feminist_scorn\",\"name\":\"Gendered Pens Draw Feminist Scorn\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.paperstone.co.uk\\\/News\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-08-30T23:00:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.paperstone.co.uk\\\/News\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/16493c53ebac7f24b6afedd03648489b\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.paperstone.co.uk\\\/News\\\/articles\\\/gendered_pens_draw_feminist_scorn\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.paperstone.co.uk\\\/News\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.paperstone.co.uk\\\/News\\\/\",\"name\":\"\",\"description\":\"Paperstone - Office life, work and fun\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.paperstone.co.uk\\\/News\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.paperstone.co.uk\\\/News\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/16493c53ebac7f24b6afedd03648489b\",\"name\":\"Paperstone\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/38531a8b455ff4fb539b7f5a92e1b4f9d7cf224e86f09d1f1da2db8eb377b78a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/38531a8b455ff4fb539b7f5a92e1b4f9d7cf224e86f09d1f1da2db8eb377b78a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/38531a8b455ff4fb539b7f5a92e1b4f9d7cf224e86f09d1f1da2db8eb377b78a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Paperstone\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.paperstone.co.uk\",\"paperstone\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/paperstone\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Gendered Pens Draw Feminist Scorn","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/articles\/gendered_pens_draw_feminist_scorn","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Gendered Pens Draw Feminist Scorn","og_description":"BIC has elicited scorn, ridicule and bemusement after launching a range of pink and purple pens just &ldquo;for her&rdquo;. The pens, priced 70% more than identical regular pens, have &ldquo;attractive barrel design available in pink and purple&#8230;designed to fit comfortably in a woman&#8217;s hand.&rdquo; This somewhat Stepford Wives approach to gendered marketing has angered some, [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/articles\/gendered_pens_draw_feminist_scorn","article_author":"paperstone","article_published_time":"2012-08-30T23:00:00+00:00","author":"Paperstone","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@paperstone","twitter_site":"@paperstone","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Paperstone","Estimated reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/articles\/gendered_pens_draw_feminist_scorn#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/articles\/gendered_pens_draw_feminist_scorn"},"author":{"name":"Paperstone","@id":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/#\/schema\/person\/16493c53ebac7f24b6afedd03648489b"},"headline":"Gendered Pens Draw Feminist Scorn","datePublished":"2012-08-30T23:00:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/articles\/gendered_pens_draw_feminist_scorn"},"wordCount":371,"commentCount":0,"articleSection":["Office Supplies Industry News","Pens &amp; Pencils"],"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/articles\/gendered_pens_draw_feminist_scorn#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/articles\/gendered_pens_draw_feminist_scorn","url":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/articles\/gendered_pens_draw_feminist_scorn","name":"Gendered Pens Draw Feminist Scorn","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/#website"},"datePublished":"2012-08-30T23:00:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/#\/schema\/person\/16493c53ebac7f24b6afedd03648489b"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/articles\/gendered_pens_draw_feminist_scorn"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/","name":"","description":"Paperstone - Office life, work and fun","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/#\/schema\/person\/16493c53ebac7f24b6afedd03648489b","name":"Paperstone","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/38531a8b455ff4fb539b7f5a92e1b4f9d7cf224e86f09d1f1da2db8eb377b78a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/38531a8b455ff4fb539b7f5a92e1b4f9d7cf224e86f09d1f1da2db8eb377b78a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/38531a8b455ff4fb539b7f5a92e1b4f9d7cf224e86f09d1f1da2db8eb377b78a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Paperstone"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk","paperstone","https:\/\/x.com\/paperstone"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=217"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paperstone.co.uk\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}