Re “Up against the grass ceiling” (Op-ed, June 4): As a feminist who was raised by a feminist, and who works for Yankee Candle, permit me to comment on Jennifer Graham’s funny, insightful column. Graham writes about how “Yankee Candle’s ‘Riding Mower,’ with a scent evocative of freshly cut grass, is shrewdly marketed in the weeks before Father’s Day with no feminist outcry.” I have had fun at work with the “Man Candles” product line, and have told some customers that I find these candles sexist. The responses have ranged from “Why?” to “But they’re fun” to “Who cares?”
“Riding Mower” is similar to another Yankee Candle fragrance. In the past month I have waited on, and been privileged to meet, two young men who are war veterans. The Army vet told me that while in Afghanistan, he ordered “Green Grass” sent to him, and when her burned it, fellow soldiers gathered to take in the aroma while in the desert. The Marine vet told me that one of the first things he did when he came home was to buy himself a “Green Grass” candle — a scent he loved while serving in Iraq. Here we were, making war in the desert more bearable for young troops without even knowing it. Something to think about while — man or woman — we mow our lawns.