Victory! JC Penney to Stop Selling “Too Pretty to Do Homework” T-Shirt

by Shelby Knox · 2011-08-31 10:10:00 UTC
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Last night, Change.org member Lauren Todd saw a shirt on the JC Penney website and, she says, "I couldn't believe what I was seeing."

The t-shirt, clearly labeled for girls seven to sixteen, said “I’m too pretty to do homework so my brother has to do it for me.” Right next to the picture, the retailer helpfully provided some text to talk the buyer into making a back-to-school purchase:  "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."

Lauren didn’t think it was "cute and sassy," however. She thought it was one in a "series of small, seemingly cute and harmless messages, that can seep into a girl's mind and damage her self-perception and her self-worth." So she started a petition on Change.org asking the retailer to pull the offensive tee from its shelves.

This morning the petition had fewer than fifty signatures. Then it was picked up on Twitter as parents and activists started asking the chain by name to explain why it would promote a shirt that tells girls that looks are more important than books. Bloggers picked up on the call, linking to Lauren’s petition and asking their readers to sign on. Jessica Wakeman of The Frisky said, "I wholeheartedly encourage Frisky readers to sign the petition against this demeaning T-shirt — and get your little daughters/sisters to sign it too."

By 11 a.m., the petition had over 1000 signatures. By 11:30 a.m., JC Penney had pulled the t-shirt off their website. And, just a little after noon, Lauren got this response via email from a JC Penney representative:

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 for any concern we may have caused and assure you that we are taking action to ensure that we continue to uphold the integrity of our merchandise that [our customers] have come to expect.

When we spoke this morning, Lauren said, "I joined change.org and I get your emails and I saw this [t-shirt] and I realized I could start a petition and make a difference too." Thanks to Lauren, over 1600 Change.org members, and vigilant social media activists, little girls will not be going back to school wearing shirts that undermine their talent and intelligence.

You can start a petition and make a difference too. How do you want to change the world today?

Shelby Knox is the Director of Organizing, Women's Rights, for Change.org who writes about, speaks on, and plans to lead the next generation of feminism.

RELATED PETITION

Tell JCPenney to stop promoting sexist messaging to girls
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