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Make her feel special

A garden centre has provoked a backlash after suggesting men made their wives "feel special this Christmas" by buying a rotary clothesline as a present.

A garden centre has provoked a feminist backlash from customers after suggesting men made their wives "feel special this Christmas" by buying a rotary clothesline as a present.

The "Vento lightweight aluminium rotary clothesline" is pictured in a perfectly manicured garden with the headline: "Make her feel special with a clothesline this Christmas."

Responses reported in the Telegraph include:

"If my husband bought me this for Christmas I certainly wouldn't feel special - I hope most men would be intelligent enough to realise this." (Abi Moore from anti-stereotyping group Pink Stinks)

"I feel for any man that follows the brochure's advice because I don't think a clothesline is going to make anyone feel special. A gift like this is so unromantic and useless it is likely to create a frosty atmosphere in some households on Christmas day. It serves no purpose at this time of year because it is raining so hard and it will just have to sit around in a box getting in the way for a few months. If you insist on buying your wife something for the house at least buy her something she can use over the Christmas period - a cooker perhaps." (Margaret Green from women’s equality group WAITS)

Managers at the garden centre said they have received about 100 complaints from customers and admitted the "joke" was ill advised.

Read more from the Telegraph.