Clintons, the UK-based greeting card maker, has been forced to pull one of its birthday cards from retailers after complaints arose on social media about its “sexist” and “disgusting” content. The card features a bear sow lying on her back, legs behind her head and bottom “exposed” with the words “After a few BIRTHDAY DRINKS… she was up for pretty much ANYTHING!”
Writer Lucy Dunn highlighted the card in a series of tweets, stating: “Happy birthday for any woman who ‘deigns’ to have a drink on their birthday. Found this in my local card shop @ClintonsTweet #disgusting”
She also called the card “sexist.”
Shortly after she made her tweet, Clintons responded with an apology and stated that they would be removing the card from sale the next day. Despite their apology, Dunn and others continued speculating on how the card even came to be.
“Oh god, that is SO vile!!!” wrote Siam Goorwich, to which Dunn responded: “Yup! Wrong on SO many levels – what were they thinking?”
Clintons sells numerous funny birthday cards, containing jokes about everyone regardless of gender. It’s only a matter of time before someone complains about those, too.
The still-outraged Dunn complained about the state of her Twitter mentions earlier today, stating that she is “mostly fielding angry twitter people and fighting the good fight.” She used the trending hashtag for International Women’s Day.
Apparently, the international women’s crusade will be fought and won by sticking up for female bears.
Ian Miles Cheong is a journalist and outspoken media critic. You can reach him through social media at @stillgray on Twitter and on Facebook.