not funny

[mamajoan]

There's a car I often see on my way home from work, with a bumper sticker that reads I'm out of estrogen and I have a gun. My reaction is always a mixture of "I don't get it" and "That's not funny."

I mean, I'm pretty sure I get that what they mean is "I am a strong bitchy woman flush with the power of my femininity, so you better leave me alone," but in a funny way. But it just isn't funny. You could rephrase it a little less clumsily, like "I'm on the rag and I have a gun" or such, but it still wouldn't be funny. I'm sure there are ways that you could condense "I am woman, don't fuck with me" into a bumper-sticker-length slogan that would be funny, but that isn't one of them. Or is it just me?

This is bugging me perhaps more than is reasonable. Hmm.

Comments

[mslaynie.livejournal.com]

When women hit menopause, their ovaries stop making estrogen. That's why older women (or women who've had a hysterectomy) end up taking hormones.

When they don't have their estrogen, they can experience several symptoms: hot flashes, severe mood swings/irritability. So... if you get a woman who's run out of estrogen and has a gun...

... well, you might wanna tread lightly. =D

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

I know all that. Sorry it wasn't clear from the post. But I still don't think the bumper sticker is funny.

[mslaynie.livejournal.com]

It may seem funnier after you've gone through menopause. I know I have days when I've either run out of estrogen or just forgotten to take it, and it really, REALLY makes sense to me.

[jrosehale.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure it's a menopausal thing--she means estrogen supplements. So you have an armed, angry postmenopausal woman. It's kind of like the "I'm older, and I have more insurance" scene in Fried Green Tomatoes.

Of course, these days, women (like my mom) are being told to stop taking hormone supplements after years of being on them (suddenly the hormones cause heart problems, etc.), and, at least in my mom's case, it's led to some pretty bad scenes. So the bumper sticker may have something to do with that.

I agree it's not particularly funny, but I admire the spirit.

[lightningrose.livejournal.com]

I prefer the dated, but classic "Towanda" myself... :)

[morgan-dhu.livejournal.com]

As a menpausal woman running out of estrogen... I don't like it at all. Not because of the implication that I'm sometimes bitchy, but because of the gun part.

I'd vastly prefer "I'm out of estrogen, don't fuck with me."

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

Yeah, see, and that would be a good bumper sticker. Not funny, exactly, but snarky in a clever way, the way the other one is clearly trying to be but failing.