J.C. Penney Shirt Teaches Girls That Being Smart & Pretty Are Mutually Exclusive (PHOTO)

Despite girls playing sports, boys wearing pink and the million other modern ways our old gender stereotypes have been proven false, every so often a product or company reminds us that not everyone has given up on the old cliches (see: this Tide commercial).

Thanks to the Hairpin, we got a look at this girls' t-shirt on sale (only $9.99!) at J. C. Penney that reads:

"I'm too pretty to do homework so my brother has to do it for me."

Progressive, Penney's. Little girls should most definitely know that being smart and beautiful are mutually exclusive. Hell, why don't you just make a tee for the juniors department that says, "Smart girls don't get asked to prom"?

Luckily, the media chatter about the shirt in just the past few hours seems to have inspired J.C. Penney to pull the product -- clicking the link to buy it now turns up a "We are sorry, but this product is not available at this time" message.

But we got a screengrab before the tee was removed -- check it out below.

Does this shirt bother you as much as it bothers us?

UPDATE: Since pulling the tee, J.C. Penney gave the following statement to the Village Voice:

"J.C. Penney 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. Our merchandise is intended to appeal to a broad customer base, not to offend them. We would like to apologize to our customers and are taking action to ensure that we continue to uphold the integrity of our merchandise that they have come to expect."

(Via Hairpin)

Comments

[holhr]

01:50 PM on 09/14/2011

Great article on debunking sexual stereotypes, but right next to it there's the Huffpost people style watch section with the headlines:

Celebs Who Brought Sexy Back
Kate's Fashion Reign of 2011

And of course the headlines in the HuffPo Celebrity News:
PHOTOS: Christina's Most Cleavage Baring Moments
Joan Crawford's Naked Home Movies Exposed
Emma Roberts Skips Class To Attend Fashion Show
PHOTO: Perrey Reeves Shows Off Bikini Body In Maui

Duh.

[Kaitlyn Lewis]

01:47 PM on 09/19/2011

Irony much? lol

[LemurTech]

12:58 PM on 09/14/2011

"I'm too pretty to do homework so my brother has to do it for me."

That is one dumb T-shirt. You can bet *my* daughter wouldn't be wearing it. But I'm not going to have a tissy about it either. Perspective, people.

Don't be quick to read into this that corporate America is trying to 'keep women down'. In this global economy that shafts America's own manufacturing jobs in favor of higher company profits and consumer demand for lower prices, nearly all of these garments (and the inane slogans that come with shirts like this) come from independent supplier companies in China, India, or Indonesia (where I lived for 20 years). Since English is not a first language for the designers and manufacturers, and more importantly since they are not Americans, the impact of messages like these on the American psyche--with it's hypersensitivity to gender issues--passes them by. They do not have agents of Political Correctness reviewing every order from every big American chain store for which they produce garments before they slap that JC Penny label on.

Then on this end some staff member working for the online shopping cart put together the product image, description, and pricing info without much thought--just doing her/his job.

I'd consider it an oversight--unfortunate but harmless. JC Penny pulled the product on request. No corporate conspiracy, no need for a boycott, end of story. Choose your battles. Another great HuffPo headline.

[buddhaphilwisdom]

10:18 AM on 09/14/2011

It is not in corporate interest to educate independent and strong minded females. Doubt and shame are tools to keep people down! I went from watching HGTV and a bunch of awesome women on a show called "All American Handyman" to seeing this!
Just stop supporting all the b.s. It's that simple.

Support women like this: http://bit.ly/rurATa

[Dede Eagleburger]

11:23 AM on 09/14/2011

Support her yes, and ALL women, in everything they do!
Last time I checked, the only thing that is in 'corporate interest' is making a buck.

[moiraeve1]

10:13 AM on 09/14/2011

Yes, something's broken in corporate America--no values! Of the type you can be proud of. Some butthead buyer thought this was cute and perpetrated it on the rest of us. I hope there's some serious performance improvement plan in the works for that employee.

[Rocky Romeo]

09:04 AM on 09/14/2011

I never heard of any companies asking for the ending of "Boys are stupid.... throw rocks at them" t-shirts that I see in the mall. Stop catering to women and start sticking up for what is right for the boys sometime....

Dr. Rocky Romeo
[e-mail]
609-498-1694

[moiraeve1]

10:14 AM on 09/14/2011

So that makes this right? Why don't you complain, and don't characterize this complaint as being "catering to women".

[Dede Eagleburger]

10:16 AM on 09/14/2011

How about we stop worrying so much about what's printed on t-shirts?? period :)

[jaziro1]

04:50 PM on 09/12/2011

I don't remember hearing any women complaing with "snips and snails and puppy dog tails, that's what boys are made of"

[cleogrrl]

05:32 PM on 09/15/2011

Why does this matter? If it's an issue for you, take action!

[KRTaylor]

01:00 AM on 09/11/2011

One should not allow children to learn the lessons of life from television shows, television evangelists, politicians with no brains, musicians with no talent, actors with big mouths but no brains or talent, fashion magazines or ugly tee shirts. And I don't just mean just ugly in a moral sense. I mean that's one ugly garment.

[TreadingWater]

08:12 AM on 09/05/2011

"Men don't make passes at girls in glasses."

Ginger said it on Gilligan's Island, so it must be true.

[Juda Farmer]

03:36 AM on 09/04/2011

And further we are taken into the morality prison. Where our choices and thoughts are corralled and managed by those who are much smarter than we. I was more comfortable, when it was just the Catholics. Now its whoever disagrees, with whatever they disagree with. Get that stuff outta here!! How dare a girl wear a shirt she likes!!!

No one is forcing anyone to BUY THE SHIRT!!!! WHY ARE WE ALLOWING SOMEONE TO NOT ALLOW US TO BUY IT!!! What the hell country do I live in anymore???? THIS IS NOT MY AMERICA!!!!

[Marturia]

08:51 PM on 09/04/2011

All this drama over a t-shirt?

You could prabably buy the t-shirt online, just not from J.C. Penney. Will you be OK now?

[Juda Farmer]

02:28 AM on 09/06/2011

Sadly, you miss the point.

Enjoy the pasture..

[PatA]

12:55 AM on 09/05/2011

F&F

[they-r-us]

06:39 PM on 09/03/2011

The male version: "I'm too cool to do homework, so my sister has to do it for me."

[TreadingWater]

08:13 AM on 09/05/2011

The US version:

"Why do the work at all if i can get someone less pretty to do it for me?"

[darcav1]

12:09 PM on 09/03/2011

There are more than 100 NFL and NBA cheerleaders who are also scientists and engineers. These Science Cheerleaders did their homework, their brothers' homework, AND found time for rigorous, 2.5 hour rehearsals each week! They are inspirations and role models to millions of budding cheerleaders in the U.S.A., shattering stereotypes along the way. Check them out:http://www.sciencecheerleader.com

[Dede Eagleburger]

10:20 AM on 09/14/2011

thanks for the reminder!
And I'll bet most of them would laugh at a shirt like this too...

[Ellobern]

12:05 PM on 09/03/2011

What year is this? Did we suddenly time travel back to the 50's? This teeshirt is absolutely assanine. Aside from the larger, sexist message, the message doesn't remotely have a fragment of truth to it. Girls have always done better in school than boys.

[carmenalex]

01:31 PM on 09/02/2011

Can we please get rid of the bratz dolls next?

[Helen Greenfeld]

11:57 AM on 09/02/2011

It's funny. Can't people just laugh? Iif a girl wants to wear it, that's their and their parents freedom of expression. There are worse things out there that people wear. Like S & M outfits and don't forget the Walmart Runway models strutting their stuff.

[Ellobern]

12:09 PM on 09/03/2011

Helen - It is NOT funny! I'm from an era when women were treated as inferior to men brainwise and I would hate to go back to those times. You are evidently unaware of the women's movement and perhaps were born and raised in recent times where you reap the benefits but did not participate in the struggle or suffer through inequality for women.

[Helen Greenfeld]

08:49 PM on 09/03/2011

You're right it's not funny, it's hilarious. I am a very independent woman and sure of myself. Keep your shirt on. There are worse things to get ones blood pressure up over with all the misery in this world. I think we should not be taking things so seriously especially these tee shirts.

[see-ellen2001]

07:37 PM on 09/03/2011

Helen Grenfeld: and it is others' freedom of expression to let JC P know they may be boycotted for selling this.

[Helen Greenfeld]

09:05 PM on 09/03/2011

To get all in a huff over this small silliness? It's a funny tee shirt and there are those that will buy it and those that won't. Don't we have other worse fish to fry and fret about?
Aren't people taking politcal correctness to the extreme?
Let's get into a huff about starving, poor people who can't put food on the table.

[katiekins]

11:50 AM on 09/02/2011

When I first saw that Tide commercial, I figured people would fly into a frenzy over it. Here's the truth: some women want their girls to be girly. Gasp! Shock! Horror! If you're the sort of person who thinks frilly pink dresses on little girls is cute, and that's what you want for your child, then what is wrong with that? The mother and child in this commercial are fictional, but seriously, is the mother not allowed to be disappointed in her daughter's lack of interest in super girly clothing? Why should that reaction be banned? There is no point in censoring it.

[fredpa]

07:21 AM on 09/03/2011

That Tide commercial is clever and funny. I'd buy that product.