'Lands End' customers freak out over 'GQ' cover

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First off, before you start making snap judgments about why anyone would even care these days about a practically naked women on the cover of a magazine, you have to understand the typical group profile of the sort of people who shop from Lands End as a company.

Lands End knowingly and purposefully caters to (and earns large profits in sales to) a group of people who prefer clothing on the conservative end of the spectrum. Denim skirts, ¾ length sleeve collared blouses, think former President George W. Bush’s wife, Laura Bush, or Michelle Duggar, of 19 Kids and Counting fame.

As Lands End is one of the few companies left that sells school uniforms, it also caters to a family-oriented customer base that is likely to have grade-school-aged children living in the home (duh, since they’re still wearing school uniforms). When this is understood, it is easier to get an idea of the ire that has been raised over a recent promotion given by Lands End: a free subscription to GQ Magazine (GQ meaning Gentleman’s Quarterly). As we are pretty much all aware by now, when something says it’s a “gentleman’s” anything, we’re not talking Pride and Prejudice type gentlemen. Think gentleman’s club … wine, women and song. Heck, skip the wine, and go right for the “lite” beer.

As such, following these lines of logic … *deep breath* sending a publication that routinely covers subjects that most parents try to keep their grade-school-aged kids away from for as long as possible wasn’t a good idea. The associate in charge of that decision should have stuck to something like Better Homes and Gardens or Taste of Home. To whomever was in charge of that marketing idea … fail!

It seems that we of the feminist mindset are all too ready to jump down the throats of people [hint: don’t click the link if you don’t wish to see an almost naked female] who complain about this kind of stuff, but if we pause and reflect for just a second … aren’t feminists against the sexual objectification of women’s bodies? Wasn’t that the rallying cry waaay back when? Why, all of the sudden, are we slapping down people who are on our side?

These families who are complaining about this magazine cover are doing what WE should be doing, pointing the finger and saying, “How does THAT inspire respect for a woman for who she is? I don’t want it in my home; it posits all women as objects that exist merely for the sexual gratification of men.” If it was on the cover of a women’s magazine, it would be a little different story, but this is on the cover of a wink-wink gentleman’s magazine that has recently covered articles entitled “The Most Important Moments in Naked TV History” and “The Gentleman’s Guide to Anal Sex.” Not grade-school-family appropriate. If Dad wants to get the magazine, fine, but usually stuff like that comes in a brown paper cover…

However you feel on the subject, at least we should be able to agree that some people have the right to dislike this stuff, have the freedom of speech to say so, and the common rights as human beings to have their dislikes respected. We claim those same rights, right? In the end, this is kind of pointless, because Lands End apologized, alright already! So let’s stop wagging fingers at the denim skirt-wearing mamas that are trying their best to raise some decent kids in this country and concentrate on attacking the real war on women.