Offbeat Bride | Game over t-shirts

Normally I leave this kind of thing to Riona at Godawful Wedding Crap, but I can't help myself. With all due respect to Brooklyn Bride (a site I love), this t-shirt gives me about 10 different kinds of squicks … the sad groom and happy bride, the implications of dating as a game that men "lose" when they commit (because god knows there are no women out there who are total dating players completely skeeved out by marriage), the suggestion that brides are smug at snagging their hapless, gloomy grooms.

I totally get that this is just comedy, and I don't want to seem like a humorless gender-warrior, but I guess on a certain level I just don't quite understand why it's funny … as a groom, do you want to be thought of as unhappy about your marriage? As a bride, do you want to be seen as "winning" some game that results in your frowny-face partner being stuck with you for the rest of your lives?

Comments on "Game over t-shirts"
396CommentsGame+over+t-shirts2007-08-22+15%3A51%3A02Ariel to this entry · Trackback · Comments feed (RSS 2.0)

I totally agree. I have seen these around and they actually make me kind of angry. I hate that men are portrayed as hating marriage. If you don't want to get married then don't. Who are these women who are forcing men to get married? What reason would a man get married who didn't want to; status, peer pressure? I just don't get it.

I totally agree. I think of myself as having a good sense of humor but I'm not a fan of these shirts. I am not even a fan of the other shirt with the same GAME OVER logo but the groom is happy and the bride is sad. And yes, such a shirt exists.

Aha! Kia, thanks for letting me know that the opposite version of the shirt exists. I might still find the shirt unfunny, but at least it's equal opportunity unfunniness!

I used to see this t-shirt at wedding expos when I was doing freelance wedding photography, and it always jumped out at me as a pretty good indicator that said couple should probably sit down and have a tough talk that they haven't had yet.

Humor doesn't grow in a vaccuum, and if your groom-to-be is making that joke, it's probably worth taking pause.

My answer to your questions is NO. And I'm really damn sick of crap like this, because not all men want to spend the rest of their lives frolicking in every dank bar they can find. Some men can't see themselves being in a committed marriage, but for all of them there are just as many men who DO want to be with one other person.

It's just such a lame stereotype now. And what's lamer than that is knowing that all the sub par comedians to make jokes about this kind of stuff still get the laughs out of it. Come on, there's plenty more funny shit other than jokes about a stud who obviously made the wrong decision.

Awful. It's the same deal with the horrible man-snaring caketoppers that are my personal pukemaker.

Is it wrong that my main reason for being upset about this t-shirt is that they don't make one with a sad bride and a happy groom?

Honestly, I would wear one if they did.

It would be perfect considering my love of video games and belief that marriage is the end of a woman's independence and the beginning of a man's happiness.

Oops, and I forgot to mention that I am in fact getting married, despite my negative viewpoint on the institution!

Christin, it sounds like according to Kia, a happy groom/frowny bride shirt does exist!

Boo to any of this shit! BOO!

Yeah, this shirt does totally piss me off. My husband thought it would be funny to wear to our rehearsal dinner. Good thing Target lets you return stuff when you bring the card it was purchased with! BAH!

One Word: AMEN!!!!

I'm a gamer and while ordinarily I love t-shirts with gaming references, this is just tacky. It's even worse in modern day life since so many couples have not only dated for years, but lived together too. Was the sad-face groom/bride fooling around with people before and now that they have a ring and said some official sounding words they'll have to give up cheating on their partner? Another reason why I hate bachelor parties and hen's nights (side-note: why are we chooks? err.. chickens for the non-Australians!). If you've been in a committed relationship for years then I'm sorry, but your bachelor days ended quite some time ago didn't they? errr… /rant

I don't get it either. I mean, I really don't see how a man gets "trapped" into marriage. Most women want to be proposed TO. So what happens? Does she slip him a roofie and use ventriloquism to get a proposal? Last I checked, guys proposed of their own free will. And if she's proposing, then they're answering of their own free will. If you don't want to get married, don't friggin ask.

My bro has this shirt. Made me sad.

What if they were both smiley and it said, "Level Up!"

Lindsay- perfect. I'd buy it. or if it said "1-up"- like, new life starting together sort of thing. That'd be cute too.

The smiling groom and frowning bride does exist. I just bought it and I will be wearing it for the "pre" bachlorette party (we're traveling a bit before the party).

I think it's too funny myself, and it's absolutely no reflection on my relationship or our ability to succeed happily in marriage. It's a joke, not a political statement about men or women's viewpoints of marriage. But then again, I found it hysterical when my cousin and his new wife got announced to "Another One Bites the Dust". So there.

Ugh! I completely agree, Ariel…you are not being "too feminist" or whatever. It's just not funny. It's offensive. Dudes: if you're not happy about getting married–DON'T GET MARRIED. Seems simple to me.

Lindsay - I'd go for a "Level Up" shirt too! My husband-to-be and I joke that we're "upgrading" Perhaps we should get the celebrant to say "Update complete!" when we're married lol

This one pushes my buttons too. It's kind of funny - in a "ha! cartoon/video game people! one sad! one happy!" kind of way - but mostly I think it's just tacky. Reminds me of those awful "I'm with stupid" shirts.

The "Level Up", "1Up" and "Update Complete" ideas are hi-LAR-ious

I think "i'm with stupid" sirts are waaaaaay funnier, because when wearing one, there will always be at least one minute when you are by yourself. I am definitely nonplussed by these shirts. I would totally be into a "1-up" shirt… but i am also recently re-obsessed with my one and only Mario.

[...] week I was ranting about the stupid "Game Over" tshirt and its lame frowny-face [...]

Personally, I think you all need to just grow up and get a grip. My bride to be knows that I am as silly for her as man can be. I've waited my whole life for someone like her, and she is the answer to my every question. She is the one who pointed this shirt out to me, and we both thought it was hilarious. This is another case of someone (many someones, apparently) totally over-reacting to something. The joke, you see, is that it's ludicrous to anyone who knows how much I worship my parter to be that I would feel that way. Just another thought, I am not sure any of you are qualified to decide for another relationship that this isn't funny in the context of their relationship. Further, if you really feel this way, chances are you aren't going to wear this shirt to draw attention to it in the first place. Just as soon as I hit the "Submit" button, I am going to order mine…..

Hey Theo, that's awesome! I mean, sexism obviously doesn't exist anymore, so I guess making fun of it in such a clever way on this shirt is just HI-larious. Maybe after that you can go buy a shirt with racial slurs all over it too, since racism is no longer a problem in this world. No, really, you're not a part of the problem! You're just so ironic, with such a great sense of humor. What a lucky woman your fiance must be to exchange witty repartee with you.

I see…so someone on this blog is qualified to decide what is funny and what isn't within the confines of my relationship with my wife-to-be! I had some doubts.

I was always pretty sure that over-sensitivity is as much a part of the problem as anyone actually being any sort of "ist". We give power to words when we decide that we will let these words bother us. You see, you can call me whatever you want. The simple truth here is that I don't care what your opinion of me happens to be. I know who and what I am, so your words have no power over me. When we decide to find (yes, find) insult where none is intended, we are reinforcing stereotypes. For example, if you over-react to this t-shirt, you reinforce the "belief" that gooms don't want to marry. Simple as that. Clearly, some are resistant to doing so, just as some brides are. There isn't automatically any "sexism" in this unless you want to find it. 'Course, in our culture, one gains power by being associating with a "victim group" sometimes. You know, supporting the belief that grooms don't want to marry could be interpreted as a form of sexism, too. As an aside, I find it ironic that the general consensus seems to be that only white men can egage in "isms". However, the key difference here is that frankly, I don't care what you think. I can read your subtle accusation, and laugh it off. That isn't to say, of course, that I don't appreciate your opinion and don't respect your right to disagee.

You know something else? The converse is also true, just cause I don't wear a t-shirt doesn't mean I am not sexist.So, perhaps, just perhaps, the t-shirt isn't the problem. You want to fix sexism? Getting rid of this t-shirt won't solve the problem.This sort of approach to this problem will never work long term.

My future wife and I know our relationship. I still maintain ayone who would actually feel this way (i.e., trapped in a relationship and that it is "game over") wouldn't wear one of these. In my case, I simply refuse to accept the "gender stereotype" to which the people on this blog cling. I think this shirt, if nothing else, underscores the absurdity that many brides have about their grooms. I find it ironic, therefore, that I am "part of the problem" by refusing to accept the negative stereotype, yet you who seem to accept it as truth totally is….what? Part of a solution? Please…..

And something else, this isn't even remotely related to race. If you want to disagree, stay on topic.

Alright, folks. I'm going to close comments before Godwin's Law kicks in. Pingbacks are still open for those who would like to continue the discussion on their blogs.