wicked campers: signed, sealed, delivered
Queensland Campervan hire company, Wicked Campers, has recently come under fire from all sides for perpetuating rape culture by plastering misogynistic slogans on their camper vans for hire.
The specific slogan under question, which states ‘In every princess there is a little slut who wants to try it just once’, has led to a petition with more than 100,000 signatures. It calls for the Australian founder of Wicked Campers, John Webb, Queensland’s Attorney General, Jarrod Bleijie, and Queensland Premier, Campbell Newman, to ‘Eliminate misogynistic and degrading slogans and imagery’ from all Wicked camper vans.
The Change.org petition was started by Paula Orbea after her 11-year-old daughter saw the slogan printed on one of Wicked’s camper vans. Ms Orbea says that the slogan promotes paedophilia and likens it to the trial of Rolf Harris.
‘My daughter was upset by this because she felt, as a girl, that the slogan was referring to her and it made her fear being perceived that way – especially by someone she may cross paths with who may agree with that perspective. [The Slogan] resonates very badly with everyone who thinks it’s abhorrent to sexually assault a girl, especially by groomed males who think “she wants it”,’ Ms Orbea states.
As Ms Orbea points out, this specific slogan isn’t the tip of the iceberg for Wicked Campers. The company has been criticised on numerous occasions. In March of this year the Advertising Standards Bureau upheld an investigation into a Wicked camper van slogan that stated ‘Fat girls are harder to kidnap’.
The complainant’s concerns were that the slogan was sexist and misogynistic. The complainant was also concerned that the slogan condoned violence against women. The Advertising Standards Bureau, however, did not find that the slogan was discriminatory or a vilification of gender.
Other slogans plastered on Wicked vans around town include: ‘A wife: An attachment you screw on the bed to get the housework done’, ‘drink till she’s pretty’, and ‘men have two emotions: hungry and horny. If you see him without an erection, make him a sandwich’.
Wicked Campers has delivered a response stating that they just want ‘to have a good time’ and that they did not ‘set out to be controversial’.
‘We poke fun at everything more broadly, it’s never specifically targeted at anyone in particular at all,’ Wicked Campers spokesperson, Leanne Webb, told SBS News.
Lipsters, if you think that Wicked Campers has surpassed making a funny and instead travelled into sexist and misogynistic territory, you can sign the petition here.
[UPDATE: In light of the online petition above having attracted over 100,000 signatures, Wicked Campers has officially withdrawn “misogynistic marketing” from its fleet of campervans. A statement from the company reads: ‘Wicked Campers Owner, John Webb wishes to acknowledge the prevailing community opinion by REMOVING the slogan in question and making a commitment over the coming six months to changing slogans of an insensitive nature’. Way to go, amazing people of the Internets! – Ed.]
