Dear Karley, I bought a shirt from you like six months ago and finally wore it out in public yesterday. I live in this small ~close minded~ city and a friend of my mum’s saw me and texted her about it. My mum is FREAKING OUT! I was all, “It’s a feminist statement,” but she doesn’t agree and thinks I’m anti women’s rights, etc. How do I explain to her what your vagina on a shirt even MEANS?! Help, Gemma
OMG! You should tell your mom that you are supporting your favorite punk, female-empowerment sex blog, and that wearing a blog T-shirts is the modern equivalent of what wearing a band t-shirt meant when she was young. Also, mention that supporting a literary blog is way cooler and more refined than supporting a band because it means you actually read, and tbh liking bands is a bit lazy and “obvious,” ya know what I mean?
Explain to your mom that the vagina is a reproductive organ, and that it’s beautiful! Remind her that you came out of hers. Girls’ sexy parts are not only there to arouse boys, and by putting an image of a vagina on a T-shirt, over the chest, it’s turning the vagina into a symbol–a symbol of power yo!–rather than displaying it as an object of desire. Explain to her that being a feminist in 2013 is a lot different than it was in her day, and that now that we’ve basically won the battle we can be a lot more lol and playful about things, and that she should just take her Klonopin and chill out.
Also, your mom’s friend sounds like an uptight cunt. Hope that helps! xx