The small, sexist joke that became a big deal

This article told me how horrible it was that this label appeared on a pair of pants:

Interestingly enough, half the article was dedicated to the fact that many people will say this isn't a big deal, and the author of the article is a humorless feminist. And that is exactly what I was thinking when I read this article. She certainly addressed the issue- many people shrug off slightly feminist jokes and say that they aren't anything to throw a fit (or write an entire article) about. However, the fact that she nailed the nature of the issue on the head does not mean that she was persuasive, because she didn't change my mind at all, even though I fit exactly into the category of people she seemed to be pleading with. A man wearing these pants does not mean he's sexist. A company selling these pants does not necessarily believe that all men have women who ought to do their laundry. What I'm saying, I guess, is that a sexist joke doesn't matter as long as isn't meant in earnest. If a company was putting out flyers encouraging men to avoid all housework and dump it on their automatically inferior lives, then maybe I'd be worried. Not about the propaganda necessarily, but about the fact that many people still think that way. Sure, I think it's horrible that in some countries women are treated as possessions, but I don't care if an average company makes a joke on pants that will probably go to average American men who have average opinions. No one is going to look at these pants and say, "Wow! To think I've been doing all these chores myself. I should of realized that my wife's responsibility is to serve me and do housework all day." People's opinions won't change. At most, they'll laugh and go back to their normal lives. Maybe some men will agree with the label, but they were probably sexist idiots in the first place. Towards the end of the article, the author explains why something like this is a big deal, saying "But if you want to know why it matters, look no further than the comments to Barnett’s own story (or, I’ll wager, in about 10 minutes, on this one). The crass “Oh, shut up.” The blowjob jokes. The surprise that the writer is neither an “idiotic teenaged girl” nor “horse-faced schoolmarm.” The exasperated “For God’s sake, grow up” and “Calm down, dear.” And the accusations, again and again, of that notoriously humorless feminism." So, interestingly enough, I seem to have just proved that this situation is a big deal by doing exactly what she said people would do. Although I don't see how such comments transform something into a big deal. The author used pathos, basically giving an angry rant about sexist jerks who would make horrible, disgusting jokes such as this one. She tried to use logos, but I honestly didn't think her logic made much sense. 

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