Joanna Schroeder explains to gossip-mongers everywhere that Will Ferrell was actually making fun of them when he coined the term “Trampire” and that using the word to support R-Patz is actually sorta bad for society.
First, people, Kristen Stewart and Rob Pattinson’s break-up has nothing to do with you.
Second, it won’t change anything whether you think R-Patz cheated on K-Stew first or whether she is a cheater-cheater-pumpkin-eater. Your opinion on who was at fault doesn’t make anyone’s life better in any way.
Third, by calling Kristen Stewart a Trampire (even if you’re doing it all ironical and whatnot), you’re slut-shaming. It doesn’t matter if you consider Kristen Stewart’s acknowledgment of having had an affair with a married man to be an admission of “trampy-ness”. Here’s why: You’re giving tacit approval to the use of a term that is a pejorative in reference to a woman’s sexuality.
It’s hard to believe this is even a conversation, isn’t it? It all came about when I stumbled upon a top-read HuffPo article called Kristen Stewart Trampire Shirt Lets You Show Your Stance by Rebecca Adams.
Feel strongly about Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson’s heartbreaking cheating scandal? Well, you’re in luck because you now have a t-shirt to share your stance with the world.
Online retailer Skreened is offering t-shirts emblazoned with the phrase “Kristen Stewart Is A Trampire” (you know, that damning word Will Ferrell used to describe the actress on “Conan”). If you’re not too into the “T” word, shirts that say “Robert Pattinson Deserves Better” and “Kristen Stewart [expletive] Sucks” are also available on the site among other variations on the theme.
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If you haven’t seen the Will Ferrell interview (which is actually a little skit) on Conan, please go watch it here, and realize that Will Ferrell’s coining of the phrase “Trampire” is a joke… The whole thing is a joke upon the people who actually give a shit about the relationship of two total strangers whom they know nothing about. Does Will Ferrell give a crap about these two? No! I think I even heard him say Robert Pattinson’s name wrong.
If you’re one of the people who feels compelled to wear a shirt that says, “Trampire” in order to show your support for Robert Pattinson, please realize that R-Patz doesn’t know you’re wearing it, and therefore doesn’t care. If you really want him to know that you support him, create a Tumblr or something telling him you love him and that you hope he someday finds true love with a deep level of intimacy and trust. You can even suggest yourself as a candidate if you want! Then email his fan club or find his publicist’s email and shoot the URL over to him or her (sorry, publicists).
The people who may actually care about your shirt could possibly be the women who’ve been called “sluts” or “whores” or “tramps” in their lives by really terrible people. I’m not saying you have to be sensitive to everyone in the entire world and anticipate everybody’s hang-ups, but if you’re going to upset a few people and propagate negative images of female sexuality, at least do it for something that matters, not because you love movies about vampires.
Why is he making fun of you? Because there are legitimately important things happening in the world at large, and probably in your own life. For instance, the number of American service people who commit suicide has now exceeded the number of service people who have died in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. Another example, Rep. Todd Akin just recently said that people who are “legitimately raped” are not likely to get pregnant. And did you know that statistics show that 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys will be sexually abused before they are 18 years old? Finally, just FYI, there is an election looming.
If that’s all too depressing, there are a billion other things you can be doing in your life, friends. Pursue a skill or higher degree. Maybe wash your dog or volunteer somewhere. You could even talk about R-Patz and K-Stew with your pals in a way that doesn’t propagate negative terminology about female sexuality.
Tee shirt apparently available at Skreened
So, just out of curiosity, if a woman cheats on me, and that upsets me, is that okay? Or am a “woman-hater” for being upset?
Also, if a man cheats, is he also immune to criticism or insults or remarks about his sexuality? That should certainly be the case in a fair and equal society.
If you go back and look at my last article about this stupid thing, you’ll see that in the case of the GUY who was married and allegedly cheated on his wife, I said “don’t judge, leave him alone.” And that’s a bizarre extrapolation to say that the person who’s being cheated on can’t care? I said that wearing a tee shirt about it is stupid, beyond being lame, it builds upon the stereotype that women who are sexual are “tramps”. A fair analogy would be if. when Kobe Bryant admitted cheating on his wife, people had worn shirts that… Read more »
“A fair analogy would be if. when Kobe Bryant admitted cheating on his wife, people had worn shirts that said, “Men are scum. Ask Vanessa Bryant.” I would be against that too.” Fair enough, then. I rarely see online forums depicting men’s POV in these issues, however. Or, if they do appear, they’re quickly shamed and ridiculed into irrelevance and/or nonexistence. The ones that last are the ones that gratify the points of view of women. I know men are like everyone else, doing what they have to in order to integrate and survive, but it gets a little annoying… Read more »
You didn’t imply that the phrase appeared in the article, but you did imply — intentionally — that she was saying that anyone who supports Pattinson in this matter is a woman hater. That is pretty clear in your post. Stop trying to pretend you are somehow hard done by and get over yourself.
Dude. Robert Pattinson doesn’t need your support, he doesn’t want your support, and showing your support by calling people sluts and trampires is just stupid. Please get over yourself because nobody cares what you think of the whole debacle, much less which side you support.
“Here’s why: You’re giving tacit approval to the use of a term that is a pejorative in reference to a woman’s sexuality.”
Wait, are you saying trampires are real? Do they come from Trampsylvania? If K-Stew bites you, does it leave a trampire stamp?
Marcus, stop vampire-shaming.
Oh, I see. You’re a bloodsucker apologist, aren’t you? That’s fanged up.
The what?
I have a ton of friends, work folks and relatives and I can honestly say one thing, not a single male that I know cares about this stuff, a bunch of my female friends etc, do they , they are on “team bella”, “team edward”, holy crap , seriously get a freaking life.
These are the same people who almost lost their minds when princess diana died, hello, you didn’t know her and she didn’t know you and any info you had about her was created/filtered thru her PR team.
Criticizing cheating is one thing. Using a slur to do it is a different thing entirely.
You don’t get to “not be slut shaming” by calling someone a slut for cheating anymore than you get to be “not racist” while using a racial slur to describe someone (of the appropriate race to the slur) who did something you don’t like.