That's comedian Cathy Carlson's catchphrase. She uses it in all of her standup routines, and has had it printed on a whole line of clothing and stickers.
I actually really like the message. It mocks the old "You fight like a girl/play like a girl/etc." adages. And it boldly says, 'Hey! Women like to get off, too.' (Sadly, that's still a pretty radical message.)
Carlson recently tried to trademark the phrase, but was denied because the law says trademarks cannot be granted for "immoral, deceptive, or scandalous matter," says Patrick Shanahan, the investigating US patent attorney.
Citing Section 2 (a) of the Trademark Act, Carlson’s application to register the phrase “You cum like a girl� had been refused on the grounds of being “scandalous� and “vulgar,� with the phrase’s offending verb defined as a “vulgar slang term for ejaculation at the time of orgasm.� Shanahan provided examples of similar rejections and explained why other attempts to register phrases with “cum� passed muster and Carlson’s didn’t. He also suggested why the word “orgasm� might make a suitable PG-13 replacement.
Yeah, but "You Orgasm and Ejaculate Like a Girl" doesn't have quite the same ring to it. The government has approved trademarks for other phrases with the word "cum," including Cum Partay (bumper stickers) and Cum Together (adult DVDs). They're acceptable because "those are just different spellings of the word 'come,' and don't refer to somethng explicitly sexual. Riiiight.
It's also worth noting that the government, apparently in an effort to make her understand why the phrase was offensive, emailed Carlson's personal account with dozens of photos of women covered in ejaculate-- with no letter of explanation.
“What does this have to do with my shirt?� Carlson remembers thinking.
Clearly US patent attorneys can't read the phrase "You cum LIKE a girl," without mentally switching it to "You cum ON a girl." Ann at Feminist Law Profs highlighted this problem with prepositions:
Carlson is correct that Shanahan’s inability to conceptualize “cum� in any way other than a male ejaculating on a woman is disturbing, especially since cumming like a girl suggests an absence of semen altogether.
Absolutely. My savvy lawyer pal Erin also reminded me that Dykes on Bikes was involved in a long-running trademark battle for similar reasons. (Apparently the government considered the word "dyke" offensive.) But other phrases that I find immoral/offensive -- sports team names like the Redskins, for example-- are trademark-protected. Not okay.
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It's also worth noting that the government, apparently in an effort to make her understand why the phrase was offensive, emailed Carlson's personal account with dozens of photos of women covered in ejaculate-- with no letter of explanation.
Uh, that's pretty damn creepy and strikes me as grounds for a lawsuit. Seriously. Somebody should have been fired for this.
Cheers,
TH
Saw this quite a while ago, and liked it:
http://mightygirl.net/iflag.html
Similar, and yet different. I should get one of each.
Somehow I think this is very different from a boy saying to a girl 'you fight like a girl'. Most girls do.....fight like girls. Hair pulling, slapping, scratching, not like when guys fight at all. Guys get right to it, start throwing punches.But I digress...
It strikes me as ironic that a woman's best comback to a man, a remark that is supposed to insult him sexually, just says that he 'cums like a woman'...is this saying that female orgasms are somehow inferior? I don't understand how you can purportedly insult someone by...comparing them to yourself.
Still snickering over this one, and not feeling the LEAST bit empowered by it!
I don't think it's supposed to be an insult. That said, I'm not a big fan--just doesn't strike any chords with me.
Well, is the cumming to which the shirt refers contingent on a man? That's the question it instantly raises in my head. Of course, the follow-up -- from a feminist standpoint, does it matter whether or not a man's efforts are involved?
I don't get it either. What makes it funny? Just seems crass to me.
Our government is really freaking weird sometimes.
Daft catch-phrase anyway, doesn't really address anything, besides being offensive to all genders (depending on one's perspective) and to sexual individuality. Not really funny at any level.
What ignoramus wouldn't know "Women like to get off, too."? Don't see your point, apart from Trademark discrepancies.