The above phrase should have been taken down in a statement to the police on why I had to strange a woman who came into the store with her young daughter and son. You think this kind of thing wouldn’t happen; I’m fairly obviously a female behind the counter of a comic shop and so therefore, any arguement that comics are “just for boys” seems retarded. But as I approached this woman holding on to her daughter’s hand as if she were going to be pursesnatched, I was perfecly polite to ask her if she needed any help.
We got a good customer service thang going on at Metro, or at least we give it the old college try. Some people jump back in fear, some give me a condescending look and others are just silent as they point to their curious child making a mess of our action figure selection and explain that “Oh no, we’re with him.” And that’s okay. I can’t make you be interested in what your child likes and after 7 long years of working at my comic shop, I’ve come to terms with that. I can go over to that small child and normally find a great conversation on how awesome Batman is and who that action figure is and might actually come away with a good sale from time to time.
But what I can’t understand, and don’t even want to, is disparaging the store IN FRONT OF ME. When I asked this woman if she needed help finding anything, she begged off any comment explaining that she and the little girl would be going to Old Navy across the street and were giving her son ‘equal time’. She could have even stopped here and we’d be cool! What elementary school aged little boy wants to hang out with his mom while she and his sister look at t-shirts and other boring clothing things? That’s awful kind of them to try and get him a book so he can be entertained, right?
But no.
This woman went on to say with a smirk that he needed time in a, and I quote, “ugly boys’s store”.
Now, I know you can think of your own witty retort, but at the time, I was struck dumb by her … dumbness. Was she really trying to tell me that this store, my store, was ugly and for boys only? She didn’t just call her son ‘ugly’ in front of me? Was this bitch for real? I repeated her words and she didn’t back down, realizing how far her foot had gone into her mouth, but tried to get me on her side by adding, “Well, you know…”
No, lady, I don’t! I don’t know! AUGH!
Still aghast, I choked out something about how comics promote literacy and have a wide variety of stories to tell and how there are Classics Illustrated based on major works of literature. “Well, it sounds like you read a lot when there’s no one here,” she cheekily replied and steered her daughter from the counter.
I left them alone. When they left, I said thank you and turned to my fellow co-worker and we took a moment. I thought I was going to burst a blood vessel.
So remember folks: there are people who think comics are just for kids. There are people that think comics are just for adults. And then there are those who would rather be assigned on what to think and what to read purely based on gender.
6 Comments
Don’t sweat it. To some people the idea of reading a comic is so foreign it might as well be Martian. They’re not trying to make a judgment so much as grasp the concept. It’s simply something that has never occurred to them for consideration. It sounds like you acted cool as a cucumber about it and that’s exactly what you should have done. Maybe later, (that evening, the next day, the next week) something will click in her head and she’ll understand a little better. …maybe.
I’ve mentioned the story on my site where a mom came in to our store with her son, and she obviously wasn’t happy about being there. “Why do you want to read these things…do you want to turn out like those people?” — gesturing in the direction of me and pal Dorian.
If the feminists are right about the comics, I’d think they’re ugly boys things too. And if they’re right, I wouldn’t really want my hypothetical little girl reading them, ’cause I wouldn’t want her to see some of the art and I wouldn’t want to answer questions like, “daddy, why’d Major Bloodrageblackrazor cut up Lady Extreme and serve half of her to her boyfriend Liefield Anatomy Lad?”
It’s one thing, I guess, for the ignorant to diss comics, but sometimes, y’know . . . we know they’re pretty right. You don’t even have to try that hard, whether it’s good old sexism back in early Avengers or Fantastic Four, or the cheese cake women in fridges today.
Krod: I think it’s symptom of a larger problem. I saw Peter David at WizardWorld a couple weeks ago and I simply could not look him in the eye and take him to task about how bad I think She-Hulk is. The fact that this woman could tell me that I worked at an ‘ugly boys store’ to my face is far bigger than her ignorance about the funnybooks.
Mikester: See? It’s an occupational hazard.
Andrew: You do have a point, but I think my shock and awe came more from her ability to insult me and what I do for a living (as much as it could be considered a living) to my face rather than any sort of feminist issue. Though… come on. While some books are more than certainly for the ‘ugly boys’ crowd, there’s also a lot of awesome. You can’t throw out the whole TV for VH1’s Rock of Love, per se.
I get the feeling she would also call Borders an ‘ugly boys’ store’.
The comment about reading a lot didn’t strike me as coming from a person who values that activity.
I might be really reaching for what is at best a weak defense of the lady, but she may have meant “ugly” to describe the store and not the boys she imagines are its only customers (i.e., “ugly store for boys” vs. “store for ugly boys”). It doesn’t forgive her for her mind-boggling rudeness, but it’s slightly more reasonable to imagine that she’s criticizing the store’s design than its patrons, including her own son.
Of course, you heard her and I didn’t, so maybe it was pretty clear from her delivery what she meant, and then even this defense can’t help her. I’m not suggesting your store is ugly, of course, never having seen it, but your typical comic store aesthetic is, well, particular enough that I could see how someone who was unfamiliar with them might be pretty turned off by it.
Regardless, that boy is going to need a lot of time away from mom if he has any hoping of learning some manners. Sheesh!
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