PFM. Pen for Men. Introduced in 1959, it was the extension of Sheaffer’s hugely successful Snorkel line of fountain pens. It was a big, fat, phallic creation aimed at catering to the misplaced machismo of men – a tome built by the boys, for the boys. When later versions of the pen were introduced, the name was changed to “Legacy”. Tokenism, perhaps. But at least not as obnoxious and sexist as it was.
Yes, we are talking about a time that is from the distant past. Yes, we are talking of a time when people were not really bothered about being gender sensitive. Yes, we are talking of a time when the very term “politically correct” was not yet coined (the first recorded use of the term in the typical modern sense is by Toni Cade Bambara in the 1970 anthology The Black Woman. The term probably entered modern use in the United Kingdom around 1975). Yes, I am saying that fountain pen advertising has almost always been terribly, dare I say, “offensively” targeted to men, using the odd woman either as a model to attract attention or as a prop.
Still. I am still irked and irritated and what not. As a lifelong user and die-hard lover of fountain pens and as a woman, I am pained by the fact that the industry has always ignored us. When, if at all, it does make pens for us, they are so typically thin, and mostly pink and often with “girly” flowers. How disgusting is that? It is almost as though ornamentation is for the domain of women, while function and technological advancements are for men!
I am too much of a fountain pen lover not to know that there do exist a range of pens that are allegedly targeted typically to women – including the Montblanc Diva, Montblanc Princesse Grace de Monaco, Dupont Liberté, and Waterman Audace series for example, all of which feature subtly curvaceous bodies. What is more, the anomaly has been continuing since ages – take the Lady Sheaffer Skripsert series: cartridge-only, clipless pens, offered in textures that resemble jewellery or fashion textiles with matching purse cases. Preposterous! Why should fountain pens be feminised to address women users? Why can’t fountain pens be designed and marketed as unisex writing implements? Why do you have to make the Pelikan Souverän a frivolous “Pink” to resemble Barbie and Hello Kitty, to attract women?
I am also vehemently opposed to the chauvinistic idea of making pens targeting women, “cute” (ostensibly to fit into the smaller, petite hands of the “weaker” sex) and capable of only taking cartridges. As any fountain pen lover will agree, writing with a fountain pen is a ritual – part of which is inking the pen from a bottle, even if I were to ignore activities like flushing and ink mixing. What makes you wise “guys” think that we women should be denied the pleasure?
Why does the predominantly top line – be that a KOP or a 149 – have to look like they do? Overwhelmingly black, with a cigar / torpedo shape? Why do most such fountain pens, so suspiciously resemble business-men in suits? No, you can’t pass this of as the imaginary ranting of a “silly” woman. If you do, you will be stumped to answer as to why male eyebrows shoot up when I draw out my 149 or my M1000 in business meetings. You see, these pens, categorically represent a certain class, are exaggeratedly representative of hierarchies and are “seen” to be toys for old boys to play with. I have nothing against the cigar shape, or any shape for that matter – it is just the gender bias attached with it that pains me. A clip pen is supposed to be carried in your shirt pocket – show me one pen that is user friendly, in terms of carrying, for a woman? Two hundred years and no clip for a woman? I hope you understand? (No, I am not considering the ring on top allowing women to hang their pens around the neck (read noose) as a pendant in place of a clip.)
And then there are the innuendoes. Go to any pen meet, or hang around long enough in a group and you can see the glint in the eyes of the dirty old men when they talk of “spreading the tines”, or how “wet and juicy” their pen writes, or how the nib is “dipped into the hole / mouth” of the ink bottle, or how it won’t stop “dripping from the tip”, or how they prefer their pens to be “extra fine and flexible, with a slim body”, “soft spot”, “baby’s bottom”, … the list is endless! What is worse by far, is the way they try to shut you up, when you ask them to mind their tongues, pooh-poohing your objections as the wild imagination of a senile spinster. What I detest even more, is the patronising air, with which these knaves deal with us women, somehow giving us the feeling that we should be ever obliged that they have allowed us access into the inner sanctum of a strictly-for-men hobby, and therefore we should not dare ask for more.
Tell me as a fountain pen lover and user – do you feel that my concerns are misplaced? Do you believe that categorizing entire product categories as men’s or women’s products is right? Do you think that it is right to “doll-up” a pen and niche it as a fashion accessory to target it to women? What do you women out there – fountain pen lovers, sellers and those associated with the corporate side of brands think?
Would love to hear your views.
(This piece has been written by a regular reader – someone high up in the Corporate World, a professional, a fountain pen aficionado and a woman, who does not wish to disclose her identity for obvious reasons – Editor)
PS. I am changing a word to which many readers have objected to. My sincere apologies for having inadvertently hurt any sentiments.
Note: all accompanying posters are sourced from the net. The copyrights, if any, remain with their respective owners.
Well observed article. Hope it don’t make any fuss in fp community
High time the representation of women in a fountain pen community changes. Every word written in this article truly reflects the actual condition that we face. Let’s make this a more gender-neutral fraternity! Kudos!
The insults continue. I just saw the new Online “Bachelor” fountain pen. And there’s the endless reviews on Amazon for the “Bic for Her” pen which has been available for sometime. While the pen name and branding is insulting, the comments are often entertaining to read. There was also an incident a couple years ago around a particularly sexist window display for a pen around Valentine’s Day. I don’t remember the specifics but it seemed to be more the shop than a specific brand causing the offense.
Suffice it to say that the fountain pen hobby continues to be fraught with sexism.
The sensationalized title falls flat. Not necessary to make your point at all. Using the N word as click bait is reprehensible not revolutionary.
Why do you have the full N word as a tag in this piece? Did any Black people read this before posting? The title has no connection to the content. Sexism and racism are not the same thing. The racism and prejudice is profound. Your post is part of the problem.
I agree – I found the use of the “n***r” in the title of the post to be distasteful, but the full word as a tag is incredibly inappropriate and offensive, especially considering the content of the post – we’re complaining about the treatment of one minority in the fountain pen world, but then using words like that as women?
I think as women in the fountain pen community, we have to do better. It’s not necessary to raise ourselves up by pushing others down, and we should be very aware of that. We should be welcoming everyone else into the community, not pushing them out.
Woke. Get a life – pleeeze.
I agree with the concepts you’ve put forth and have thought these very same things. But, your use of the highly inflammatory n-word in the title detracted from the overall piece. Perhaps your meaning was that people of color have been (and continue to be) treated as second class citizens. And so have women. This may be especially true when women enter traditionally male arenas.
While I acknowledge that the marketing has been woefully sexist since forever, I can only say I have never personally experienced sexist behavior within the hobby, whether online, or in person at pen shows, workshops, etc. I have always found the fountain pen community to be remarkably NON-judgemental and welcoming to everyone.
I usually don’t look at these honestly. At the end of the day, I am interested in buying a good pen. I don’t look at the advertisement part at all, who it displays or what it tries to preach in sarcasm. I am least bothered with the content companies display to sell the product. It’s better we think about the product and not at the adnl display. I personally feel, we are in a century/age/world where we have maturity beyond all these.
I love and use fountain pens, I’m a woman, and attractrd to the so called male or rather normal types of this object. But as a woman with mod sized hands I normally avoid hefty pens and instead look for beautiful, relatvely sleek models. However, since the subject in question is gender bias, I have yet to come across a proper fountain pen review by a woman. To be a little clearer, I find that reviews published by men are far more knowledgeable, and far less frivolous than those published by their female counterparts. So who is to blame here? My advice for women doing a review is to fidget less, be less talkative, practice diligently and be more to the point.