Top Man? I don't think so mate...

So last night and today there was an anger explosion on Twitter with regards to controversial t-shirt designs from Topman. The grey shirt suggests that women come in breeds, much like animals – also suggesting that a woman belongs to a man like a pet? – and the red, although vague, has strong hints of domestic abuse and rape.

I got angry when I saw this. Although a lot of people shared my disgust, there were also a lot of negative reactions (mainly from bone-headed Facebook users, but reactions nonetheless) along the lines of “stop being so tetchy”, “IT’S POLITICAL CORRECTNESS GONE MAD!” or “calm down, it’s only a joke”.

After receiving what I can only imagine was a fuckload of complaints (mine included), Topman decided to withdraw the designs, offering this apology on their Facebook page.

Ah yes, I suppose joking about a girl getting raped on a t-shirt is just a bit of light-hearted humour, and it’s also okay to degrade a woman down to the status of being a dog because if you laugh at it, it’s not because you’re a misogynistic dickhead but because you have a first class sense of humour! 

Well, I apologise for being a prude, non-funny bore. I’m also a feminist which means I sit at home in front of my computer, complaining about everything under the sun whilst stroking my several feral cats, because no man will ever love me. And have I ever mentioned I’m a sex-depraved lesbian who never shaves her legs and hates men?

All bullshit of course. Feminism is the striving for the equality of both sexes, and if you think otherwise then I suggest you read up on it. I’ve seen as many men outraged about the Topman shirts as I have women, which says a lot. In short, if you’re male and you think these tops are acceptable, then you’re a massive dick. Or even worse, if you would actually consider wearing these shirts you have no place on this earth except in a cave, to act out your stone-age values whilst dragging your knuckles along the floor, in a quest to find a woman who will love you (you might be there for some time).

This whole thing reminds me of the kind of people who think it’s okay to mutter incredibly racist/sexist/any-other-ist comments and declare it as “BANTER!!!!”, or who use the “it’s only a joke, relax” excuse, twisting the situation on its head and making you seem like the bad person for being humourless. Someone telling you to stop overreacting and that you "didn't get the joke" makes you seem like an idiot and is a standard silencer. But I refuse to be silenced.

You see, it’s more than just a slogan on a t-shirt. It’s petty to get angry about a t-shirt, which is precisely why people are so angry. Because it’s NOT just about a slogan on a t-shirt!

By allowing small misogynistic jibes into society – be it a slogan on a t-shirt, a misleading sexist advertisement, a muttering of the “Shouldn’t you be in the kitchen?” remark on Facebook followed up with “huh huh I’m not sexist, you just didn’t get my sense of humour huh huh” – you are allowing sexism to seep into the cracks of society. You’re allowing for the creation of a baseline of sexism which gradually builds up a tolerance to sexist comments, and creates an attitude which is stridently misogynistic. Is it just me, or is that a bit fucking backwards?

In short, I refuse to stand for this. I have a right to be angry and if you're angry because it deprives you of a cheap laugh (as you are so void of a sense of humour you have to laugh at the oppression of others to get your kicks) then fuck you. I'm standing up for myself and I won’t apologise for it. 

.....and I don't have a shit fashion sense, either.

This is not a René Magritte exhibition

So I thought I’d do a blog about Liverpool! Oh you lovely city…although I am often roaming around in Manchester (another city with a firm place in my heart), Liverpool has and always will be my favourite city for the people and the things in it. I've always come here ever since I was a child and I love the things it has to offer!

Filling ourselves up with noms from the night before at Yo! Sushi (mmm), we decided to do something in Liverpool the next day.

 I repeat: mmm.

The Albert Dock in particular is one of my favourite parts of Liverpool, and nestled in amongst restaurants and shops is TATE Liverpool. The René Magritte exhibition has been on there for a while and I’d been wanting to go for equally as long. I eventually got to go yesterday with my friend Eve – who, fortunately, is an art student and didn’t mind spending ages having a proper look round (sometimes I get bored as fuck in art galleries, but the worst thing is rushing around when you want to spend a lot of time looking at everything. Plus I’d paid £8.10 so I wanted to get my money’s worth, ha ha.)

Maybe a tiny bit pricey (£11 adult, £9 concessions - not sure why my ticket cost £8.10, maybe off-peak times?) you do get your money’s worth from the exhibition, and I thought it was wonderful. There’s a lot of work on display including 12 separate rooms containing different branches of his work, plus home movies and photographs which I thought were incredibly charming and funny. It was also another £5 per person if you wanted a guide to go around the exhibition with you to explain the art, but if you're a cheapskate like me you can always just eavesdrop on someone else's tour whilst pretending to ponder at the art or the meaning of life or something. There was also a room full of erotic sketches such as a man walking towards a giant hairy vagina cave, and a woman with a penis protruding from her tongue. A warning on the outside of the room read "some people may find these images challenging", as a 11 year old boy discovered when he ran out of the room going "URGH mum, don't go in there, it's RUDE!" The very same boy later on had an argument with his mum while I was in my element trying to get into the mood of the paintings, offering to pay a tenner if they could leave there and then (I tried hard not to laugh at this) and uttering his dismay at all the naked paintings of ladies. If anything, I'm surprised he wasn't loving it!

I must admit, I didn't know a lot about Magritte beforehand. I have a friend who has The Son of a Man on a t-shirt and I didn’t have a clue what it was until I started noticing it around in a lot of places. I also even studied “This Is Not a Pipe” at uni and still didn’t realise it was by him so you’ll have to excuse me for being a bit of an idiot. It was a bit of a discovery for me - I'd never realised quite how surreal his work was and some of his work reminded me of the painting style of Frida Kahlo who is a big favourite of mine. So although my tastes in art are very hit and miss, I was easily drawn in by his work.

Anyway, we got to Liverpool and had a walk around the docks (lovely as ever, even despite the wind and the rain) and laughed at tourists trying to stop their hats from blowing away.

(A view of the docks taken from inside the exhibition - the sheer amount of bird poo on the glass somewhat obscuring the lovely view with the Cathedral in the background).

I'm one of those creeps who sometimes goes to art galleries and gets so transfixed by the colour of the walls that I can't focus on the art. I always fall in love with the views out of the Tate windows, actually many a time I've spent more time looking out of the window at the view thinking how lovely it is than looking at the art. I also fucking love the colour of the walls. Look at them! *drools*. Maybe this is a bit weird. I apologise.

As for the actual exhibition, it was fantastic. As some of you might be surprised to hear, it takes a lot for me to get exited about something but once I do I'm pretty much smitten. The mixture of paintings with sketches, home videos, photographs and also some of his commercial work meant that there was a lot of variation, keeping everything exciting. Plus I have a total loathing for quiet art galleries and his work got everyone talking so I didn't feel as awkward walking around in total silence. This might just be because I'm a bit odd though.

Some of my favourite pieces of work were...

The Flavour of Tears (1948)

This Is Not A Pipe (1929)

Woman-Bottle (1945)

Perspective II: Manets Balcony (1950) 

A witty piss-take of Manet's "The Balcony".

Plus I absolutely love this one (I can't believe how many people kept a straight face whilst looking at this. It's funny, non?)

Magritte's work on the cover of André Breton's "What is surrealism?"

There was also a wall full of tiny little photos, I absolutely love these especially the bottom one with Georgette Magritte. I think they're incredibly sweet.

After a visit to the shop I left with a couple of postcards (everything else in the shop was insanely overpriced, £50 for a cushion in the shape of a cloud?! I could make one myself for under a fiver *turns into mother*). Had a great day and what a funny and brilliant artist Magritte is. Lucky Liverpool for having such an exhibition. If you can do, get down to TATE Liverpool whilst it's still on! I don't think you'll regret it.