Hallmark's ugly sweater ornament stirs controversy
Attacked from both sides. "Gay" is a very fraught word
Greeting card giant Hallmark said Thursday that it shouldn't have changed the lyrics to "Deck the Halls" on a new holiday ornament that stirred a backlash from customers online.
The Kansas City, Mo.-based company has been defending itself after it began selling a miniaturized version of a tacky holiday sweater that changes the lyrics to the holiday carol. The ornament removes the word "gay" and emblazons the sweater with the phrase: "Don we now our FUN apparel!"
Critics took to Twitter and Hallmark's Facebook page, accusing the company of making a political statement by using the word "fun" to replace "gay." Some Facebook commenters said they would never again buy Hallmark merchandise and that the change amounted to the company rewriting Christmas classics in the name of political correctness. Others suggested removing the word "gay" demonstrated a homophobic bias.
The company initially responded by saying the multiple meanings attached to the word "gay" meant the sweater's lyrics would be "open to misinterpretation."
"The trend of wearing festively decorated Christmas sweaters to parties is all about fun, and this ornament is intended to play into that, so the planning team decided to say what we meant: 'fun.' That's the spirit we intended and the spirit in which we hope ornament buyers will take it."
The company updated its statement Thursday, saying it was surprised by the public's response and that it now realized it shouldn't have changed the lyrics.
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14 comments:
Honestly, I see it as a marketing decision. Would you wear something with the word "gay" in it? I'm pretty open minded, yet I won't even wear a pink short, won't wear white pants, don't like anything that stands out. I love the Starz show Spartacus, but you won't see me wearing Jupiter's (picture of a rooster) shirt. So here I'm not sure if it's PC or business sense.
http://sellingthesecondamendment.com
Gregory is clearly a "social coward"! much like closet Gays themselves (perhaps he is one of them -?), but certainly he seems to find it hard to be true to himself in public if not in private!
If the homosexuals had not prostituted the English Language by changing the meaning of the word 'gay' we wouldn't have this problem. Definition of 'gay: Bright and pleasant; promoting a feeling of cheer
Definition of the word 'queer': Beyond or deviating from the usual or expected
Which definition best fits?
Even when trying to trying to be politically correct, it's impossible to avoid highlighting the fact that perversion damages everything it touches. In this case, it's the word "gay" that was misappropriated in an attempt to make homosexuality seem positive.
On the basis of complaints against Hallmark a campaign should be started to restore the name of Fairy Penguins. It is an absolute homophobic insult and derogatory to call them Little Penguins.
I pro-free speech. let them say whatever the hell they want to. don't buy it if you don't like it.
447, so... what? he is who he is.
It wasn't homosexuals who gave themselves the name "gay". It was originally applied to female prostitutes in the past because of their flamboyant appearance, and then the term was transferred to flamboyant homosexuals, who were the only kind that conventional society noticed. The homosexual community then tried to neutralize what was meant as a derogatory term by adopting it in a positive fashion, in much the same way as they have with the term "queer".
I get the Hallmark channel on my cable TV. They have a habit of editing out ANY words that MIGHT be offensive. The "Frasier" re-runs are occasionally screwed up because they edit the words "crap" or "ass" out of the show, and the punch line is lost. I'm not surprised they edit out "gay".
So sad...
Would "Don we now our FAG apparel!" be confusing in England?
And what's the best term for people who use derogatory terms for whole categories of other human beings in their own society - like "fags", "yids", etc. I guess Jesus was right about the self-righteous Pharisees who thought themselves better than others!!
Because "Don we Now Our Non-homosexual-referencing-term-intended-to-mean-festive apparel" was just too long.
"The gay queen clutched the fagot tightly." If you find it to have anything to do with homosexuality, you have completely lost grasp of the English Language.
7:43 -yes, but that's more the English language of the 17th Century (though "faggot" is the usual spelling, and originally meant the wooden sticks used to burn witches, and then applied to women and old women in general, as well as to homosexuals who could be put to death, just as in Islamic countries today. It would be nice if Western society had progressed in mentality as well as reasons for capital punishment!
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