An open letter to Roger David
Posted by NicJan 21
***UPDATED MON. JAN. 25***
click here for the latest info with regards to the t-shirt outrage that started last week and hopefully will not cease until these shirts are pulled off the shelves.
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Dear Mr. David,
It should be noted that I am writing this post using proper grammar and capitalization. This does not happen often. In fact, I much prefer writing using all lowercase letters as I am a lazy ass.
Now that we have that business out of the way, it has come to my attention that you have designed and created what I can only hope does not become the latest fashion trend for men.
The t-shirts you are currently selling in which women are blindfolded and gagged are disgraceful.
It is not uncommon for me, a 9 year rape survivor, to address offensive messages that ignorant individuals verbalize with regards to rape.
I am personally grateful to Melinda Tankard Reist for her blog and advocacy, otherwise I would not be writing this post and suggesting to you what I see to be the only way to rectify this situation.
Mr. David, I recommend you remove these t-shirts from the shelves of your store immediately. Take the proceeds you have made from the sale of these t-shirts, and donate them to a women’s crisis center.
Be a man… a good one… one your mother would be proud of.
Unsure how to sign this as I am repulsed by you,
Nic
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You can visit Melinda Tankard Reist’s site here.
You can visit Roger David’s website here to contact him and let him know your own thoughts.
27 comments
Comment by jenn on January 21, 2010 at 10:16 am
way to go nic!! i agree, its sickening. im disgusted, hurt even that men would buy clothing like this, letting the world believe they think abuse and rape is ok..is normal! stop the violence david, pull your filth from the shelves!!
Pingback by Bound and gagged… tee shirts effect your kids. | CulturalSavage on January 21, 2010 at 11:05 am
[...] An open letter to Roger David @My Bottles Up [...]
Comment by maggie, dammit on January 21, 2010 at 11:07 am
The “it’s not rape if you yell ’surprise!’” one nearly brought me to my knees.
I sent a message on his site.
maggie, dammit´s last blog ..The Constellation
Comment by jessica on January 21, 2010 at 11:11 am
maybe if it was his sister or his mother that was bound and gagged he might have a change of heart. What a douchebag.
Comment by Ashley on January 21, 2010 at 11:13 am
Disgusting and disturbing. Can you imagine our children even seeing such images? Good for you for bringing it to light.
Ashley´s last blog ..One year in 120 seconds
Comment by Andrea's Sweet Life on January 21, 2010 at 11:20 am
Once again I am appalled and enraged by the things some people will do to make a buck. I wonder if he would like it if I sold T-Shirts with graphics of men being bound and castrated? I’m horrified. Truly.
Comment by elle on January 21, 2010 at 11:27 am
i’m in shock…
the messages his tshirts relay are absolutely horrifying. how ignorant can someone be? thank you for speaking out- for always being so brave.
love,
e
xo
Comment by deb williams on January 21, 2010 at 12:02 pm
okay, i don’t know how coherent this will be, as i need some time to think about this. as tempted as i am to fly into a rage, i want my words and actions to be felt instead of dismissed. just like you said about using good grammar, etc (which i have to say cracked me up).
i went to his stupid site and i was struck by the youthful appearance of the models. downright clean cut. and i was stricken with panic and sadness and fear for my two teen sons. surely, SURELY i have taught them to ignore and renounce anything like this. but to even offer it, to even have it out there makes me insane. i could see my 16 y.o. thinking “oh it’s just a joke” or whatever. i don’t know. i am going off on a tangent.
thanks for speaking up.
deb williams´s last blog ..5 Easy Ways to Raise Girl-Friendly Boys
Comment by Lisa on January 21, 2010 at 12:55 pm
Good for you for standing up against Roger David and the sickening crap is trying to pass off as fashion. That t-shirt and the many others on his site are just appalling. To make a joke out of something like rape is just unacceptable, it is sickening. I’m on my way over to his site to send him a message as well.
Lisa´s last blog ..Adventures in Potty Training
Comment by C @ Kid Things on January 21, 2010 at 1:19 pm
Horrible, disgusting message, absolutely, but they’re just downright ugly, too.
C @ Kid Things´s last blog ..Another First
Comment by Rebecca on January 21, 2010 at 1:25 pm
I’m pretty easy going and all for freedom to express whatever it is you enjoy, but his shirts offend me. I agree with you Nic!
Rebecca´s last blog ..Break Up’s Aren’t Always Hard
Comment by Heather @ Sellers Gang Mama on January 21, 2010 at 1:58 pm
You know what might be the worst part of this? Not only did this skeezy man design and decide to sell these disgusting and offensive shirts, but people will buy them and wear them. My husband would never wear something like that and I would never allow my son too, but there are parents out there who let their teen sons where this stuff. So upsetting!
I sent the loser an email.
Heather @ Sellers Gang Mama´s last blog ..A Big Ol’ (FAKE) Love Fest
Comment by Wendi on January 21, 2010 at 3:51 pm
right on sistah!! here’s to living a conscious and examined existence
Comment by Steve on January 22, 2010 at 11:56 am
Here is a blogger who loves these shirts and doesn’t believe in “date rape.” His readers are scary.
http://voxday.blogspot.com/2010/01/mailvox-in-fairness-you-do-prefer-bad.html
Comment by Nic on January 22, 2010 at 12:21 pm
@Steve i am left without words and sickened to my core.
Comment by Amy Jussel, Shaping Youth on January 22, 2010 at 3:53 pm
Nic, I was torn about whether to give the story ANY heat at all on the ‘fan the flames’ front to keep the crud invisible while torpedo launching a stealth attack on the advocacy front, but your ltr and @JessWeiner’s post made me take the gloves off in full.
As MLK said, “A time comes when silence is betrayal.”
I feel like I’ll explode if I don’t post/share pronto and get a male and female teen POV…I have the perfect guy in mind who writes for Amplify (16 -yr old/advocates for youth) who needs to riff on this one in a huge way. UGH.
Amy Jussel, Shaping Youth´s last blog ..Body Image: Tips for Teens To Survive the Media Morass
Comment by Bret Bernhoft on January 22, 2010 at 8:21 pm
As a 23 year old consumer I am completely fine with the ads that American Apparel are using to sttract consumers. Those who oppose this ad are, generally speaking, the parents of children. It boggles my mind, when you were young did you not find a sexy woman to be attractive and inciting?
Comment by Nic on January 22, 2010 at 9:11 pm
@Bret i have emailed you back my own thoughts regarding your comment, but felt i should publicly state that i believe you meant to say that you are “completely fine with the ads that American Apparel are using to ATTRACT consumers.” and that “when you were young, did you not find a sexy woman to be attractive and ENTICING?”
*just wanted to clarify*
Comment by Sunday Stilwell on January 23, 2010 at 11:57 am
Ugh. That’s just wrong on so many levels.
Sunday Stilwell´s last blog ..Birthdays are for Spoiling!
Comment by CaraMex on January 23, 2010 at 7:31 pm
Wow, you’re not very bright are you?
First of all, there is no man called Rodger David – that is the name of the store. Mr David is not the owner, nor will he get the email you sent. No doubt their customer service staff will.
Secondly…. did you even read that blog post well at all? The rape t-shirts are NOT actually sold at Rodger David, they are from an online store, based in America.
The first two t-shirts on Melinda’s site ARE sold by Rodger David and are actually very famous popular culture photographs. Both t-shirts are not manufactured by Rodger David but are imported from the USA. The first shirt in question – the one which shows Annie Hardy with a “Hollywood” tape in her mouth is taken by a well known photographer.
I am just shaking my head that Melinda’s blog has created so mych hype and hysteria, all in the name of feminism. It’s dangerous because it would seem that no-one, including you, has actually properly comprehended the story correctly.
I am not saying the rape t-shirts are cool.
I am just saying that there has been a gross misinterpretation of things here.
Comment by Craig on January 23, 2010 at 8:15 pm
To those on here thinking Roger david is a “guy”, Roger david is a large chain of menswear shops throughout Australia, they sell everything from suits to casual beachwear,, THEY R NOT AN UPMARKET STORE, WARNING TO any boy wearing one of these t shirts, (NO MAN WOULD) if u come to take my daughter out I will kick your ass out on the street then I will kick it down the street,
Comment by Nic on January 24, 2010 at 7:39 am
thank you for the comments regarding the roger david brand. many letters, written by myself and others who are offended and concerned with the images of the t-shirts on display in the roger david stores, are being sent to “the powers that be” at this large chain of menswear shops throughout australia.
Comment by Sarcastica on January 26, 2010 at 7:31 am
Good job Nic! I’m glad you wrote him a letter. I’ll definitely be visiting his site to let him know how repulsed I am with the t-shirts too.
Sarcastica´s last blog ..Silly Hurt
Comment by Bongo on January 27, 2010 at 3:47 am
Hopefully this makes it onto your posts.
You are all a joke. Get a grip… its a bloody t-shirt…
It was not designed solely to depict rape and mistreatment of females in any way, shape or form.
Clearly those in favour of Nic’s views do not understand that the pictures on these t-shirts are not designed with anything else in mind but dollar signs.
Stop wasting your life away posting shitty blogs that are only suited for people as boring as yourselves.
How about getting off your ass…going out and raising money for a charity or doing something else that is going to help people rather than sit infront of a bright colourful screen sooking about a picture on a t-shirt.
GET A LIFE! (and a t-shirt)
Comment by Bongo on January 27, 2010 at 3:53 am
Short and sharp… if it was a male being bound and gagged you wouldn’t have heard BOO.. end of story!
Comment by Kellee on January 27, 2010 at 2:52 pm
Hmmm, I had no idea any of this was going on. Good for you, though. I’m all about bad humor 95% of the time, but that just crosses the line.
Kellee´s last blog ..Help Out!
Comment by Kellee on January 27, 2010 at 3:00 pm
Oh and BTW Bongo – don’t be a wank. Kthnx, bai.
Kellee´s last blog ..Help Out!