Popular Culture Review Vol. 12, No. 2, August 2001 | Page 97

being scorned whenever placing their increasing demands on others, narcissists
wish to retreat in frustration. Many bumper stickers narrate stories of pent-up
emotions and anger towards other people, as the following stickers do:
How many times do I have to flush before you go away?
Some people are alive only because it’s illegal to kill them.
Learn from your parents’ mistake: use birth control.
Going back to the theory, narcissists fear that having children can only restrict
their freedom. However, the existence of children is purposeful when they allow
their parents to bask in their reflected glory. It may very well be true that the
original sticker...
Proud parent of a honor student a t...
...w as born out o f an authentic sense o f pride for o n e’s ch ild ren ’s
accomplishments. As it often happens in the world of stickers though, many decals
emerge as a response to original messages, and function as replies to those, such
as...:
My kid beat up your honor student son.
My son had sex with your honor student daughter.
...and these replies seem motivated more by a sore competitive spirit than
anything else. The misanthropy of narcissistic individuals, as theory suggests, is
also manifested in their resentment toward members of the opposite sex. Colliding
cultural prescriptions of the past and present have overlapped resulting in deep
uncertainty about gender roles. Some men, perhaps taught by the new therapeutic
culture of the self to transcend their insecurity by getting in touch with their sensitive
and spontaneous androgynous side have resorted to denial and macho selfaggrandizement. The man who struggles to appear more masculine by driving
more powerful cars and dating large-breasted women suffers from the same
existential insecurity his female counterpart does by getting breast implants and
riding exclusively in their men’s fast cars (Stern, 1979). The reader can notice the
belligerent character of these messages, which directly reflect the conflict between
the genders:
Men aren’t pigs....pigs are gentle, cute creatures!
Women like silent men, they think they’re listening.
Don’t be sexist - broads hate that!
If you think the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach...you’re aiming
too high.
Narcissists demand adoration, “intimacy without vulnerability, love without
commitment or responsibility”(Stem, 1979, p.3), and feel a generalized skepticism
toward the usefulness of perceiving and expressing feelings, and establishing close
interpersonal relationships. There is an impressing quantity of bumper stickers
providing a jaded commentary on the importance of long lasting romantic
relationships: