April 26, 2013

UConn's new husky dog logo — insensitive to campus violence against women?

"In an open letter to UC President Susan Herbst, self-described feminist student Carolyn Luby wrote that the redesigned team logo will intimidate women and empower rape culture."
UConn basketball coach Geno Auriemma said the logo “is looking right through you and saying, ‘Do not mess with me.’ This is a streamlined, fighting dog, and I cannot wait for it to be on our uniforms and court.”

In response, Luby wrote, “What terrifies me about the admiration of such traits is that I know what it feels like to have a real life Husky look straight through you and to feel powerless, and to wonder if even the administration cannot ‘mess with them.’ And I know I am not alone.”
Compare the 2 logos:



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93 comments:

Achilles said...

I am so glad we are subsidizing this young woman's education so she can make such grand contributions to society.

Money well spent for sure.

Amartel said...

I refuse to participate in a noncontroversy.

traditionalguy said...

The old Husky looks friendly, but the new Husky looks like a feminist attack bitch.

Renee said...

I agree with the three above comments.

Synova said...

The old logo is CUTE. (But without the awesomeness of banana slugs.) It says... pet me, I'm your drooling slave.

Which isn't a message a sports team OR a woman wants to send anyone.

Birches said...

That old logo reminds me of the old Farah Fawcet poster. That hair is way to wavy to be intimidating.

Saint Croix said...

They both look like horndogs to me.

Synova said...

I mean really... the old logo is ABBY.

Synova said...

Luby is the sort of woman that makes it difficult not to be self-hating.

How freakishly embarrassing.

Kirk Parker said...

Where, oh where is the "lameness" tag?

madAsHell said...

Hands off my vagina!!

oh, wait...Am I at the wrong rally??

ddh said...

Carolyn Luby is afraid of a picture because the picture makes her feel weak. If that opinion is not the embodiment of weakness, I cannot help you.

campy said...

Needs a "feminists are stupid" choice.

Robert Cook said...

I love both logos. My family had an Alaskan Malamute--nearly identical to a Husky, but bigger and more massive, and with dark eyes, never blue--and they are the sweetest, most mellow dogs. My understanding is that Huskies are the same.

This claim that the logos promote "rape culture" is absurd.

Should they choose a pink unicorn as their logo?

Oh...no! The unicorn's HORN is a big penis, and also promotes rape culture!

Big Mike said...

The old logo doesn't even look like a husky.

ricpic said...

Luby is nuts and should be laughed out of town.

furious_a said...

Back off, guys -- you'd have issues, too, if YOU'd been the one sexually assaulted by a cartoon dog.

furious_a said...

P.S. How do we know that's a MALE Husky? Aren't the lead dogs usually female?

Known Unknown said...

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!

jeff said...

So The Onion has been beaten, yet again by real life.

MadisonMan said...

The complaining student should be more worried about her student debt. If she has the time to worry about the logo, she has time to work a second or third job. This will also improve her job prospects -- unlike complaining about this logo. Seriously -- who is going to hire her now? Someone who is looking for a professional victim?

Michael said...

Maybe Obama could take the second mean image and wave it at the Syrian president.

Methadras said...

How in the name of all things sane can anyone with two neurons to rub together can even make the claim anywhere that any of these logo brands are insensitive to anything? This girl child should be publicly humiliated for being so utter vapid and stupid and the school should be embarrassed that they let her walk in their halls.

Jason said...

Hahahaha!!! Wait til someone clues her in about "furrey porn!"

SteveR said...

You know some things go beyond ridiculous. How do you learn to think like that?

Mumpsimus said...

They should ditch the husky and go with Sexual Harassment Panda.

john said...

They could have been more accommodating.
A nice plump Pekingese would have worked.

Synova said...

Okay, seriously... I'm inclined to think that this isn't her fault. She's been trained to look for patterns and make arguments that create a particular "feminist theory" reality. And she's been praised for it, when she comes up with something good, with never a single notion that there ought to be a reality-check involved.

This is a university thing. Unfortunately.

For example (though it's pretty much an unrelated one)... I had a reading about language in a class this semester. It was from a book so this was in print, respected, etc., written by some linguistic big-wigs. In support of their argument the authors related a story about how they'd ask students to analyze different bits of what they read and one analysis was so impressive that they included it in this scholarly book. Okay? So... the exemplary student had offered the analysis that the negro spiritual that goes... "Nobody knows the trouble I seen..." had gotten particular strength from the word choice of "nobody" over "no-one" because the trial of slavery was in the "body".

This bit of clever but never reality-checked student insight made it into a scholarly text as an example of wonderfulness.

Now, yes, sure, clever. I'm not saying it's not. But what sort of educational malpractice is involved in training students not to reality-check their theories? IS the evil of slavery centered on the body?

Or is it centered on the mind?

And is the rhetorical choice of "nobody" over "no-one" a commentary of any sort at all? Or is it merely a choice of rhythm? Or even, perhaps, common usage?

Luby is in an environment where, any time she finds one of these symbolic phantasms she is rewarded with a cookie.



Carl Spackler said...

How many rapists were empowered and/or created by this post Althouse? You can't just show any virile dog cartoons without repercussions. That cold cartoony stare into my eyes...Terrifying.

john said...

Isn't UConn the place where most of the basketball players are on work release and have to wear ankle monitors? She seems to be worried that a cartoon is more threatening than real live persons walking that campus.

Or was that New Mexico?

Achilles said...

Safe to say our public education system from top to bottom is a complete and total farce. Fortunately for us, our public education has at most 15 years left to exist. I give it less than 10 before it falls apart and is replaced by a decentralized system.

And stupidity like this hastens that day. Will the author of this blog be retired before UW ceases to operate?

Saint Croix said...

You grow up with your father holding you down and covering your mouth so another man can make a horrible searing pain between your legs. When you are older, your husband ties you to the bed and drips hot wax on your nipples and brings in other men to watch and makes you smile through it. Your doctor will not give you drugs he has addicted you to unless you suck his penis.

That's from the opening page of Catherine MacKinnon's Only Words. She's asking her readers (and her students) to imagine themselves being victims of awful crimes.

Why would you imagine such things? What good is it to imagine such things? And yet that's what she wants her students to do.

It's horrific, really, a sort of indoctrination in suffering.

There's a great book, Who Stole Feminism? that documents some of these academic abuses.

One former student characterized this sort of feminist class as a form of brainwashing. Her mind was so freaked out, every time she had sex with her boyfriend, she felt like he was raping her.

The way she rebelled was by going ultra-feminine, starting a homemaker's club at the university and baking brownies for everybody.

Good for her to fight back. And feminism really has become sort of a weird cult on many campuses. You go into the class normal and happy, and you come out with the mentality of a rape victim.

The whole goal of the course is to get you to feel raped. How horrific is that?

David said...

Huskies are friendly and not aggressive with humans. They love everyone and are not territorial or protective of their main human.

If you are a cat or other small mammal, it's quite a different matter. They will kill you. Yet Huskies can reliably distinguish between a human infant and a critter.

So once again a feminist is ignorant and fearful. What else is new?



Æthelflæd said...

Living in flyover country, I keep thinking this has to be satire. Are northeastern females constantly falling to the ground with the vapors? Are there fainting couches conveniently placed on sidewalks, right next to the fire hydrants?

JPS said...

David,

Funny you mention cats. I don't doubt some huskies will attack them, but mine actually likes them: on leash, she'll go nose-to-nose, still 'smiling'. Usually the cat hisses, but she never takes offense. Squirrel encounters are different: she tries hard to dislocate my shoulder.

Robert Cook: great post. Glad to agree with you now and then.

Phil 314 said...

I think the old logo is asking for it.

MrCharlie2 said...

old logo looks like sammy, not a husky

Fritz said...

The new one looks like my aging female husky.

Colleges have just gone nuts.

William said...

It's sort of baroque to worry about being raped by a husky. I don't think it's fair to stereotype our canine population in this way. And anyway the only competitive team is women's basketball. If used to disparage the women's team, such a comment is sexist and probably homophobic. This student should be disciplined appropriately.

test said...

MadisonMan said...
Seriously -- who is going to hire her now? Someone who is looking for a professional victim?


There are plenty of jobs in Women's Studies departments and leftist media where pretending stupid shit means women are oppressed is the core competency. Plus there's the Chair of the DNC, the primary qualificaation for which appears to be a willingness to look like an idiot in public.

edutcher said...

Actually, the old logo, which looks like it's saying, "Damn, she's got a great ass", is probably more offensive; the new one looks like a real Husky.

And, if I were the "self-described feminist student"'s father, I'd pull her chubby ass out of school and tell her to find a job. She's too stupid for a college education.

Unknown said...

Except as an example of a particular brand of insanity this is utter

I'll lay odds she thinks Joker the bomber is cute.

Unknown said...

Meant to say utter nonsense.

Cedarford said...


"In an open letter to UC President Susan Herbst, self-described feminist student Carolyn Luby wrote that the redesigned team logo will intimidate women and empower rape culture."

=================
This vapid idiocy will continue until people have the guts to openly start calling the Carolyn Lubys out there the stupid cunts they really are, and laugh at them.

John Cunningham said...

The old logo was a Samoyed, not a Siberian Husky. It appears that the vaporous femhags of the area are having a conniption fit, no? and yet, she fails to provide for sufficient diversity for excluded groups like deaf lesbian Eskimoes or transgendered Malaysian midgets,

Codebanger said...

So much for "I am woman, hear me roar".

Now it's more like "I am woman, hear me whine".

That's not funny!

Anonymous said...

The old one looks like Dorothy's cowardly lion, the new one is a sinister wolf.

Clyde said...

The one on the left squats to pee. The one on the right lifts his leg.

Sydney said...

I know what it feels like to have a real life Husky look straight through you and to feel powerless,...

Carolyn Luby. So that's Little Red Riding Hood's real name.

Nomennovum said...

This simply proves that feminists are nothing but crazy and overemotional women. -- Nomennovum, Chairman of the Department of Redundacy Department

Leland said...

The old logo reminds me of SQUIRREL.

I thought women wanted men to look them in the eye. I understanding looking to the side isn't intimidating, but wouldn't a girl be offended if her date was looking away from her? Offensive would be the new logo looking about 30 degrees downward rather than straight ahead.

n.n said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
n.n said...

It's a before and after picture of Kermit G. He started life as domestic and civilized, but his career was brutish, and he grew wild and vicious. His occupation cultivated a sadistic expression, which motivated him to strike at his dehumanizing oppressors.

I can appreciate why Luby feels terrorized. Her next visit may be her last. She knows that her vote was for transformative change.

Synova said...

Synchronicity (of a sort).

On the science fiction writing usenet group I belong to (that still exists, amazingly enough) they're riffing on naming battleships after dogs, but because the aliens who let us off the planet were afraid of us, humans aren't allowed anything powerful... thus the Shi-Tzu class of war ships.

Other suggestions... Chihuahua, Toy Poodle and Pug class vessels.

Mastiff, Wolfhound and Terrier class ships were vetoed. Too aggressive. (The intelligence ships are Border Collie class.)

Skyler said...

That girl isn't a feminist. She's a sissy.

The Godfather said...

I grew up in Connecticut. I'm pretty sure that the UConn husky of my youth (up until 1969) looked more like the "new" husky than the "old" one. It was what you'd expect a mascot to look like. UConn seems to be returning to the original. Whether she knows it or not (clearly not; she knows nothing) that's what the little girl in the article is whining about.

chillblaine said...

The Minnesota Timberwolves are next on her list. And that Cleveland Cavalier guy is a little too devil-may-care for her delicate sensiblities as well.

Anonymous said...

What you people don't know about this story is that the dog's name is Rapey Raperson.

Kinda changes things, doesn't it.

Now she doesn't appear to be such a dumb bitch looking to be a victim, does she?

Sam L. said...

I see happy dogs. I see unhappy feminists. Don't recall ever seeing a happy feminist.

Almost Ali said...

They're both childish. Let a pro (Chip) recreate #2.

Erich said...

"Using the doll, show us where the cartoon dog touched you."

Æthelflæd said...

chillblaine said... " And that Cleveland Cavalier guy is a little too devil-may-care for her delicate sensiblities as well."

+1

furious_a said...

This vapid idiocy will continue until people have the guts to openly start calling the Carolyn Lubys out there the stupid cunts they really are, and laugh at them.

Rush Limbaugh did with Sandra Fluke, and --oh, the humanity -- from orbit you could hear the lefties wailing.

Astro said...

I have the suspicion that if you gave Ms Luby a Rorschach test she'd answer 'rape', 'penis' or 'vagina' to every ink blot.

Taylor said...

"Using the doll, show us where the cartoon dog touched you."

He didn't touch me, he looked at me.

Now you're looking at me!

Fr Martin Fox said...

Where's Inga?

Taylor said...

"This penis party's got to go, hey hey, ho ho!"

"Pack up your rape culture and take a hike!"

"You participated in a phallus-naming?"

It's frickin' brilliant.

Anonymous said...

Where's Inga?

4/26/13, 10:33 PM

Here I am, Father!

Just got back from my grandsons birthday party. The whole thing is ridiculous.

Michael K said...

They should have adopted a basset hound as logo except a basset has a penis a foot long. Even so...

DADvocate said...

I thought the old logo was a joke at first. Looks like a female dog from "Lady and the Tramp." When I saw the new logo, it made me glad I don't live where they have rapist sled dogs. Scary, really scary.

Reminds me of the University of Kentucky Wildcat with a penis for a tongue scandal a few years ago.

For those of you (rightfully) ridiculing Luby, be advised that The FeministWire is defending Luby for her "courageous Op-Ed. Exposing yourself as a complete idiot is rather courageous. As that famous sexist and potential rapist, Abraham Lincoln, said "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt."

Kirk Parker said...

Wot? Still no "lameness" tag?

Carl said...

You know how they used to say if you were freaked out by gays, it meant you were secretly gay yourself and longing to be fucked up the ass by one? Ha ha, Luby-lube.

Revenant said...

When exactly did the bullshit term "rape culture" start being widely used?

I know it was sometime after I was in college, but that covers a lot of ground.

AlanKH said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
AlanKH said...

Luby must get PTSD when watching the Iditarod.

Nomennovum said...

Huskies look like wolves. The new mascot looks like a wolf. Wolves are scary, dangerous and associated with male sexuality (think of wolf whistles). Women with low sexual market value hate and fear men's sexuality. The old mascot looked like a puppy dog. Girls like puppies. They're cute, soft, and cuddly. If you this Miss Luby's psyche goes any deeper than this, you're wasting your time.

HA said...

Its only a matter of time before Ms. Luby converts to Islam, dons the veil, and marries a nice, aspiring terrorist.

lgv said...

Thanks everyone for all the great comments. I enjoyed them immensely. That's why I love this blog.

Poor Carolyn Luby. This will follow her for the rest of her life. People like me will never hire her. She is now sentenced to a career in academia as a Liberal Arts professor.

virgil xenophon said...

nomennovum is on the mark..

And, btw, fwiw, UCon wants a more "aggressive" insignia for it's sports teams for the exact same reason the U. of Louisville Cardinal is depicted with prominently displayed clenched teeth...sport is combat..

Pettifogger said...

When I saw the old logo, my mind immediately registered "collie." The new one is much more aggressive, which is what you want for a sports team, or at least what most people want. Bad people, I guess, who do not understand collaborative sports.

MarkD said...

If she's not a basketball player, nobody at UConn will care.

Unknown said...

You're missing the most important option, which is that nobody cares about UConn.

AllenS said...

Carolyn Luby must get the vapors when she sees a weiner dog.

lemondog said...

Maybe it is a girl husky.

Lipstick would have help soften the image, no?

hawkeyedjb said...

"empower rape culture"

Did you know there is a Rape Culture on college campuses? I did not. Culture refers to the language, customs and behaviors of an identifiable group. Is there a group on campus that engages in rape to such a degree that it has become a culture? It has specific language and behavior traits that are pervasive? College sounds like a horrible place. I wonder why we don't shut them all down. At the least, shut down the University of Connecticut where rape is ubiquitous. Why is this place allowed to exist?

MaxedOutMama said...

She needs a referral to a mental health clinic. Doesn't the university have one?

Personally I find the old logo more threatening than the new one. The expression on the new Husky's face looks rather cheerful and enthusiastic - the worst thing that dog might be plotting would be a wild leap to steal the ball right out of your hand since you are so damned slow about throwing it. The older one looks like the Husky might be considering violence, or annoyed about another dog moving to flank him.

However I'm a dog person, so that might not be the common reaction.

However I do think that every sane person should realize that a college education is wasted on the plaintiff. To think that we will end up paying off her student loans in 25 years makes me nauseous.

Rusty said...

Nomennovum said...
Huskies look like wolves

I have to laugh.

Our Siberian.Mocha, wouldn't hurt a fly. The lady down the street has three little soccer dogs. We could be half a block away and she'll call out ,"Keep that wolf dog away from my puppies!"
In reality all the little dog has to do is bark at Mocha and she'll move to get behind me.

Strelnikov said...

If this is what they're down to fearing, feminism is truly over.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Saint Croix: That's from the opening page of Catherine MacKinnon's Only Words. She's asking her readers (and her students) to imagine themselves being victims of awful crimes.

Why would you imagine such things?


That's the sort of thing you do when your family pressures you into following a serious and respectable profession, but your true vocation is writing porn.

TMink said...

That woman needs about two years of serious therapy. She is delusionally projecting her fears onto external reality.

Trey

gadfly said...

Unable to differentiate since I have no idea which logo is old and which is new.

Since neither can harm anyone, I would echo the words of Hillary Clinton:

"What difference at this point does it make?"

TRISTRAM said...

As a dog owner, I'd say both logos are canine smiles / grins. they don't represent aggression or implied violence at all.