On March 7, 2024, Georgian blogger Archibald Mekeshi published several posts about the Georgian Civic Education Textbook (1, 2). The blogger expresses concern over a story published in a book about American businesswoman and philanthropist Sara Blakely, according to which Blakely, the founder of the intimate apparel company Spanx, was listed on Time’s 100 most influential people in 2012, and was ranked 93rd in the worlds most influential women by Forbes in 2014. Mekeshi writes that Spanx is a play on words and is linked to the word “spank,” which represents the Soros Foundation’s perspective on the world, thus the textbook will have a negative impact on children.
By using the words “intimate” and “spank,” Archibald Mekeshi tries to create the impression that the Civic Education Textbook is trying to promote promiscuity. In fact, the word “intimate” in the case of the company Spanx does not mean provocative or sexy underwear. In turn, the blogger manipulatively links the word Spank with the brand name, which has nothing to do with Spanx.
The story of Sara Blakely can actually be found in the 11th-grade Civic Education Textbook. The second chapter of the textbook introduces the student to entrepreneurship as a way of thinking and provides stories of those entrepreneurs whose thinking, courage, and insights resulted in success. For example, in the same chapter, the student can get acquainted with the worldview of LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, according to which entrepreneurial thinking is necessary to achieve success, and in turn, it is possible to develop an entrepreneurial mindset: “In fact, entrepreneurial thinking includes the whole package: action thinking, comfort even in finding chaos, the ability to make quick decisions, strong character, optimism, a whole series of backup plans, etc.
Next to Richard Branson, Steve Jobs, and Reid Hoffman, we see the founder of Spanx, Sara Blakely, who started her story by selling fax machines and turned her entrepreneurial dream into a reality thanks to her perseverance. Blakely’s story is inspiring for aspiring entrepreneurs, especially women, as she started Spanx with a small investment and turned it into a billion-dollar business through creativity, determination, and hard work. Her success story shows that with perseverance and innovative thinking, it is possible to overcome challenges and achieve entrepreneurial success. In addition, Sara Blakely’s story is important in terms of philanthropic activities, as Blakely uses her success to help and support the community. In 2006, Sara Blakely founded a charity, the purpose of which is to provide women’s education. Consequently, her story is considered an example of the positive effects of wealth and influence on public life.
By using the words “intimate” and “spank,” Archibald Mackesh tries to create the impression that the textbook is trying to promote promiscuity. In fact, the word “intimate” means related to human feelings, the spiritual world, love, and highly personal, as well as homely, friendly, and affectionate. Accordingly, “intimate” in the context of clothing means underwear and does not include provocative or sexual underwear. Blakely’s underwear has only a body-correcting purpose and is noticeably different from the products of other linen companies, for example, “Victoria’s Secret“.
The blogger, on the other hand, manipulatively associates the word Spank with the brand name (Spanx). When choosing the name, Blakely paid attention to the fact that “Coca-Cola” and “Kodak,” some of the most famous brands in the world, both had a strong “k” sound in them. Blakely really liked the sound of this letter sound and wanted it to be the initial and final sound of her brand name. Ultimately, it was this basic idea that formed the basis of the company’s name. Blakely thought of the name “Spanks” but she decided to change “ks” with the letter “x,” because she had done some research prior that made-up words do better for products than real words do and they’re also easier to trademark.
Spanx is a brand that specializes in clothing that makes people look better. At first, Sara Blakely produced underwear that had no parts to be worn on the legs and, in turn, adjusted the shape of the body.
Therefore, the name Spanx may actually be considered a play on words combining Span (as in stretch, lean) and x, which are often used to create brand names. In this case, the name Spanx effectively describes the product’s function: to provide body support and shaping. Accordingly, the name corresponds to the brand’s image, which allows women to feel comfortable in their own bodies.
About the Source:
“Archibald Mekeshi” is the pseudonym of Sandro Lominashvili, the founder of the SOU festival. In 2017, the festival hosted the concert of Irish musician Björk in Georgia. Sandro Lominashvili calls himself an “independent activist” and states that he is disturbed by the country’s misfortune and the political and cultural elite who are silent about it. Since 2022, Archibald Mekeshi has been broadcasting video appeals on various social issues and mainly criticizing right-wing approaches. At this stage, Archibald Mekeshi has two Facebook pages “Archibald Mekeshi” and “Archibald forBetter Georgia“. He also posts videos on his TikTok channel.
Archibald Mekeshi calls for the nationalization-expropriation of the Chiatura mines, in addition, he opposes the organization “Center for Social Justice” and claims that they serve US capitalist interests just like other non-governmental organizations. According to Mekeshi, non-governmental organizations encourage the West’s neoliberal economic expansion, and on the other hand, the West itself, takes back all the aid given to Georgia through banks, hence using Georgia as a geopolitical pawn under the guise of partnership and aid.
Archibald Mekeshi also criticizes “Radio Liberty” for its editorial policy and calls art critic and journalist Gogi Gvakharia “Georgian Epstein”.
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