UPDATE FROM JCPENNEY BELOW
Aww… isn’t it so cute to see your size 7-16 girl strutting her stuff in this sassy JCPenney sweatshirt?
Let’s get past the part where this is a God-awful graphical mess on a sweatshirt that no fashion-sensible tween would ever wear and focus on the fact that JCPenney is selling a sweatshirt that says girls are pretty and dumb and boys are smart and gullible.
I’m too pretty to do homework, so my brother has to do it for me.
JCPenney responded to a comment on their Facebook wall with the following statement:
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 you and all of our customers and are taking action to ensure that we continue to uphold the integrity of our merchandise that they have come to expect.
The shirt is now off of the site:
image credit JCPenney; via Melissa Wardy & Allison
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{ 78 comments… read them below or add one }
That makes me want to never shop at JCPenney. EVER.
ugh. just ugh.
They need to fire whoever approved that.
WTF?!? That is SO very, very wrong.
Wow. I’m speechless.
This is sickening. And I agree with Heather, it makes me want to never shop at JCPenny.
Oh no they didn’t!
No. Just, no.
Also, why? I can’t honestly believe people are buying this product and thinking, ‘Hey, what a great shirt!’
Shame on you JCP.
No offense, I’m a senior in high school but I don’t find this so horrifying. I’d never purchase it and neither would a smart girl and her mother- so why worry when others choose to allow their children to wear it?
No offense taken. Different points of view and discussion are always welcome :)
No offense at all taken. The issues, in my opinion, is that it’s even thought of as an “OK” message to sell to girls. There are enough subliminal messages already feeding into our girls’ heads that they’re not smart enough, so having it so blatant on a shirt is shocking and unacceptable.
Thanks for commenting, and come back again!
wtf..they’re so fired. asswipes!
Was it a poor decision to have the sweatshirt available there? Yes. The really sad part is that people are actually buying it.
i think most of those t-shirts that have things written on them are stupid. i just don’t buy them for my kids.
totally agree!
Who in their right mind looks as this and thinks, “Yes, this is the message I want to send to my daughter and her peers.” One would hope that not a single person had purchased this shirt.
That’s exactly what I thought! So ridiculous.
Hoping that the “designer” of these sweatshirts is given some time off to reflect on what an asshat creation he/she made. If nothing less, I’m just praying to see thousands of these shirts on a clearance rack by end of Sept.
Not long ago, there was a bunch of shirts that said “I’m too pretty to do math.”
Because, you know. Stereotypes are all the rage this season.
Post your comments on JCP’s website as feedback for the shirt so they know how you feel about the shirt & the message it sends to our youth.
Done!
Good thinking!
Ladies!! You can follow the link to JCP and review the shirt. Don’t just vent here, do something the store can see! Its quick to set up a free account and I was the first person to actually review the item.
Excuse me, I must go brush my teeth because I just threw up in my mouth.
Left a nice little review for this on JCP.com. Digusted…
To those of you saying you wrote a review, when I go to the link, it says “Write The First Review” and shows no others. Are they deleting them?
Also, I find it amusing that a similar shirt is labeled “Self esteem®”. If that’s the brand name, they need a little assistance with the true meaning of self esteem!
http://www.jcpenney.com/jcp/X6.aspx?Grptyp=SIZ&ItemId=1c9c1b7&cmOrigId=1c9c22f&cmTypeFlag=RichRel&cmCatID=77892|77894
takes up to 48 hours to post reviews but keep them coming ladies! Sad Sad Sad :((
Gross…Just lost a lot of respect for JCP.
You. Are. KIDDING. Can’t believe this, how awful!
“Who has time for homework when there’s a new Justin Bieber album out?” Nice. Let’s encourage kids to not care about school. No wonder drop out rates are so high!
SERIOUSLY!
I feel more sorry for the parents that will purchase this for their daughter because they are misguided to believe its cute and funny.
I’m not laughing.
I can’t tell which part of the message is more offensive, that being pretty precludes you from homework (well hello aspiring nation of reality television stars) or that a girl needs her male sibling to do it for her. I go back and forth, but that is certainly a vile message on both counts.
Holy moly! What an awful message to send to youngsters!
I was shopping the other day and saw some little girls underwear (ages 4-10-ish) which had slogans on like “hot stuff” and “little minx”
I was horrified and took them to the till to complain, the teenager behind the till couldn’t care less, at least I tried!
Of course the person behind the till didn’t care, they neither designed, bought, nor approved the designs; they do not even sell the underwear, they just have to do the mechanical ‘selling it for money’ thing in return for long, boring hours and lousy pay. To expect them to care as well is just cruel.
However, I wholly agree, of all the life enhancing messages that could be splashed on your bottom or advertised from your chest – these are very much not what I’d want.
There is a wonderful website that campaigns against the narrowing role models for young girls called pink stinks – I recommend it wholeheartedly.
http://www.pinkstinks.co.uk/
WHAT? Where did you see those panties? I must know.
It was a store in the UK called Matalan, it was a few months back now but I haven’t been back!
If you happen to go back, take a pic and send it to our Twitter account, @CurvyGirlTweets. I MUST see this.
I’ll see what I can do.
There was a big thing in the news over here in the last year about inappropriate slogans and underwear for pre-teens.
Primark (Uk store, not sure if you have it in US) was selling padded bras and thongs for 4-11 year olds! They have since stopped selling them as the media backlash was intense…understandably.
Looks more like something you would find at Big Lots or the local dollar store. Probably would be a top seller there.
Is this a jab at those who shop at Big Lots or dollar stores? Just because someone doesn’t have a ton of money doesn’t mean they’d be okay with this shirt.
I do shop at those stores and am intelligent enough to know that the shirt is garbage.
That is vile. I went to a small, Christian high school in NE Ohio, where i was basically told I’d become little more than a housewife, and that I shouldn’t focus on other things. I happen to love writing and don’t disparage anyone for being a housewife, but I don’t want to relegate young women to feel “less than.”
No shame on JCPenney – they stock what will sell. It IS a shame though, that there is actually a market for this crap.
Just when you think women have come so far, junk like this shows up to remind us that we still have a loooooong way to go.
I’m going to make my daughter a shirt that reads: “I’m too smart to wear stupid t-shirts.”
GENIUS.
I saw this shirt the other day and freaked out. No way is my child wearing something like. There are enough stereotypes that we have to break being a family with lesbian moms – but now THIS?!?!? UGH!
That literally made me gag. Granted, I have a weak stomach anyway, but no item of clothing has ever had that effect before. It’s almost literally unbelievable that enough people thought this was a good idea that it made it to the sales floor!
Tried to leave a review and they have disable review submissions. I am shocked and appalled that they condone things such as this which only serve to belittle and degrade women at a very young age.
This is so incredibly offensive and sets woman-kind back 50 years. I have to ask though, how is this different than shorts with “Juicy” written on the toosh or “Brat”. The only way retailers will stop selling this crap is if we stop buying. Teaching our girls their bodies are there to be objectified and they only need beauty and not brains to get through life is wrong on so many levels. But this isn’t JCP’s fault. They do what every other retailer does. Sells whatever brings a buck. It’s our job as consumers and mothers and most importantly women to send the message to retailers this will not be tolerated. You can easily find the head of marketing for JCP through a simple google search. Send the message.
PS – they’ve removed the shirt from their online store I believe. Good work, ladies.
Agree. Speak with your wallet.
I am not offended. Think about it, when you see a girl wearing it you automatically know she is stupid so you are forewarned. The back could say “I am not with stupid, I am stupid”
But all that said, it was meant to be humorous and not insulting. You should be more worried about teachers cheating on the proficiency tests because they suck as teachers and your kids are their students.
These are little girls, so I would feel weird calling them stupid. I think the parents are the stupid ones.
Horrible. Left a review, but it hasn’t posted yet, and neither has anyone elses…strange!
Nice job ladies!! I clicked the link and it’s not there. I searched the juniors and it’s not there either! Either they sold out or they listened. That’s just a pathetic message to send to our girls.
Maybe they took it down for a second, but it’s still up there for me unfortunately: http://goo.gl/scSsG
As of 12:21 PM it’s gone from the site.
Yup – it’s gone now! And they put out a statement on their Facebook page (quoted above).
Why the outrage over this shirt? What about the shirts that don’t have words but the fit and lack of fabric scream, “I’m Cheap! I’m Easy.” What about the attitude-type shirts that have been around for years that scream rebellion, sexual innuendo’s, drug and alcohol abuse, etc. Really? All of the messages are pathetic whether they are spelled out as this one or simply say “do me” without the words. The last 15 years or so of accepting such has led to this. I’m surprised at everyone being surprised. Don’t blame it on a retailer. Don’t buy the shirt and ones like it.
I think this sweatshirt is hilarious. If my straight-A 8th grader wanted it, I’d buy it. Cuz she knows she’s smart and her brother is all of four years old. Mostly, I’d be thrilled that she was confident enough to wear a sweatshirt to Jr High that says “I’m too pretty…”
I have to agree here. If my daughter wanted this, for the same reasons as above I would buy it.
The shirt has been taken down after a petition on Change.org !!! SO PSYCHED #SEEYASUCKERS
I, however, would totally wear that.
Because the shirt is true for you – you’re way too pretty to do math. Just stay over there in the corner listening to your Justin Bieber mashup.
In college I had a shirt that said “I’m Too Pretty To Do Homework So I Give Hand Jobs For Cash At The Red Lobster.”
Unfortunately JC Penny discontinued that one, too.
I had a similar one, but mine said, “I’m Too Pretty To Do Homework So My Mom is Teaching Me How To Pole Dance.”
Mine said “I’m too drunk to do homework.”
I would wear one that says “I’m too pretty to help you with your homework, so ask your dad for help.”
It’s nice that they pulled it, but this isn’t the first offensive item of clothing they’ve sold. I worked there in college (8 years ago)- LOVED working the men’s shop- then I got moved to the girls section. I was shocked by some of the stuff on the racks. T-shirts with Boy-Toy in sparkly letters across the chest (size 4-6x!) is the one that REALLY stuck with me. I was saddened by the fact that not only did JCP carry it, but that parents were buying the stuff for their kiddo’s thinking it was cute. Needless to say I didn’t last long at JCP after the transfer. Now, with how fast stuff spreads through FB and Twitter, these things just get more press and we can have a bigger impact.
WOW! Boy Toy!? Disgusting,
Goodbye, JC! Looks like I won’t be giving you anymore of my money.
Coming soon to a Goodwill near you…..
One thing that’s missing from the JCP statement? We regret our error in judgment and no longer condone gender stereotyping. They didn’t really take ownership, just agree that it’s in poor taste.
“Let’s get past the part where this is a God-awful graphical mess on a sweatshirt that no fashion-sensible tween would ever wear and focus on the fact that JCPenney is selling a sweatshirt that says girls are pretty and dumb and boys are smart and gullible.”
I did not take the shirt to say that at all. I guess I’m just gullible. I was not in the least bit offended.
This shirt should just say, “I am a bimbo.”
I really wonder how this passed all the levels of management clothing must go through before appearing on the shelves in the store. Really, NONE of them found it offensive?
That being said, I don’t find this worthy of a boycott. That seems overly dramatic.
That specific shirt isn’t the worst of it- has anyone seen what goes on kids’ clothes these days? Sheesh- I’ve pretty much resorted to having my daughter wear uniform-type skirts & shirts these days. Between the slutty-wear to the tacky… the list goes on.
I love this shirt! I want one for my 11 year old. Her brothers will go crazy!!