Woman’s Message On T-Shirt Enrages Men Everywhere

katystoll/Instagram

A woman has caused a ruckus after tweeting a picture of herself wearing a controversial t-shirt.

When podcaster, writer, producer and actor Katy Stoll tweeted a pic of herself wearing a t-shirt which reads ‘The Past Is Male’ things got heated pretty quickly.

Many of her followers were concerned about the apparent sexism of the top, with some wondering if the Cracked contributor was actually suggesting leaving men behind in the ‘past’ while only championing the achievements of women.

After all, this would indeed be a shockingly sexist and offensive suggestion and people would be in their right to call her up on it. However, not all was what it seemed…

@katystoll/Twitter

One indignant follower scoffed:

The past is male? Isn’t that sexist? I’m offended by your profile picture. That statement is offensively sexist.

Another retorted:

You know someone isn’t striving for equality when they’re wearing a shirt stating ‘The past is male’.

Katy responded to the criticism by explaining why the t-shirt was actually the very opposite of sexist in her opinion.

Rather than imply the future was for one gender – as emblazoned on the much more widely worn The Future is Female t-shirts – Katy was calling for an equal society where both men and women flourish. Which sounds fair enough.

Katy explained:

Some of your sensitive souls are concerned about my shirt! Allow me to explain.

‘The Past is Male’ doesn’t mean I hate men, it means the past was a sexist patriarchy & the future is about equality.

It’s more inclusive than the ‘future is female’ and also funny. Hope that helps!

Plenty of her followers – both male and female – quite liked the t-shirt once they understood there was no nasty man hating going on underneath it whatsoever.

One chap remarked:

I get it. I like it. Anyone who has a problem with it is revealing a lot about themselves and their expectation of preferential treatment.

Another proud man declared:

I love your shirt, and I’m male as hell.

Others were more interested in the beautiful and peaceful scenery in Katy’s photograph, which showed Point Reyes in Northern California.

One person remarked:

Is it wrong that I mostly just want to know where this photo was taken so I can go there with my dog and just sort of frolic or whatever? Looks idyllic.

Another said:

The shirt isn’t offensive, also why worry about what Katy is wearing with that amazing scenery in the background, it’s just a nice picture, thats all.

T-shirts bearing the slogan ‘The Future Is Female’ – which originated way back in the 1970s – have drawn some criticism for not being inclusive enough.

According to Otherwild – the studio which helped bring the retro tee back into fashion – the now-trendy slogan is an ’empowering statement for all.’

Is Katy’s approach more positive, or is it just too confusing?

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Julia Banim

Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.