Bic Says ‘Sorry’ For Sexist Social Media Post
Stationary maker Bic caused upset across the internet yesterday when it posted an image celebrating South Africa’s National Women’s Day.
The post told women to “look like a girl, act like a woman, think like a man and work like a boss”, simultaneously suggesting that women should infantilise and masculinise themselves to make their way in the business world.
After a huge social media backlash, Bic apologised on its South African Facebook and Twitter accounts.
“We’re incredibly sorry for offending everybody,” the pen-maker’s full post reads. “That was never our intention, but we completely understand where we’ve gone wrong. This post should never have gone out. The feedback you have given us will help us ensure that something like this will never happen again, and we appreciate that.”
The words seem to be taken (without credit) from a song by American rapper Lizzo, who has not commented on the furore.
It’s not the first time Bic has come under fire for sexism; its ‘Miss BIC range’ is a special lineup of pink pens made ‘for her’ and was subject to a number of sarcastic reviews on retail sites in 2012.
Of course, some internet users took Bic’s latest fail as a good excuse to get creative.
