Feminist alarm bells went off recently when the retailer, JC Penney, offered what some considered to be a sexist T-shirt on its website. The shirt that was marketed for girls age 7-16 read, "I'm too pretty to do homework so my brother has to do it for me." I can't help but wonder what moron on their marketing team thought that this T-shirt was a good idea?
To make matters worse, the description of the shirt on the JC Penney website read—"Who has time for homework when there’s a new Justin Bieber album out? She’ll love this tee that’s just as cute and sassy as she is."
Outraged customers took to Twitter to complain and even organized an on-line petition at Change.org with the message: “Stop selling clothing with sexist messages for girls.” All the noise worked because JC Penney pulled the T-shirt from the website and issued this apology:
"JCPenney is committed to being America's destination for great style and great value for the whole family. We agree that the “Too pretty” t-shirt does not deliver an appropriate message, and we have immediately discontinued its sale."
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This apology was not enough for one furious mom, Melissa Wardy, the founder of the Mom-created apparel company Pigtail Pals. She was so offended by the pulled T-shirt that she created her own shirt to sell on her website that reads "Pretty's got NOTHING to do with it" across the chest.
Although I could easily applaud the effort made by Pigtail Pals to "Redefine girly" in a beauty-driven industry, I can't help but feel that an adult battle is being fought at the expense of young girls. The trend of using children's clothing as a platform seems tasteless to me. Unless, of course, there is a pretty vs. smart battle raging through playgrounds that I don't know about.
If a young girl were to base her self-image on either of these T-shirts, she might feel that she can either be pretty or smart. I ask, are the two mutually exclusive? Shouldn't girls know that they can be both pretty and smart? Are smart girls destined to feel plain while pretty girls are destined for stupidity? And what does "smart" mean anyway?
I can't help but wonder how these mixed messages will affect our young sisters and daughters as they navigate through an already complex world.
I have not been blessed with a daughter, but I do have two sassy young nieces. My hope for them is that they will grow up to know that they are beautiful. They should feel confident about their beauty and know that it's nothing to hide or be ashamed of.
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I want them to know their own intelligence so that a sexist T-shirt won't influence them. I hope that they will know how funny and clever they are, so that they will see the world with a sense of humor and laugh off people who may try to hold them back.
I look to the future with faith that they will love every aspect of themselves, no matter how the grown ups in the fashion industry try to shape and mold them.
Do you think such T-shirts are appropriate? What messages do you feel the fashion industry gives to girls? How can we we help raise confident young ladies? Please leave your opinions and experiences in the comments.
