Burton Snowboards has a reputation for pushing the boundaries, but the Burlington company may have gone over the edge with two new product lines that have outraged women’s groups and anti-violence advocates.
One, called “Love,” features Playboy models in various stages of undress; the other, dubbed “Primo,” features graphic illustrations of hands being mutilated by scissors, a box razor and a pit bull. The company is selling “Primo” with the tag line, “Mutilate the mountain, then terrorize the streets.”
An email and phone campaign to register consumer disgust with the new products made its way to Seven Days today. Among the organizations that plan to contact Burton (or already have) are the Girl Scout Council of Vermont, the Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, and S.A.F.E Alternatives, a national group that offers counseling and treatment advice to people who “self-injure.”
In an email to the company, one Colchester resident asked Burton, as “a leading producer of youth culture,” to “rethink” the new lines. “Is this what you want as ‘cool’ in our world? And why aren’t there nude males on any of the boards??”
An email response from Burton explained that the Playboy “limited edition” boards were created at the request of two professional snowboarders. “Both Burton and Playboy were founded on principles of individual freedom,” the response stated, “and the collaboration has resulted in boards that reflect this attitude.”
The company’s response also offered the opinion that the “Love” boards, which will be “fully wrapped with an 18+ age disclaimer,” are destined to become collector’s items.
While the Playboy line is misogynist and distasteful, the “Primo” boards are violent and outright disturbing. Stephanie Kaza, of the UVM President’s Commission on the Status of Women, called the bloody images “unconscionable” and pledged to help organize pressure on Burton.
We called Burton for comment, but the company has yet to respond. We’ll let you know what they have to say.
UPDATE: Editor’s Note: Opponents of the boards have started a Facebook group.
UPDATE: I just got off the phone with Shana Frahm, Burton’s global PR director. Frahm forwarded two brief corporate statements on the “Love” and “Primo” lines and told me the company would have nothing else to say about the matter for now. Burton executives, she said, “were not available for comment.” I asked Frahm whether the company had received many complaints about the new product lines, but she declined to speak on the record.
Here are statements. I included hyperlinks to some recent press about the artists behind the new boards.
Burton/Playboy Love Collection
The Burton Playboy limited edition snowboards were created at the request of two of Burton’s professional snowboarders Mikkel Bang and Keegan Valaika. Both Burton and Playboy were founded on principles of individual freedom, and the collaboration has resulted in boards that reflect this attitude. The imagery on the boards is tastefully done, and we believe that they will be collector’s items. The 1000 snowboards will be fully wrapped with an 18+ age disclaimer to purchase.
PRIMO
Burton has a long history of working with artists on snowboard graphics. When collaborating with an artist, Burton does not restrict the artist’s freedom of expression. The Primo graphic was created by world-renowned skate artist Todd Bratrud, who has worked on projects for such companies as Vans, Volcom and Flip Skateboards. Burton is proud to collaborate with artists like Todd.
This article appears in Oct 1-7, 2008.
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I am all for education around this issue. Please consider viewing the following two films by the Media Education Foundation. They are eye opening, thought provoking and great conversation starters.Price of Pleasure: Pornography, Sexuality & Relationships – Explores the impact of sexist, racist, and violent pornographic images and messages on our identities and our relationships.http://www.mediaed.org/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=235Generation M: Misogyny in Media & Culture – How negative, hateful attitudes toward women and femininity are being perpetuated at the very heart of American popular culture.http://www.mediaed.org/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=234
Just to be clear, this is not a first amendment issue. No government entity is attempting to stifle anyone’s expression in this case, so the constitution doesn’t apply. At all. In fact, based on what I’m reading in this thread, the system is working just as it’s supposed to — members of the public are speaking out and stating their opinions and Burton will respond in whatever way they think is best. Meghan’s point about “more speech” is dead on.Myself, I happen to think parents are over reacting. 14 year old kids aren’t going to be damaged by seeing some boobs and drawings of rather silly, cartoonish dismembering at the ski slopes. As Molly pointed out, we ought to be more concerned with the more innocuous images of women and violence in everyday advertising that few people ever seem to complain about. The extreme body modification boards tap into a (rather dumb, IMO) subculture of wacky body modification that’s sort of related to the piercing/tattoo culture, but on steroids. The images are ridiculous, over-the-top examples of that and as such, are kind of funny, I think. In general, I think people ought not be so uptight. Dungeons and Dragons won’t make your kids Satanists, heavy metal won’t turn them into serial killers, and seeing naked women on snowboards won’t make them rapists. I sometimes wish culture was that simplistic, but it isn’t.Mind you, I also thought the brouhaha over Crazy For You Bear was out of line, but the people spoke and the market reacted. Perhaps the same will happen here. Consumer pressure is not censorship, is all I’m saying.
Of course, lost in all the talk of objectifying women is the fact that Playboy Bunnies seem to really enjoy being Playboy Bunnies. Aren’t they women enjoying their freedom too? I’m also convinced that just about everyone here hasn’t actually gone and looked at the boards, to say nothing about actually looking at Playboy. We’re talking about pin-up material, with nary a sex-organ in sight, and contrary to popular perception, they’re not all stacked, either. Aside from nipples, our children have seen as much on any sunny beach, and the images in question don’t even show as much. The connection between the Playboy boards and the mutilated hands is completely spurious, as is the connection between Playboy and violence against women. We’re all invested in preventing violence against women, but we shouldn’t blame anyone other than the actual perpetrators. Likewise, we shouldn’t blame anyone but ourselves for poor self-esteem or poor body perceptions. Accept yourself, or work to change until you can. Learn how to be proud of who YOU are and it becomes much easier to be tolerant of differences in thought and actual diversity.-Educated & Respectful
I appreciate all the time taken to comment on this issue, and was pleased to see that folks see this as something worth talking about. Most offensive to me is the marketing narrative (see Robin’s posting, above). My 14-yr old son and 13-yr old daughter are huge Burton fans. Seeing this stuff felt like a punch in the stomach to me–Burton is a standard bearer for “cool” among my kids and their peers, and it has been a beloved Burlington company. I have no quarrel with a for-profit entity prioritizing profit. Still, Burton goes to considerable effort to portray itself as a good corporate citizen–consider their “Chill” program, camps and other efforts to bring girls and women into the sport, and all of the public interest-type stories out there about Jake and Donna Carpenter and their family and their wholesome activities. This product and its marketing indicate to me that the company finds the female portion of their market as less deserving of human dignity. I want to see Burton adequately explain to young women who have been loyal to their brand why they should accept this promotion of their dehumanization, or apologize and remove the product from the market.
Great discussion. I have simple message for the folks that are opposed to these boards:Write to Burton, and use you purchasing power to send a message. Change happens when people express their desire for change in forceful but peaceful ways. A boycott speaks volumes.Maybe Burton doesn’t need the revenue from mainstream riders, including parents who dole out money each year for their kids snowboarding equipment. Our family (any many others) will be spending our money elsewhere this year on our snowboarding gear (3 riders in our family and one skier).For those that have no problem with the boards, I respect your right to an opinion. But spitting out biting comments on a blog is lazy activism.
Ah ha haha! VoiceforWomen: “Golly, I noticed that all the people who agree with my viewpoint are educated and nice, whereas everyone who disagrees is ignorant and mean”.Oh my gosh. That is too, too funny. Thank you my first belly-laugh of the day. You get the Passive Aggressive Solipsist Award.The “commercial speech” portion of the First Amendment relates to advertising, and the protesters are the ones doing all the advertising here. It is because of you that these materials are being broadcast and transmitted. Does Burton’s website blurb meet the requirements of the Central Hudson test? (1) whether the speech at issue concerns lawful activity and is not misleading; (2) whether the asserted government interest is substantial; and, if so, (3) whether the regulation directly advances the governmental interest asserted; and (4) whether it is not more extensive than is necessary to serve that interest.
I have been riding a snowboard for 14 years and the point to be made here is that a woman’s naked body along side degrading verbiage “no matter where they like to stick it… long, hard grinds on my meaty…” is completely unnecessary. Burton could have made the decision not to engage in this regardless of the requests of their 2 pro riders. But they took the easy way out, now hiding behind their corporate statement that the boards are tasteful and it was a collaborative effort and they will be wrapped in plastic with an 18 and up disclaimer.. blah blah corporate blah. Edgey slogans, edgey graphics and edgey attitudes are a trademark in snowboarding. Many of us like the edge, but this edge is too much. Burton is weak. This is not a free speech issue, this is a about promoting a lifestyle to young men, Burton’s target audience after all is 14-21 yr old males.
Dear 7Days – Thank you so much for your objective coverage of this issue. I have read with interest all of the comments, but particularly the comments of those supporting Burton’s release of the graphics debasing women and depicting self-mutilation.The first thing I noticed is that the people who are writing in opposition to the boards are using gentle words and well-thought out arguments. They are obviously people who are educated and respectful of their community. They also seem to be people with tremendous regard for the women in their lives – be they mothers, wives, daughters, nieces or friends.The article’s detractors post angry and biting feedback. Nothing with much substance. I am sorry for that, because in all the responses from Burton supporters across all the articles covering this issue, I am still waiting for an intelligent argument. Perhaps from someone who has actually read the First Amendment and understands that there is a “commercial” category which is different than the right to free speech of the “individual.”There seems to be an issue of education and knowledge here, so I have some advice for those who support the boards. It would be eye-opening for you (be you male or female) to volunteer for such organizations as Women Helping Battered Women, The Vermont Network on Domestic and Sexual Violence, The Vermont Women’s fund, or perhaps Vermont Works for Women who runs the popular Rosie’s Girls Program for middle school girls. Maybe a course in women’s studies at the University of Vermont, or a visit to the NOW website to become informed on the very important issues that are linked to this recent outcry. This is going to take some time and investment – months actually. But I would gladly wait as long as it takes to, then, respectfully hear what you had to say. I would think there might be some changes in opinion!
The antidote to bad speech is more speech. Argument against something does not mean you are opposed to freedom of expression. If Burton decides to take a lead in the development of snowboarding culture that any 14 year old boy or girl can be proud and comfortable in then that is their free choice to make.
It’s interesting to note that the two professional snowboarders that requested the Love & Primo boards are 18 and 19 years old. And I would venture to say that the people on this blog and elsewhere (i.e., the Burton customer service department) are also in the 18-24 demographic, give or take a few years on either end. Could it be that their inability or unwillingness to even entertain the concerns of those of us who are opposed to these boards is a direct consequence of growing up in a culture completely saturated with hyper sexulaized and uber violent imagery? What is the long term impact of a continuous diet of the computer graphics on Grand Theft Auto and the like? Is there a total desensitization and disconnect with the real world consequences of this imagery and the perspective it creates? Is it that the “older folks” that work in domestic violence and suicide prevention or who are parents of young kids understand this link and only want what’s best for society, especially young children? Is there a problem with that mind set??PS: LOL – An image on a website is quite different from an image on a snowboard that is out on a mountain for all the world (and my 4 year old son) to see. Do you see the difference? Do you have any young kids in your life? Any sisters?