Picture taken by Penny Ashton Trans activists angered by a statement on a Wicked Campers van say they will take direct action. A rental van, seen in Auckland, reads “ladies if you want a man to leave you alone at a bar tell him you have a penis.” A source from with the transgender community tells GayNZ.com Daily News they are planning to give Wicked Campers vans a paint job of their own. "I'll be buying and distributing cans of paint to spray on all Wicked Campers vans. We will vandalise them and deface them. They are not a safe place to put possessions in,” they say. They add drivers and passengers in the vans will be informed “the message that they're carrying and that their message is likely to be obliterated.” The activists say they have a lawyer who will act for them pro bono. Wicked Campers has been under fire from the Women’s Refuge for its slogans, which the organisation says normalise violence toward women and are misogynistic, particularly one which reads "I've often wanted to drown my troubles, but I can't get my wife to go swimming." The Australian company’s founder has responded by slamming critics as the "humour-inept, self-righteous moral majority". It has previously stated that people who didn’t like its slogans were welcome to paint or tape over them, but has now changed its stance. "Wicked Campers will no longer permit individuals or groups, to in any way manipulate the artwork or general appearance of its vehicles or property. Any person or persons found to be doing so will be swiftly referred to the police/authorities." Response to the van’s slogan The “ladies if you want a man to leave you alone at a bar tell him you have a penis” has had a mixed reaction on social media, with some people disgusted, and others urging them to “lighten up”. “I'm reading Facebook posts that say 'lighten up', 'it's just a joke' and 'it's fucking funny',” says Auckland trans woman Lexie Matheson. “It's not funny and it's this sort of nasty attempts at jock humour that gives permission to the rednecks to resort to physical violence.” Matheson adds: “I did a quick survey of 20 colleagues and 100 per cent of them expressed shock and said there was no way they'd be seen driving a vehicle tagged like that. It's Neanderthal in every way.”
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Thursday, 30th April 2015 - 4:49pm