by Smitty
Manland doesn’t have any design flaws, to my eye, (emphasis mine):
An Ikea store in Sydney, Australia, has either set retail shopping forward by three decades or set gender equality back by three decades—you decide: they’re testing out Manland, which is, as one local newscaster describes it, “basically a creche for husbands and boyfriends with short retail attention spans, a place to hang out while their wives and girlfriends run the aisles of Ikea.” Think ultimate man-cave stuff such as video games, foosball tables, free hot dogs, and pinball machines. (Apparently reading books is not encouraged in Manland!) As with Ikea’s childcare creche, women dropping off their husbands and boyfriends are given a buzzer. “After 30 minutes, the buzzer goes off, it reminds you that you have to come pick up your man or else, you know, we may have to all the authorities,” explains one Ikea sales associate. Clearly there are a number of loopholes in this whole program, not the least being the fact that it overlooks gay couples.
It’s not a loophole; it’s a design choice. Ikea is about making money, silly rabbit, not advancing a social agenda. The only business case for advancing a social agenda is that it somehow make money. It’s a furniture store, not a gay bar, Sarah: know the difference.
Update: linked at Three Beers Later.
You’re linked a lot.
http://tinyurl.com/3sco3e7
Furniture stores -are- gay bars. Just with more furniture.
I’ll never test a mattress again.
Just show up in a Haz-Mat suit and tell ’em you work for Homeland [Zeig Heil!] Security and you’re on your lunch hour.
No beer? I’m not gonna hang out with a bunch of “blokes” unless there’s beer. I’d rather shop (*shudder*).
I’ll give it a try, but is it worse if I slide off or stick?
They don’t need books, just “graphic novels” and prOn.
Properly recredited to Smitty. My bad.
Ed that is so true. My wife drags me to those stores and there are gay guys there…enjoying the experience. Just like my wife enjoys going to those places. It is so sick.
Eeewwwww.
As noted above, gay couples will find far less need to drop off a man bored with shopping. Gay partners will only be sent to Manland for punishment. Hot dogs and foosball . . . it could modify behavior fast.