By ABBY FINKELMAN
The Women’s Initiative
Published September 7, 2011
“I’m too pretty to do homework, so my brother has to do it for me.” That’s the message that a recent (now pulled from the shelves) JCPenney sweatshirt was sending girls size 7-16. When I say that they were sending that message, I mean that those are the words printed on the shirt.
I hope no one reading this is shocked and horrified. Horrified, yes. Preteen girls being told that beauty and brains are mutually exclusive, with a side of sexism, is horrifying. But it is not shocking.
Setting aside the pink/princess/sparklyfairyunicorn issue (and setting aside the fact that you can purchase leopard-print high heels for 0-6 month olds), the clothing sold to preteen and teenage girls increasingly tells them that they are shallow, stupid, and fat. Wait, fat? Why would a t-shirt tell a girl that she is fat? Beats me, but that is what Urban Outfitters did last year when it sold a shirt that said simply: “Eat Less.”
We have covered stupid and fat. What about shallow? It was less publicized, but JCPenney had to stop selling another shirt, too: “Who has time to do homework when there’s a new Justin Bieber album out?” Because, you see, intellectual pursuits are totally trumped by listening to music (apparently you cannot do both?). It is okay–girls do not need to do well in school, go to good colleges, and get good jobs. They are pretty, so someone’s smart brother will take care of them.
That is what a girl should aspire to: being with a man. That is why Sears sells a shirt with a graphic of two beavers. One is a girl (sparkly bow and shoes), and the other is a boy who looks familiar. She has a wistful expression. There are hearts emanating from her head, so we know she is in love. The caption? “Justin Beaver’s Future Girlfriend”. I have not looked at every shirt out there, but I am fairly certain there is not one that says “Taylor Swift’s Future Boyfriend” (or whoever size 7-16 boys listen to, I do not know these things).
Some shirts are less openly offensive. Sears has another one: “Don’t think of it as losing. Think of it as getting beat by a GIRL.” At first glance, this is a positive message. At second glance, it is perpetuating the idea that being beaten by a girl is both noteworthy and, more importantly, shameful. It is actually impressive how they took something good (succeeding) and turned it into something misogynistic.
These are a few examples. You can go to the store and find others (as well as bikinis for your infant). I know this seems like a silly thing to get upset about, but as pressing as many other issues (domestic violence, choice, equal pay, maternity leave, etc) are, it is still important to remember that these girls are going to grow up. We have to remember that a girl who is told to aspire to being someone’s girlfriend is unlikely to aspire to being someone’s CEO (nor could she, since she has been focusing on her beauty and Bieber instead of homework). Remember that a girl told every time she looks in the mirror to “eat less” is eventually going to see fat where there is not, and do just that. And remember that teaching our girls to be extra happy if they beat a boy is just subtly teaching them that they are not as good, and never will be.
