Jump to content

Bloomingdale’s apologizes for apparent date rape (Bill Cosby) joke in holiday catalog ad


marylander1940
This topic is 3569 days old and is no longer open for new replies.  Replies are automatically disabled after two years of inactivity.  Please create a new topic instead of posting here.  

Recommended Posts

Posted
When pressed on whether “they” could serve as a singular pronoun, my fellow lexicographers and I pointed out that it already has done so for about seven centuries, appearing in the work of writers from Chaucer to Shakespeare to Jane Austen.

God damned English are the worst at speaking English. This ad is a good example of the value of good grammar. Thank God centuries of the English trying to mess things up hasn't completely destroyed the language.

I feel a song coming on....

  • Replies 40
  • Created
  • Last Reply
Posted
When pressed on whether “they” could serve as a singular pronoun, my fellow lexicographers and I pointed out that it already has done so for about seven centuries, appearing in the work of writers from Chaucer to Shakespeare to Jane Austen.

God damned English are the worst at speaking English. This ad is a good example of the value of good grammar. Thank God centuries of the English trying to mess things up hasn't completely destroyed the language.

I feel a song coming on....

Posted
That's what happens when people can't get their damned grammar straight. Friend is singular, not plural. So it's "Spike your best friend's eggnog when HE'S not looking," not "...when they're not looking." No one speaks proper English these days. Even then, it's still in bad taste. My current domestic partner once had his drink spiked and woke up with a sore ass. Months worrying about seroconverting...

 

The people using "they" as a singular pronoun are usually aware of it. Often it is done to avoid using gendered pronouns especially with respect to those who don't identify with either gender.

 

Sometimes it has the unfortunate effect of sounding like the person referred to is suffering from dissociative identity disorder, but live and let live, I say. As you acknowledge, it's nowhere near as big a deal as drugging people to have sex with them against their will.

 

I will never understand the attraction of fucking someone who's unconscious. I can only see it an exercise of power through (or masquerading as) sex.

Posted
That's what happens when people can't get their damned grammar straight. Friend is singular, not plural. So it's "Spike your best friend's eggnog when HE'S not looking," not "...when they're not looking." No one speaks proper English these days. Even then, it's still in bad taste. My current domestic partner once had his drink spiked and woke up with a sore ass. Months worrying about seroconverting...

 

The people using "they" as a singular pronoun are usually aware of it. Often it is done to avoid using gendered pronouns especially with respect to those who don't identify with either gender.

 

Sometimes it has the unfortunate effect of sounding like the person referred to is suffering from dissociative identity disorder, but live and let live, I say. As you acknowledge, it's nowhere near as big a deal as drugging people to have sex with them against their will.

 

I will never understand the attraction of fucking someone who's unconscious. I can only see it an exercise of power through (or masquerading as) sex.

Posted
Often it is done to avoid using gendered pronouns especially with respect to those who don't identify with either gender.

 

The better way of doing that is to go plural all the way: "Spike your best friends' eggnog when they're not looking." Just move the apostrophe. I absolutely agree with you that the ad was highly offensive--more offensive than the bad grammar.

Posted
Often it is done to avoid using gendered pronouns especially with respect to those who don't identify with either gender.

 

The better way of doing that is to go plural all the way: "Spike your best friends' eggnog when they're not looking." Just move the apostrophe. I absolutely agree with you that the ad was highly offensive--more offensive than the bad grammar.

Posted

'They' has been used as a singular pronoun at least since Chaucer, including by Shakespeare, and has been criticised since the late 19th century. I think it's time to accept that it is part of standard English in the same way that 'you' can be singular or plural.

Posted

'They' has been used as a singular pronoun at least since Chaucer, including by Shakespeare, and has been criticised since the late 19th century. I think it's time to accept that it is part of standard English in the same way that 'you' can be singular or plural.

Posted

Not the first time that an ad has intentionally or unintentionally used incorrect grammar, or for that matter been over the top.

 

http://mascola.com/insights/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/intentional-misspellings.jpg

 

http://www.11points.com/images/phrasedads/theirlearning.jpg

 

http://images2.dallasobserver.com/imager/u/original/7025903/bk_sevenincher.jpg

 

The Bloomie ad has made it to national TV. The guy who devised it was just named partner. Bloomingdales certainly got quite a bit of free publicity out of this one and the "apology" seems to have worked as well.

 

PS: It's called playing the public like a Strad.

Posted

Not the first time that an ad has intentionally or unintentionally used incorrect grammar, or for that matter been over the top.

 

http://mascola.com/insights/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/intentional-misspellings.jpg

 

http://www.11points.com/images/phrasedads/theirlearning.jpg

 

http://images2.dallasobserver.com/imager/u/original/7025903/bk_sevenincher.jpg

 

The Bloomie ad has made it to national TV. The guy who devised it was just named partner. Bloomingdales certainly got quite a bit of free publicity out of this one and the "apology" seems to have worked as well.

 

PS: It's called playing the public like a Strad.

Posted
The better way of doing that is to go plural all the way: "Spike your best friends' eggnog when they're not looking." Just move the apostrophe.

 

That doesn't solve the problem of what pronoun to use when referring to someone who doesn't identify as either gender. Or trans people who don't easily "pass" as the gender they identify with. There are people who prefer to be referred to using the gender neutral pronoun "they" even though it's usually thought of as plural. Since the word already exists and is sometimes used as a singular pronoun, it's easier to use and be understood than getting people to adopt gender neutral singular pronouns like "zie."

 

Think of "they" as a substitute for "it," which is singular and non-gendered but which is also impersonal and dehumanizing. For those of you who think this is petty and nuts, it's the equivalent of having people call you the name you prefer or pronouncing your name correctly. (Or recognizing that you're gay or bisexual and not straight.) It's a matter of recognizing their identity the way they experience it rather than the way you do, which to me is just basic courtesy.

Posted
The better way of doing that is to go plural all the way: "Spike your best friends' eggnog when they're not looking." Just move the apostrophe.

 

That doesn't solve the problem of what pronoun to use when referring to someone who doesn't identify as either gender. Or trans people who don't easily "pass" as the gender they identify with. There are people who prefer to be referred to using the gender neutral pronoun "they" even though it's usually thought of as plural. Since the word already exists and is sometimes used as a singular pronoun, it's easier to use and be understood than getting people to adopt gender neutral singular pronouns like "zie."

 

Think of "they" as a substitute for "it," which is singular and non-gendered but which is also impersonal and dehumanizing. For those of you who think this is petty and nuts, it's the equivalent of having people call you the name you prefer or pronouncing your name correctly. (Or recognizing that you're gay or bisexual and not straight.) It's a matter of recognizing their identity the way they experience it rather than the way you do, which to me is just basic courtesy.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...