JCPenney pulls ‘I’m too pretty to do homework’ shirt
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JCPenney has stopped selling a shirt after shoppers expressed outrage over what they called an inappropriate and sexist message.
‘I’m too pretty to do homework, so my brother has to do it for me,’ says the white long-sleeve shirt, which was intended for girls ages 7 to 16.
Many people quickly attacked the company for promoting girls’ looks over their brains. It didn’t help that the shirt also said a boy could handle the task.
The description accompanying the shirt was also offensive to many: ‘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.’
‘Hey @jcpenney, this shirt is insulting and offensive. Stop perpetuating negative and harmful stereotypes,’ Twitter user Sarah Enni wrote.
‘Baby Girls, You can be pretty & smart. And if you’re neither, that’s ok too. Put that on a shirt, @jcpenney,’ Tamara Lunardo tweeted.
After seeing the shirt on the company’s website Tuesday, Lauren Todd started a petition on Change.org asking the retailer to pull the shirt.
By Wednesday morning, JCPenney had removed the shirt from its website. The company also sent Todd an email that said, ‘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.’
Kind of makes last week’s T-shirt flap -- over a missing apostrophe on Old Navy’s new college shirts -- look pretty minor.
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-- Andrea Chang