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Hey IKEA, this isn't sexist at all! Just kidding, it totally is.

September 21, 2011 by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

Had to double-check that I wasn't reading a story from The Onion at first, but no, I was on Adweek: An Australian IKEA location is testing Mänland, complete with umlaut, "a crate for husbands and boyfriends with short retail attention spans."

In this crate are foosball tables, video games and free snacks. You know, the kinds of things that all men enjoy because men are a monolithic unit that moves as one and are all alike.

"While some men may pretend to enjoy the shopping experience, we all know they'd prefer to be playing an Xbox or watching a footy (football or rugby game) than pushing a trolley any day," says the chirpy narrator of the video below. Later in the video, she'll interview IKEA spokesperson Jude Leon, who equates the concept with Småland, the retailer's nursery area for little ones. As in Småland, wives or girlfriends that drop off their men are given a buzzer that goes off after 30 minutes, so that they don't forget to come "pick them up." (Another pro-tip: We men all love being treated like children and talked down to. Love it!)

Can you imagine the reaction if a retailer were to try something like Womånland? I'm not even going to speculate on what kinds of things might go in there, because it's a stupid idea from the outset. And it's offensive. But just look at the coverage the retail man-cave is getting. Even a respected source like Adweek can't resist stereotyping and giggling:

"Because really, the men aren't needed until the assembly phase anyway."

ZING! Yet another Always True Fact About All Men. (But this one cuts both ways, ladies – they seem to be suggesting that you can't put your own furniture together.)

Look, I love funny stuff. I'm a pretty funny guy, and it takes a lot to offend me. And to be clear, Mänland does not offend me. (I kinda wish Coldwater Creek had something similar.)

I also wish that culturally, we could come to an agreement on whether or not we have the stomach to use stupid and outmoded clichés as fodder for humor in business, funny or not. I would suggest, no.

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