Last week, I asked your opinion whether I was being too sensitive when it came to this photo:
Which was printed out and put up on the wall of a sports pub where I went to watch El Clasico.
I emailed them the following (with some identifying information removed):
So I’ve been thinking about it and I’m wondering if you’re not doing yourself a disservice by having that print-out on the wall turning a generically pretty fat girl into a generically pretty thin girl (though the breast size stays the same, of course) through the “power of beer.”
I know it’s supposed to be a joke, but it kind of makes you all look like ignorant jerks, which I’m pretty sure isn’t the case. Ignorant because really, in 2011 are we still making fun of fat chicks?
I mean ignoring the basic misogyny and bigotry in it, it’s just so old, like calling something “gay” as an insult or using the phrase “colored people.” It’s embarrassing!
Plus, I’m pretty sure a lot of your clientele are either big girls themselves or are dating/married/attracted to big girls.
So not only are you insulting fat chicks, which is lame, you’re effectively insulting the taste of the people (or in the case of big girls, the actual people) who spend their money at your establishment and come on…that’s not only bad from a decent-human-being aspect, it’s bad business too.
There are precious few places to watch proper football in this town, especially as a female fan.
It’s pretty much you and [redacted] and I know you guys are the underdog. I’d hate to see something as stupid as a joke poster (no matter how poor the taste) affect your sales even a little. Seriously, I’m not the most morally resolute girl on the block and even I have a hard time justifying that it’s ethically okay to financially support some place that’s okay with discriminating –even via dumb print-out– against someone based on how they look.
Hala Madrid!
Miss Plumcake
To which I received this response:
Miss Plumcake:
Thank you for taking the time to address your concerns to us. If you have been a frequent customer of ours then you will appreciate that we do cater to a significant number of full figured and larger women. We pride ourselves in providing a safe and inviting place for women to feel comfortable and relaxed without being pestered or feeling on show. In that vein, I can appreciate your view point and have removed the picture.
Thank you again for bringing that to our attention.
And you know? I’ll take it. Do I think for one hot buttered second they have realized the error of their ways and are wearing hairshirts at this very moment? Eh, not really.
What I do think is they saw an email sent from the biggest media outlet in town and panicked a little. Then after some cursory googling panicked some more and thought “Oh crap, we really do not want this to get media attention” and responded.
If it occurred to them to be a little more thoughtful about what they put up because you never know who is going to be there, that’s just gravy. And if they actually did think “hey, you know I guess this kind of DOES make us look like jerks.” then alleluia with knobs on.
Would I have gotten the same response if I’d just been some random emailer who didn’t buy ink by the tanker truck? I’d like to think yes, but I’m not sure.
Scoooooore!
I think you maintained a perfect tone – articulate, reasonable, professional and dare I say ‘ladylike’. And most importantly, you won – and you can feel comfortable to go back to the bar and root for your fav team.
Did you change their minds? – I’m not betting the farm on it, but you DID change the environment for yourself and other women who want to go there. And you raised their awareness of what’s acceptable in public, even if they don’t agree. That’s important.
You didn’t huff off, cry into your pillow or insult some hapless bartender. You acted like a grownup and got the result we all wanted.
Thank you for engaging us in an important conversation and letting us know how you resolved it.
Comment by Thea — April 25, 2011 @ 3:15 pm
Brava, Ms. Plumcake! Very well done.
Comment by Linda Mercury — April 25, 2011 @ 4:12 pm
Bien hecho, Ms Plumcake. Well done indeed.
Comment by aa — April 25, 2011 @ 4:17 pm
Bravo! Thank you for standing up for curvy gals who enjoy a beer without negative vibes from a ignorant poster. You ROCK!
Lori
Comment by Lori — April 25, 2011 @ 4:38 pm
you know, I’ve never even thought about writing a place about something like that. Maybe if it were a place I frequented often. But honestly, never have had that thought myself. And they wrote back! and they took it down!
yee ha!
Comment by larkspur — April 25, 2011 @ 5:43 pm
Super Like.
Comment by Church Mom — April 25, 2011 @ 6:09 pm
Perfectly done Miss P!
=)
Comment by Leah — April 25, 2011 @ 11:28 pm
I’d call that a win. At the very least, you made them think about the environment that they provide. And you never know – it may actually have made someone think a bit.
It’s so great when it works!
Comment by ZaftigWendy — April 26, 2011 @ 2:18 am
FANTASTICO!! Well-written letter, and wonderful response. Much better than I would have done – it would have been all I could do not to rip their faces off. The best was how you brought up their competition and then insinuated that they would be even more the underdog if they kept this up!
Comment by Jen — April 26, 2011 @ 9:30 am
Good on ya for addressing it. I guess the good thing is they DID take it down and their response to you, in my eyes, was respectful and acknowledging of their clientele. So, I’d say it’s a +1.
Comment by MrsBug — April 26, 2011 @ 10:26 am
Brilliant! Well done and fabulous.
Comment by Lisa from SoCal — April 26, 2011 @ 11:23 am
Excellent, excellent letter and good for the bar for responding appropriately (i.e. anything but “nuh uh!!”).
Comment by Sarah — April 27, 2011 @ 12:16 am
Regardless of their motives the offensive image was removed! I think you wrote an excellent letter, intelligent, well written and respectful.
But most importantly, you stood up for what you believe in and actually did something about it. If only more people acted instead of whine, this world would be a better place!
Comment by coffeeaddict — April 28, 2011 @ 8:22 am
This past week my husband sent me a link to Gizmodo (which he frequently does) and it had an article about beer goggles that featured that very picture. Now, I’m a big girl and he obvious like big girls because he married me. Perfect example of two people who get offended by that stuff…and he reads that blog every single day!
Comment by Laura — May 7, 2011 @ 8:28 pm