"Pullin' for Palin?" Really?

September 13, 2008 10:06 PM

What assumptions could be made about someone who wears this Palin t-shirt?

My wife and I saw a 50+-year-old man wearing this shirt in a restaurant with his family earlier today, and have debated ever since whether or not he was actually a Palin fan.

The back of the shirt says "I'm pullin' for Palin," which is just unspeakably horrifying, and the front is a photoshopped image of the Alaska governor in lingerie of some sort. To me, it was super sexist, but my read was that he is a fan of Palin/McCain and doesn't realize his method of expressing it is sort of offensive.

My wife thinks it's a parody of Palin fans. I see both sides.

Who's supposed to be laughing, here? What political party could I assume this guy identifies with? Am I totally missing some sort of meta joke? Am I simply overthinking a stupid t-shirt?

posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! to human relations (29 comments total)

Yes, you're overthinking it.
posted by Class Goat at 10:13 PM on September 13

Well, the person obviously has little respect for women. Everything after that is just gravy.
posted by furtive at 10:15 PM on September 13 [2 favorites]

That they're a douchebag?
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 10:16 PM on September 13 [5 favorites]

What political party could I assume this guy identifies with?

The Idiot Party? You're overthinking this, it's just commenting on Palin's appearance. Seriously, did you read the description of the shirt:

Whether you like her strong conservative values or you are excited about the idea of having a smoking hot VPILF, show the world with this T-shirt

posted by Brandon Blatcher at 10:16 PM on September 13

Maybe I should have specified, what political assumptions. I realize he's rather hideous either way.
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 10:16 PM on September 13

Sometimes you see people who are complete fucktards.

Don't bean-plate it.
posted by wfrgms at 10:21 PM on September 13 [7 favorites]

That they have the mind of a 12 year old. Don't overthink it.
posted by wv kay in ga at 10:30 PM on September 13

Maybe I should have specified, what political assumptions.

I wouldn't be surprised if he were a non-voter who enjoys feeling like he's tweaking the establishment by wearing a tacky but topically-current shirt. Beyond the obvious sexism, I think there's the implicit message that people who seriously concern themselves with the presidential election are eggheads, amirite? However, any assumptions I make about the guy probably reflect more about my own sentiments, both political and civic.
posted by mumkin at 10:34 PM on September 13

Judging by the t-shirt's keywords:

(sarah palin, palin, pullin' for palin, milf, gilf, vpilf, hot mama, pro mccain, john mccain, mccain, obama vs. mccain, nobama, anti barack, anti-democrat, anti liberal, politics, elections, election 2008, president, mcmilf, sara palin, mccain milf, vote mccain palin, mccain palin 2008, gop, republican, conservative, christian, pro life, vote mccain, maverick, maverick and the milf, political humor, funny, humor, humorous, hockey moms, hockey mom, change, mcmilf shirt, mcmilf tshirt, mcmilf t shirt)

...I'd say it's pro-Palin. I think it'd be less disturbing if it were an anti-Palin shirt.
posted by null terminated at 10:36 PM on September 13

I'd expect to see this on a college campus, mainly among the frat crowd. That a 50 year old guy is wearing it seems more than a little sophomorish.

As for politically, I assume the wearer doesn't take politics very seriously at all. Someone who will only vote if they aren't too hung over on election day.
posted by sbutler at 10:56 PM on September 13

I agree with mumkin that it's just a guy who thinks he's oh-so-clever and really showing up the rest of us. Same sort of person who likes to make comments about the "PC police" when his stupid jokes go over like a lead balloon.
posted by Solon and Thanks at 11:28 PM on September 13

IQ lower than 80.
posted by caddis at 11:35 PM on September 13 [1 favorite]

For a year in college, I had a roommate who would buy a lot of crap like this (I know from his ebay profile that he bought a Duke lacrosse T-shirt). Though it's not really a political decision to buy the shirt - it's just a mixture of current events and celebrity - I would describe my roommate's political philosophy as Anecdotalist. He liked stories that reveal manliness or rebelliousness or who they "really are" (flag pin stuff). He would've responded positively to much of the RNC, but I doubt he would've watched it. He also would've responded positively to the part in Biden's DNC speech about his mom telling him to bloody the other kids noses (or the last 20 seconds of this Biden speech, too) - but I doubt he would see that, either. He is basically a "low information voter" (part of the vital idgit demographic) and tended to vote mostly on perceived manliness.
posted by milkrate at 11:38 PM on September 13 [2 favorites]

One of those guys that thinks they are the life of the party but when he leaves said party everyone's relieved?
posted by Miastar at 11:52 PM on September 13

What if he's wearing it to be funny?
Well, he's failing. I don't find it offensive, but I'd certainly think less of a man with children wearing such a shirt.

There is nothing wrong with being judgmental.
posted by atrazine at 2:32 AM on September 14 [2 favorites]

Maybe you should have asked him why he was wearing that shirt. Wearing it in public gives you the opening to talk about it.


I wouldn't care or make assumptions about anyone that does wear it.


Why not? Are you immune to idiocy? The shirt is demeaning to women at least.

Personally, I'd assume that he's an ignoramus, but I'd say something to him to find out.
posted by recurve at 2:33 AM on September 14

I'd assume he was being funny, depending perhaps on his other visual cues. I mean, seriously, you couldn't wear that if you were a supporter of the woman. He's heaping sh*t, surely. That'd be my first guess.
posted by springbound at 3:53 AM on September 14

I'd ask GILF? So is MILF a trademark? Then I'd assume the guy is an boorish lout for wearing a t-shirt in a restaurant. I'll bet his wife was wearing white after labor day. Don't people dress up to go out to dinner anymore?
posted by Gungho at 5:02 AM on September 14

Y'all are reading way too much into it. Take him on his word. He's wearing it because he wants to fuck the governor/vice president to be. And he's damn proud of it.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 6:10 AM on September 14 [1 favorite]

It says that no matter how hard you work to achieve professional success and serve your community*, you can still be reduced to tits and ass and "VPILF."


And that's the part that confused me. I wondered -- would someone who supports mccain/palin really want to broadcast such a demeaning message? I realize we're a nation of idiots, but I just couldn't wrap my brain around this.

So I totally bean-plated it. Yup.
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 6:11 AM on September 14

GILF = Grandmother yadda yadda yadda. I assume refering to Bristol's pregnancy, and thus Palin's imminent grandmotherhood.
posted by amileighs at 6:34 AM on September 14

I had assumed GILF = Governor yada yada yada
posted by chazlarson at 6:58 AM on September 14

GELF?

I think "MILF" (and "*ILF") is one of the stupidest catchphrases to ever come out of a movie. Please, let it die.
posted by jozxyqk at 8:03 AM on September 14

I would bet dollars to donuts that the individual in question also owns a "FBI: Female Body Inspector" hat.
posted by ph00dz at 8:08 AM on September 14

A lot of the shirts on Zazzle can really go either way, and searching for candidates' names will get you an awful lot of anti-them t-shirts. Right after I ordered this one I realized it could be read as anti-Obama... but I figure from a distance it just looks like the O logo, and up close it makes me laugh, so I hope not.

Oh and that guy? definitely a tool. And probably voting for her cuz she's purty.
posted by bink at 8:46 AM on September 14

The back of the shirt says "I'm pullin' for Palin," which is just unspeakably horrifying, and the front is a photoshopped image of the Alaska governor in lingerie of some sort.

Emphasis mine.

Unspeakably horrifying? Really? Now there's some hyperbole! What happened on 9/11 was unspeakably horrifying. This is a t-shirt. Sure, perhaps it is tasteless and inappropriate based on some peoples' views, but let's keep it in proper perspective here.

Yes, you are overthinking.
posted by karizma at 9:19 AM on September 14 [2 favorites]

As others have said, I don't think it's possible to reasonably conclude anything about the guy's politics. However, I think I could pretty safely assume that he's not somebody I'd enjoy talking to.
posted by box at 9:55 AM on September 14

Well, the person obviously has little respect for women. Everything after that is just gravy.

No, it's demeaning to women.

Actually, it's disrespectful and demeaning only to Palin. We don't and can't know how he feels about any other women.

I certainly hope the authors of these comments aren't saying it's OK to lump all members of a group with the behaviors/choices/characteristics of one individual. I hope they aren't saying that it's OK to presume that this guy has the same opinion of all women as he does on one woman.

'Cause it's not.

Reducing others to our own built in stereotypes is prejudice in its rawest and most insidious form. It's intellectually lazy.
posted by gjc at 10:16 AM on September 14

It's disrespectful and demeaning to all women. Misogyny tears us all down and sexist imagery in the marketplace of ideas perpetuate these notions and further them and divert our energies from actual progress because we're constantly having to fight against small minded boars who think that there is any woman, at any time and in any place who deserves to be depicted in this fashion.

If the GOP VP candidate were any other woman, Carly Fiorina, Kay Bailey Hutchison, even Elizabeth Dole, the braintrusts who created this (and other sexualized Palin imagery) would have found some other way to make sexualized, innuendo-laden or sexually insulting jokes, shirts, bumper stickers, etc. about her. We have seen the sickening tripe doled out by the same kinds of "thinkers" about Hillary Clinton, like the "I love country music" rebus t-shirt. It's all one line of thinking, and it should not and cannot be excused, not in this society and not in this era, as anything other than misogynistic, onerous offense that cannot be explained away.
posted by Dreama at 10:54 AM on September 14