Recently, JC Penny removed from its stores a t-shirt bearing the words “I’m too pretty to do homework, so my brother has to do it for me”. They removed it because people complained that the shirt promoted the old stereotype that girls can be smart or pretty, but not both, re-normalizing a stereotype that so many have fought so hard to eliminate from our young daughters’ environments.
Boys and girls alike are keenly tuned in to what their peers are wearing, and how media they encounter portrays “normal” and “successful” girls and boys (as well as women and men). Girls are bombarded daily by ads for butt-toning shoes for toddlers, Barbie dolls that like shopping but think math is tough, padded bikinis and thongs with the words “eye candy” on them for elementary school girls, and told via way too many outlets their worth is (and should be) measured by their looks.
GeekMomBlog went to bat for JC Penny and the shirt this morning.
I don’t think anybody, including the folks at JCPenney, believes that girls are too pretty to do their own homework or that they should force their brothers into servitude. I doubt there are any kids that think so, either.
The problem is that it sends a message to girls about what their priorities should be, and that girls should choose between smart & pretty. A message reinforced in our culture over and over again. Shopping is more important. Because how you look is most important. The copy accompanying the JC Penny ad?
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.
If she buys this, it’s proof that she is cute and sassy!
GeekMom implies in her post that it’s ok because it’s intended to be ironic. Ironic messages like this are certainly prevalent in our culture. So much so that maybe our kids will grow immune to them, desensitized because they see it so often.
It’s the secret of social ease in this country. They talk entirely for their own pleasure. Nothing they say is designed to be heard. – Evelyn Waugh, The Loved One
The problem is that sexualizing our daughters *is* built into commodity culture. If only one shirt existed promoting this message, it would indeed be no big deal. But it’s not one shirt. It’s everywhere. Remember the kids’ movie Robots? How are we going to sell upgrades if people think they’re fine the way they are?
Speaking out against the sexualization and commoditization of our kids is important because it does make change happen. If JC Penny thinks people will boycott their stores if they hawk this kind of merchandise, they’ll put less of it up for sale. We can’t eliminate these messages, but we can fight back. And in fighting back, we in turn set a positive message for our girls.
Update: Wanna do something about it? Girl Scouts of the USA is helping promote the Healthy Media for Youth Act (HB 2513/ SB 1354). Click the link to read more.
