Stick figure family decals?

July 30, 2010 10:25 PM

What's up with those stick figure family decals on the back windows of vans?

Two years ago, I started noticing white stick figure decals of families on the back windows of large family vans in Silicon Valley. Typically, there would be a cartoon mom, dad, three or four (or more) kids, and a few pets. sort of like this.

Over time, the decals spread to SUVs and station wagons, eventually showing smaller families with one or two kids. Lately, I've seen a few parodies, like this.

What's the back story on these? Asking around has so far drawn a blank. Until decals with smaller families started showing up, I'd have guessed that it was some sort of "I've got a bigger family than you" one-upsmanship. Who are these people?

posted by dws to Society & Culture (55 answers total)

Same thing as bumper stickers about Star Trek or people who have "I [heart] Samoyeds" stickers. People like to announce their interests and affiliations on their cars, and some people's main interest and affiliation is their family.
posted by lore at 10:32 PM on July 30, 2010 [1 favorite]

Not sure exactly, but I came across this yesterday, which might be relevant.
posted by kylej at 10:34 PM on July 30, 2010

They are just little graphics of the family members and the family pets. I don't think it is one-upmanship; more like "oh I have this wonderful family, here they all are!" I started seeing them about 8 years ago. I live in Hawaii, so I am not sure about the mainland, but here people stick all sorts of crap to their cars. I saw them in a catalog of personalized items, not sure, but it might have been Lillian Vernon. This is about the same time I started seeing them on cars.
posted by fifilaru at 10:35 PM on July 30, 2010

My theory is that they're designed to guilt-trip me into not hitting their car with mine.
posted by empyrean at 10:35 PM on July 30, 2010 [2 favorites]

Check out the comments on your flickr link. Some people just think it's nice and friendly.
posted by thejoshu at 10:37 PM on July 30, 2010

Have heard this is very common among Mormon families. Not sure if this is true.
posted by miyabo at 10:47 PM on July 30, 2010 [1 favorite]

I see these all the time. I think they are generally the same as "My kid is an honors student" bumper stickers; people are just proud of their families.
posted by Lobster Garden at 10:51 PM on July 30, 2010

What makes your 'parody' link a parody? Looks like every other stick figure family I've ever seen.
posted by jacquilynne at 11:05 PM on July 30, 2010 [4 favorites]

These decals sort of hit a critical mass around 2008 and have remained popular, but the recurring theme I've found is that they're exceedingly popular with religious couples as miyabo alluded to.

Somewhat unrelated, John Hodgman had a different idea about these.
posted by cgomez at 11:11 PM on July 30, 2010 [5 favorites]

I've seen those and I just take them to be "YAY MY FAMILY" stickers. I think they're cute and sweet! So I assume that's the motivation. They're a little touch of personality, like any bumper sticker or decal, and more about 'this is what I care about' than about politics or cute jokes or whatnot.
posted by Lady Li at 11:29 PM on July 30, 2010

Just starting to see these in Australia. I never thought I'd see something that screamed 'bogan' more than a frangipani sticker.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 11:30 PM on July 30, 2010 [7 favorites]

yeah...i never thought anything would make me miss the 'calvin pissing on hobbes' stickers until i saw those...i'm lobbying the city council to make tubal ligations mandatory for anyone caught driving an SUV with those on it.
posted by sexyrobot at 11:44 PM on July 30, 2010 [4 favorites]

In my town, they seem to be particularly popular with Evangelical families and even moreso with large Mormon families, kind of a "Hey, look at my awesome huge family" kind of thing.
posted by charmedimsure at 11:56 PM on July 30, 2010

Here in Los Angeles I've seen them so much and for so long that this question took me off guard, what sort of podunk towns do you people live in? They've been around all over the place for the past ten years or so, before the huge popularity where you see them everywhere I always associated them with Mexican immigrants. They were always on cars with a Mexican flag and a soccer ball that was obviously "footbal fan" and not "soccer mom". Often with team colors or jersey numbers. My vote goes with the religious tinted look at my awesome big family thing. Now not so much, it's jumped into the mainstream and doesn't mean anything more than "I like stickers."

It may also have been in part the distribution channels, I think here they showed up more in the flea market, street stand, fluffy dice, imported from Mexico trinket market. Like those candles with the saints on them, Mexican Coke, and tax-free cigarettes.
posted by zengargoyle at 12:25 AM on July 31, 2010

In Oakland they're most common among Latino Catholic families. It's getting less common to see names under the figures though.
On one of my band's tours a few years ago we came a huge booth at a flea market in San Diego selling these. We ended up with eight dudes (two bands) and three dogs across the back of the van for the rest of the tour.
posted by gally99 at 12:26 AM on July 31, 2010 [1 favorite]

These are exteremely common here in New Jersey (you often see a dog and/or cat, too), as are similar configurations of decals of large and small flip-flop sandals repesenting each member of the family, due to the prevalence of the beach (aka "Jersey Shore") in the culture, I presume. I've also seen families represented using large and small decals of the Penn State Nittany Lion footprint logo.

I don't personally know anybody with these, but I've never associated them with a religious group, it's always seemed like just a typical suburban family thing. And I've never seen a single parent family, or one with two mommies or daddies depicted.
posted by ellenaim at 1:51 AM on July 31, 2010

We were sitting behind a 4WD at a red light in Sydney a couple of days ago, and my kids were fascinated by the stickers across the bottom of the rear window.

Stick figures of mum, dad, 3 kids (1 boy and 2 girls, apparently), dog, fishbowl, cat, bird... we couldn't figure out what the last one was, no matter how close I dared to creep. I wish I could say it was a camel.

Yep, obiwanwasabi. I file them alongside "Baby On Board" signs and frangipani stickers. Ugh.
posted by malibustacey9999 at 2:29 AM on July 31, 2010

Here (Eastern MA) I most often see them specific to the kids' sporting interests, and not obviously associated with a religious affiliation (well, not that I can tell). This week I saw one with two parents and four kids - a hockey kid, a soccer kid, a gymnast and an I-couldn't-tell-what.
posted by cocoagirl at 2:46 AM on July 31, 2010

No, guys, I'm pretty sure they're doing it just so you can feel smug.
posted by (Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates at 4:29 AM on July 31, 2010 [15 favorites]

There's an Etsy seller who has warlock, witch, little warlocks and little witches.
posted by ersatzkat at 4:39 AM on July 31, 2010 [3 favorites]

I live in a really small town now that has a pretty large Mennonite population and I can't be certain, but I believe it might be popular among those families.

I've been seeing them lately with each family member's name displayed under their stick figure. I can't help but think that publishing your kid's name might assist anyone who has bad intentions: "Hey, Suzie, I know your Mom! She said I should pick you up from school today." But then maybe I'm just citified and jaded.
posted by mireille at 4:43 AM on July 31, 2010 [2 favorites]

alien code messages for other aliens on earth?
posted by Postroad at 4:55 AM on July 31, 2010

i never thought anything would make me miss the 'calvin pissing on hobbes' stickers until i saw those

Calvin doesn't piss on Hobbes in any of those stickers that I have ever seen.
posted by kosmonaut at 5:09 AM on July 31, 2010

Oh, wow. Should have finished coffee before scanning the responses. Maybe there should be some math question you have to answer before hitting post. Glad to know I'm in good company, though.
posted by mireille at 5:26 AM on July 31, 2010

To summon pedophiles! No, not really. But, for lolz: 'I See You Have a Family Decal on Your Car. Now I Will Kidnap Your Kids!'
posted by kmennie at 6:02 AM on July 31, 2010 [1 favorite]

They are very common in Mexico, have been for a few years. They are just a "yay, we're a family" thing. There's even a Facebook app.
posted by clearlydemon at 6:12 AM on July 31, 2010

Argh, I hate those things. I see them all over CT, so I don't associate them with Mormons or Evangelicals or any of the other groups previously mentioned. Here the stress seems to be - aside from how many kids you can fit in your enormous vehicle - how many pets you have. I see lots of little stick-figure dogs.
posted by DestinationUnknown at 6:34 AM on July 31, 2010

There was a school of thought a couple of years ago that only the more affluent could afford large families (expense of kid birth-through-college thought to be prohibitive for us plebes), so perhaps these stickers are a result of affluenza.

Or maybe it's the weird religious sects hell-bent on taking us over with their myriad spawn.

Or maybe, and most likely, these people just like stupid stickers lowering the resale value of their vehicles.

Maybe I'll start cutting red-X's out of duct tape and placing them over random family members on these idiot stickers.
posted by kidelo at 7:06 AM on July 31, 2010 [1 favorite]

Saw one the other day that said "The Ass Family". The characters were named Wise, Smart and Dumb (the dog). Made me laugh....
posted by SoftSummerBreeze at 7:20 AM on July 31, 2010 [1 favorite]

So you mean they're not like the little plane silhouettes they paint on fighter planes?
posted by smcameron at 8:06 AM on July 31, 2010 [11 favorites]

In the upscale New York suburbs they are an inoffensive bit of bragging: "look at me, I've got the money to have 3 or 4 kids and they're not geeks, either." (I've never seen them advertising any activity for the kids other than sports or cheerleading.) Maybe also a bit of self-defensiveness for dads who have to be seen out and about driving a mini-van?
posted by MattD at 8:09 AM on July 31, 2010

I don't think there's really a story behind them or anything. Most likely, someone started selling them in a gift shop and others just took the idea and ran with it. I've seen families with Mickey ears, snorkeling families, and a bunch of families with sporty kids. I have noticed that families who wear lots of "Life is Good" merch seem more likely to have those stickers... confirmation bias?
posted by estlin at 8:19 AM on July 31, 2010

Just seconding that the "parody" link definitely reads as sincere, not parody.

I have seen sets with one adult and 3-4 dogs (no other family members). That reads as a bit of a backlash use, like that's right fuckers. I'm a DOG PERSON.
posted by kate blank at 8:36 AM on July 31, 2010 [1 favorite]

Following kylej, I've seen at least one around here (western NY) with two woman stick figures and a couple of kid stick figures and underneath the stick figures in large letters, "RESPECT OUR FAMILY."

Though now I think I might pick up a few little-kid ones and put them on my driver-side fender.

In DFW, Mexican families stereotypically announced their family name in huge gothic letters on their rear window, and their state or city of origin in smaller ones. So you would know that those were the Guerreros from Nuevo Leon, but not how many Guerreros there were or their relative ages.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:39 AM on July 31, 2010

Come to Utah where I think people have been able to obstruct their back window with these things. The worst is when they have different costumes for their little stick people (Timmy plays football so he needs a helmet!). I've also seen flipflops of different sizes, paw prints, flowers, etc. The list goes on.
posted by msbutah at 8:48 AM on July 31, 2010

A friend of mine also jokes that they are a quick guide for paedos as to which family to follow home.
posted by msbutah at 8:50 AM on July 31, 2010

I dislike these immensely. I know no random stranger gives two craps about my family or interests, because I certainly don't give a flying leap about Timmy and Cindy's soccer and dance classes. But you know, whatever floats these people's boats.

Personally, I think the cheerleading one looks like balls and an odd shaped phallus (but mostly balls), and I have the urge to go up to the children when they're getting into the minivan and creepily address them by name to get the point across that they're way oversharing. But, I as a pregnant girl with a small kid am probably not going to come across as creepy, ever. Dang. *rents ice cream truck, clown mask*
posted by kpht at 9:01 AM on July 31, 2010

I want to see a mash-up with Calvin pissing on a family.
posted by Frank Grimes at 9:06 AM on July 31, 2010 [5 favorites]

I saw the oddest grouping ever just the other day of thses. The family were ghosts and there was a saying beside them, something like "Ghost Pack 12", and then underneath the figures it said "Ghost Hunters".

I was really hoping for a website notation so I could figure out just what creepy stuff was going on!

I've also seen pairs of flip flops representing the kids in the family, with a single flip flip, winged, rising away from the pack, presumably a child that had died. Or, as my son laconically noted, "More like half a kid. What, they couldn't spring for one more flip flop for the dead kid?!"
posted by misha at 10:12 AM on July 31, 2010 [1 favorite]

I have these and so do most of my neighbors. My husband brought them home from some gift shop. I drive a station wagon. I live in the Central Jersey suburbs, my neighbors are all small families, none of us are overly religious.

I put them on because they were cute. That was really my only reason. No statement or whatever.
posted by FunkyHelix at 10:13 AM on July 31, 2010

They're all over the place in the Midwest. Recently I actually saw one with two mommies and two dogs, and one with just a mom and a cat. So I guess even us childless freaks are getting in on the action now.
posted by Green Eyed Monster at 11:25 AM on July 31, 2010

I was behind a vehicle (iirc when I was in Vegas but maybe here) that had a man, a woman with a big red tape X over her and a dog upside-down with his legs in the air. Poor guy must have had a really awful year.
posted by pointystick at 11:38 AM on July 31, 2010 [1 favorite]

My Mum has one of these on the family van. I'm there, fourth in line, with a little hat and rock hammer. Then there's a doctor, and an actor, and a dancer, and all of us represented in stick form. I'd never heard of these things when my sister suggested getting one for Mum's birthday, and was stunned that she thought an $80 sticker was a good idea.

I still think they're a bit cheap and tacky, but Mum likes it. She put it on the back glass door, not the car, but I think the sentiment is intended to be something like a photo album - look at my family, aren't they wonderful! - rather than anything else.
posted by twirlypen at 12:59 PM on July 31, 2010

Here they are - they are awesome. There's also a Mario Family from a new seller.
posted by ersatzkat at 6:23 PM on July 31, 2010

I see these all over the place in the Chicago area. Mostly on SUVs or minivans - I don't see too many just on cars.
posted by SisterHavana at 6:40 PM on July 31, 2010

Man, I wish I had a car just so I could stick up a random number of these.
posted by sdn at 6:57 PM on July 31, 2010

You think the cheerleading ones look like balls -- I had to follow someone to the parking lot of a place that ends in "mart" to get a better look at one of these stickers.
posted by Sallyfur at 8:27 PM on July 31, 2010 [1 favorite]

I prefer to think of them as the SUV's battle flag.
posted by ctmf at 10:21 PM on July 31, 2010

JUst want to say that the largest family I've seen, given these stickers, was Mom, Dad, and 11 kids of descending sizes. And a cat.
posted by The otter lady at 10:46 AM on August 1, 2010

Response by poster: So it's sounding like stick figure family decals

• have been around for quite a while, at least in LA and Hawaii
• have been picked up by various (non-overlapping?) communities (ethnic, religious, regional)
• are being spread through a combination of swap meets, catalogs, gifts shops, a website, and now a few custom vendors.

It still puzzles me that I only see these decals on vans and SUVs, and not on other passenger cars, and that nobody in my group of friends seems to know anyone who has them.

I've also noticed that the population of stick figure decal vehicles in my area is disjoint from both the population of "My Kid was Student of the Month" bumper stickered vehicles and population of 'Pissing Calvin' decal'd vehicles (which tend to be large trucks).

Amusingly strange.
posted by dws at 6:32 PM on August 1, 2010

Families with multiple children generally own SUVs or minivans. SUVs and minivans also have large vertical rear windows on which these decals can be placed and then seen by other people. It should come as no surprise at all that they're mostly seen on those types of vehicles.
posted by jacquilynne at 6:50 PM on August 1, 2010

Response by poster: Or station wagons, yet I rarely see the decals on the back windows of wagons. And there are a lot of station wagons around.
posted by dws at 8:53 PM on August 1, 2010

I defy anyone to cite an earlier reference than this. About 20 years ago I clipped an ad out of a mail order catalog offering this concept as a customizable return address rubber stamp for your letters. Was going to knock it off with an ad in National Enquirer. Shoulda, woulda, coulda. Apparently they have reached critical mass in the form of window stickers. Haven't made it to Hawaii yet, Johnny-come-latelys; I've lost interest.
posted by Muirwylde at 12:12 AM on August 2, 2010

I have the urge to go up to the children when they're getting into the minivan and creepily address them by name to get the point across that they're way oversharing...

A version of this happened on the TV Series Dexter last year. Someone used that info to gain access to the kids. I can't imagine why anyone thinks it's a good idea to announce their kids' names on their vehicle.

(Although I probably had a more tormented youth what with prank calls to our house and what not - I can't imagine what those kids would have done if they had known the cars my folks drove.)
posted by getawaysticks at 6:26 AM on August 3, 2010

Another page from Sallyfur's link shows thought bubbles in varying degrees of appropriateness. Wow.
posted by shannonm at 10:48 AM on August 8, 2010