Friday, August 8, 2008

The tops, the names and the adventurer

I am really amazed at the kind of inscriptions I see lately on people’s tops or T-shirts. I wonder what the maker was thinking and even more so what the people that buy or wear some of these outfits were thinking. Take for instance, a very young girl in my church had come in one faithful Sunday wearing a top with this inscription on it “if you think I am a bitch, wait till you meet my mother”. I was shocked!!! I went to her and asked her if she understood what that writing was and how she got the top. She told me her mother got it for her!!! We are both ushers in the same church, I mean the mother of the girl and I. I went to her and asked her how she could ever allow her daughter to wear something like that. She did not have much to say. I pleaded with her not to let her wear this top again. What a message to carry about.

I saw another one at my bank. I had gone to withdraw some money using my ATM card; there were others before me, so I had to wait my turn. There came this fine looking lady. I looked at the inscription on her top “He is my boyfriend, BITCH”. What is this world turning into?
Or was it the one with the “F” word spelt somewhat wrongly which is deliberate anyway. “FCUK you”. Ah, and someone wore this!! I have seen so much more and I wonder if the makers are deranged, weird and thought there will always be some like them that will buy their products. Yes, they have their customers.

Just for laughs, I was on my way to work one day, coming toward me was a lady in a customized T-shirt of a company selling JUICE. The writing on the T-Shirt was right on her chest and it read “Natural Fruit- best quality”. Hmmm the breast or the juice?. Not funny!!!

Have you noticed the trend in Naija-ish names on blogville? Like we have
  1. Naijababe
  2. Naijalines
  3. Naijaleta
  4. Naijagurl
  5. Naijaidol
  6. Naijaqueen
  7. Naijamother
  8. Nigeriandramaqueen
These names succefully wear our enblem, our logo and our own very Nigeria………… proudly Nigerian, I dare say!!!

I think I should mention it to you that there is a systa on a trip by road across
Africa. She blogs about her experience as she moves on daily. Check it out

28 comments:

onydchic said...

Ah come on standtall... lighten up!! I find the fact that the MOTHER gave the top to her daughter kinda funny to be honest. I personally don't have what it takes to wear such, though, mainly because I hate attention of any kind... but most of them are amusing tho!

Lighty 'neferet' Kopearl said...

lol @ the if u think i am a bitch wait till u meet my mother.

and the mother bought it. lololool!!! now thatz a trip

there are some funny ones though. and some quizzie ones too. but i really cannot imagine why people wear rude t-shirts. i mean dats just rude.

Lighty 'neferet' Kopearl said...

lol @ the if u think i am a bitch wait till u meet my mother.

and the mother bought it. lololool!!! now thatz a trip

there are some funny ones though. and some quizzie ones too. but i really cannot imagine why people wear rude t-shirts. i mean dats just rude.

LG said...

@the gal in church: buahahahaha its a lie!!! n the “Natural Fruit- best quality”: they r very natural na, lol
babes, u neva see kolomental?? even 'faze' give okocha one customised 'kolomental' jersey as gift, u need to see how okocha dey shine him teeth,*grins*
tho' it wldnt be a bad idea to see pple with I AM A STANDTALLER's inscribed on their tee-shirts/jerseys instead of FCUK n the rest of dem
wat do u say?? i mean biz o
*winks*

Grahamn Kracker said...

I see the humor, but I would never have allowed my daughters to wear a t that said that about their mother. But neither would ever do so, anyway.

Thanks for the link to the lady walking Africa. I must read it.

Did you receive my email? The button is up. It comes with a huge amount of white space and I must see if I can find a way to get rid of that white space.

Each time I make a new post, I will move the button into that post. If I can find a way to get rid of the white space, I will put it up high in the sidebar as well.

As you have so many more readers than I do, people who are interested in you and what you have to say, I think it will be helpful for you to tell your readers and to make a link.

O'Dee said...

Stand Tall, u cant say d “Natural Fruit- best quality” thingiee isn't 4nee oh; it is really 4nee.

I believe the inscription on the tops say a lot about those who wear them. So if a babe is wearing a shirt saying, "he's my BR BITCH", she probably has serious issues.

The FCUK one is a designer; French Connection. And really no harm is intended, its just a designer.

Writefreak said...

I thought i was the only one that noticed the crazy Tshirts people wear around...
'don't make babies, make love'
'what do you need big boobs for if you've got an ass like mine..'
the list is endless! And a parent would buy a top like that for her kid! God have mercy!

Black Cat said...

Hi, it's nice to meet you. Thanks for signing my guestbook, I love seeing new friends (and old, of course!) there. I tried to find you through Google but couldn't, but I found Grahamn Kracker and from him, you! You both have good blogs and I've added you both to my Bloglines. It is great how he is trying to help you to get your cats fixed.

I agree with you about the rude t-shirts. I think it's a sign of the times.

As to Genesis, I wonder about this too. "There were giants in those days and men of renown". I wonder if that could be the explanation? I just don't know. I think maybe Genesis is kind of like a parable to explain creation in a nutshell, so to speak, and not meant to be taken literally.

Last but not least, I read your post about how you came to have 11 cats and I was shocked by some of the comments. There seems to be a lot of superstition and hatred for cats in Nigeria. This makes me sad and it must make you sad too:-(

Sorry this is so long. I really hope you get things sorted out for the cats.

Naija Idol said...

Proudly Nigerian!!!

As for the T-shirts i got one last year that says "im not interested". Ive worn it just twice and didnt even go out with it cos my mum HATED the shirt.Just loved the colour when i bought it.Gave it to my cousin who wears it proudly.
I dont think ill ever buy any other sha.

aloted said...

lol @ tshirts..orisirisi

my husband works in the TV entertainment industry and he gets a lot of freebies from his clients. Anyway the other day he brought home a CTU (u know 24- Jack Bauer) tshirt which i really like and check this- a "I am a gold digger" tshirt (i think it's from the series My name is Earl). I was like shu..lol..anyway i cant wear the tshirt out lailai..but i wear it in the house sha..cuz it's a nice tshirt and for the record i am not a gold digger...

lol

isha said...

I see the FCUK ones all the times, and I always think of the 'F' word, before I remember that it's a designers logo. lol.

I need to check systa out, cos I need to be doing what she's doing too.

Nigerian Drama Queen said...

Yes oh, I gotta rep 9ja!LOL
FCUK is a designer (French Connection UK). But I thought I was the only one who noticed some of the T-Shirts out there 2day. As far as Im concerned, what you wear says alot about you and your level of respect for yourself. In my opinion, there is just no excuse for wearing the B word as a woman.
Crazyyyy
For some great t-shirts, check out Barcelagos: http://sugabelly.blogspot.com/

She has some great 9ja ones too!

Hunter girl said...

LOL on the tee shirt palava...i must admit sha that i love those tee's!!! Infact i used to have one that spelled out the following.......FUCKSTRATED!!!!....
Yeah crazy stuff, my friends were always embarrased when i wore it!!! Anyhoo, its now too small and i am too self concious to wear it anymore!!!But i'd like to buy the one for natural juices!!! Infact that might be a good business idea!!!LOL...just joking!

NaijaScorpio said...

I think to message tees are a teenage phase, esp the really bitchy ones. I used to wear those, but i grew out of it. These days i hardly wear stuff with messages on it, unless it's my favorite sweater which says "naija gurl".

The Activist said...

Onydchic:
Thanks for your comment. It's just that some of the crazy, weird T-shirt arent funny at all. Just look at the "B" word. I cant stand it when a woman is refer to as a bitch, just the way I cant stand it when women are called "ashawo or whore"

Lighty 'neferet' Kopearl:
That is the right word "Rude" shirts

LG:
I am a STANDTALLER biz will be a good one o. When are we having the pidgin classes for me and my feline kids? ***wink***

Grahamn Kracker:
You are a sweetheart!!! I am gratfeul to you. Yes, I will make a link and tell my readers about yoru good heart..... Have you checked out the lady walking africa blog?

OluwaDee:
the natural fruit part is 4nee na. I like the way you wrote "4nee". I just put "not funny" in a lighter mood. Like when someone is laughing too hard and u go "not funny" u get me? I know of the Fcuk designer but "fcuk you" mba

Writerfreak:
ah your addition is superb. Thank God it wasnt only me that noticed these things

Black Cat:
I am so happy you took the trouble to find my blog. You are a darling. Sorry I didnt wait long enought to leave you a comment which woudl have made it easier for you to locate my blog. Thanks a lot for adding me to your blog roll. I am reciprocating right away.
I thank you for identifying with the issues at hand i.e my cats, genesis etc. Your comment wasn't long. And I love it

Naija Idol:
yes o, proudly Nigerian!!! That your tee inscrption is very nice o(lol)

Aloted:
trust me I know you are not a gold digger (lol)

Isha: i dont think the fcuk designer is the same as the fcuk you own. An imitation I think

NDQ:
Deep thinking!!! The Fcuk is different from the fcuk you I think. I think I have being to sugarbelly blog a number of times. I gotta go again

Hunter girl; I am not surprised you love the weird tees o arent you a hunter? It's in the blood. But I doubt if you will be able to stand the ones wiv the "F" word

Sting:
Hmmm I think the message we pass across to our kids are important. I wont be surprised if they start using those "B" and "F" words frequently when they wear those tees with rude inscriptions. I know that it's cool to wear weird tees as kids but the kids custodians should be careful what message they let them wear. I doubt if you can let any kid you know wear "if you think I am a bitch, wait till you meet my mother"

Sugabelly said...

Actually FCUK does produce the t-shirts that say FCUK You. They also produce another one that has words like Eat, Sleep, Work, etc written in the background all over the t-shirt, and then the word FCUK written boldy somewhere on the t-shirt. You see they make a play on the fact that in that way it looks like a list of things you do everyday, FUCK being one of them.

The company known as French Connection in the United Kingdom is very well aware that their logo closely resembles the word FUCK and so they make t-shirts like this one as a tongue in cheek effort at pushing the envelope and ruffling people's feathers.

Thanks OND for mentioning my t-shirts!! And thanks you for stopping by my blog.

Sugabelly said...

omg so sorrry. Thank you NDQ!! :)

badderchic said...

Eya, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. to church? ignorance really is a disease.

Grahamn Kracker said...

Yes, Standtall; I have read every word of Chioma's blog. I plan to follow her journey to its conclusion.

Thanks again. I would never have known about it, were it not for you.

Grahamn Kracker said...

Standtall! Good news, it seems! As it appearss that not all my emails get through to you, I thought I had better drop in a comment to let you know that it appears that the full neuter amount is now covered!

I will keep you informed.

Afrobabe said...

I actually find the church girls's tee shirt hilarious especially since it came from her mum...babe if we become too moral we become boring...

though it shouldn't have been a church attire...but I guess the principle was....if i can wear it outside proudly without shame i should be able to wear it to church...

Marian said...

Girl, your blog is definately food for thought. All your posts had me thinking.
In reference to this particular post...
Some say if they label fits..wear it? People do not realise how powerful logo's,slogans,statements and labels on garments are. More often than not we unconsciously wear clothes with no objective thought.why not some may ask?It is only fashion right? No actually it is more than we think. Many fashion designers are either trying to raise awareness to a particular cause/issue via the use of strong slogan t-shirts.Good case in point is fashion designer and politcal and ethical activist Katherine Hamnett. She uses slogan T-shirts to protest against war,sweatshop labour and varying other causes. I have known people to wear certain slogan t-shirts not because they support or even know what it's taking a stance for but simply because it looks good. The girl in church whose mother bought her the top proclaiming her mother as the B word...surely does not think her mother is what her garment proudly proclaims. I think it is all a slight lack of ignorance.Designers do not just design for the sake of it.Each item is either telling a story,concept or silently taking some sort of stance.
x Marian

Marian said...

Girl, your blog is definately food for thought. All your posts had me thinking.
In reference to this particular post...
Some say if they label fits..wear it? People do not realise how powerful logo's,slogans,statements and labels on garments are. More often than not we unconsciously wear clothes with no objective thought.why not some may ask?It is only fashion right? No actually it is more than we think. Many fashion designers are either trying to raise awareness to a particular cause/issue via the use of strong slogan t-shirts.Good case in point is fashion designer and politcal and ethical activist Katherine Hamnett. She uses slogan T-shirts to protest against war,sweatshop labour and varying other causes. I have known people to wear certain slogan t-shirts not because they support or even know what it's taking a stance for but simply because it looks good. The girl in church whose mother bought her the top proclaiming her mother as the B word...surely does not think her mother is what her garment proudly proclaims. I think it is all a slight lack of ignorance.Designers do not just design for the sake of it.Each item is either telling a story,concept or silently taking some sort of stance.
x Marian

Buttercup said...

awwww standtall, u r such a darling! lol...

i can understand those inscriptions being offensive to some..

poeticallytinted said...

Some t-shirt inscriptions are a hoot. Some are not, like you've rightly pointed out. I used to wear one that said "Look at my face while I talk to U" across the chest. I loved it and wore it to shreds! I found it ironic because my bra size at the time was 32A.

The Activist said...

@Sugabelly :u r welcome. I never knew that FCUK produce the "Fcuk you" shirts until u mentioned it

@Baddechic: you are right o

@GK: you are very welcome

@Afrobabe: it was really not about wearing it to the church that is my main focus at all. It is about wearing it at all. Aside, I don't believe in strict morality but I still feel that there are some inscriptions that are degrading, downgrading and rude to wear....

@THE HOUSE OF STYLE: you have said it all. Thanks for visiting my blog

@Buttercup: thanks dearie...

@Adorable: lmao..................

rethots said...

...maybe i don't really have a problem with the makers of these tops (freedom of 'will') but, with the people wearing them. They (scream) no self-image, please notice us.

doll (retired blogger) said...

I have one that says "am a doll, just look at my lashes" i really luv tshirt with inscription but i cant wear one that slights my mom. WTF?

As per the blog name mayb i should change mine to naijadoll

My Passion, my focus, the change that I want to see in the world - is my propellent factor.

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