Power Day

They replied:

Thank you for your email which has now been received by the Customer Services team.
 
I am very sorry to hear that you found one of our greeting cards offensive. I can assure you it was not out attention to cause offense. I will raise your concerns with our new goods buying team. They will take this into consideration when they review which cards they purchase in the future.
 
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for contacting the British Heart Foundation regarding this issue. We appreciate any opportunity to ensure that our customers receive the best service we can offer and your feedback is invaluable in helping us achieve this. This in turn will help us to continue raising essential funds to fight heart disease through research, education and prevention.

I replied:

Thank you for your prompt reply.

I did not think for a moment that you intended to cause offence. That would be a very strange way to treat your supporters. The issue is that you have caused offence, and not only to me. I posted the text of your card and the email I sent you on my blog and you may be interested in the 20 comments I got (as this is a public blog site this is free and valuable market research for your new goods buying team):

· Urgh. That's appalling.
· Its so depressing.
· I'll be interested in their reply.
· Good work, well done.
· Well said, well done!
· Looking forward to their response!
· I always get a feeling of disgust and disbelief when I come across something like that still appearing today An awful lot of greetings cards seem to cater to the lowest level of misogynistic 'humour'  as if it's OK for private consumption or something. Your email is spot on and it will be interesting to hear the response.
· Well done, I can't wait to read their response.
· There is still a lot of this about.
· Good for you! Love your swimming metaphor.
· Thank you for calling them out.
· Well done you!
· Was there an illustration/drawing on the card? Makes me think of seaside postcards.
· Well done.
· Love your phrase 'We all swim in a sea of low-level misogyny all the time'.  Only this morning I was planning to visit that very shop next time I am in the neighbourhood. I do hope you have received an adequate response before then.
· Good for you.
· Good for you for complaining.
· It's everywhere...most often disguised as "humor". Good for you!
· That this got through without anyone thinking about it, shows how ingrained these messages are. Very sad. Well done.
· Sad... but well done for writing and making it crystal clear for them!

As well as 'considering' misogyny when you make future purchases (which seems a very mild response) please will you also ask your shops to remove this gratuitous demeaning of women as soon as possible?

I have supported BHF for 27 years but I will not be buying from nor donating to your shops until these cards and any like them are removed. You will see from the responses above that I am not the only one.

I do realise that BHF is not the only organisation on our streets that thinks it is OK to demean women but I don't think that makes your behaviour excusable.


Edit: there is a discussion below that some might misinterpret as anti-men. It is not anti-men, it is anti-patriarchy. All men are very welcome to join in.