Wednesday 27 April 2016

Reebok's Alien Stomper's Forget Ripley Is A Woman


The Alien franchise is an iconic piece of cinema, one that is still beloved the world over to this day.  If someone told you to think about the franchise the first thing you would probably think of would be the creature itself, but it would probably be quickly followed by the person who made the series the success it is, Sigourney Weaver as Ripley.

Ripley is one of the most iconic female leads in cinema history, and over the course of the four films the character has appeared in (even though it's not really her in 'Alien: Resurrection', but that's another issue for another time) she has grown in strength and character in ways most films could only dream of.  Along with Sarah Connor of the Terminator series she was one of the most iconic female heroes of the 80's and 90's.

It's a real shame that Reebok seems to have forgotten that.

To celebrate Alien Day (yes, apparently everything has a day now) Reebok released a limited edition run of the Bug Stomper shoes that Ripley wore in 'Aliens'.  Not only were the shoes limited to only 426 pairs, but it appears that they were also limited in size options, only having been made available in men's sizes 8-12.

Yep, the shoes worn by one of the most iconic women in film history, a character that inspired many young women to be totally kick arse and awesome, are only available for men.  Good work Reebok.

The website io9 has said that they contacted Reebok on the subject and that a spokesperson told them that 'The Alien Stompers were released in male sizes due to retail demand.'

The shoes, which were listen in the 'Men's Classic' category on the website, were indeed popular and quickly sold out.

io9 later added to their initial report on the incident, saying that they were contacted by Reebok after the initial article, where they were told that the information they had been given was incorrect and the person who spoke to them had not been given permission to do so.

Reebok said; 'The Alien Stomper was mis-categorised on our US website as a men's shoe.  While size availability varied by market, the Alien Stomper is a unisex style and was produced in sizes (US Men's) 3.5 - 12, which is a typical size range for a unisex model.'

Despite this no evidence of the shoes being available in any size below 8 have been found.

Perhaps next time Reebok should consider not excluding women from a product that was inspired by such an iconic female figure.


Amy.
xx

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