T-shirts perpetuate sexism

Issue 3, sexist t-shirt, teenage girls, Opinion - By Joe Evans on Thursday, September 22, 2011 - 02:28

We have all seen those T-shirts for girls with sassy remarks before. But recently both JCPenny and Forever 21 began selling girls’ shirts that took those remarks a little too far. These shirts were emblazoned with such phrases as “I’m too pretty to do homework, so my brother has to do it for me,” and “Allergic to Algebra.” These little slogans go beyond the “cute” and “sassy” remarks and into sheer sexism.

It is these sexist remarks that perpetuate the stereotype that having good looks and being pretty is much more important than having an education and being smart. These T-shirts are targeted toward elementary and middle school girls, most of whom are dealing with pressures to be beautiful and attractive from the media and who knows where else. By introducing these T-shirts, girls are influenced into thinking that, in order to fit in, they must do poorly in school and must be more focused on how they look. These shirts even affect boys of that age, influencing them into thinking that they should base their judgment of a girl solely on how she dresses or how attractive she is and not on how intelligent she is.

Now I know that sexism towards women still exists in our society and I am not saying that these T-shirts are responsible for all the sexism in the world. But the sheer fact that these stereotypes are trying to be introduced to the children of today’s society at such an early age is shocking. It really is a shame that today’s popular culture is powerful and influential enough to make many women and girls to go along with these negative stereotypes when it is obvious how capable women are. Being pretty and being smart does not have to be a choice. Women and girls can be both pretty and smart, not to mention that being educated can be as attractive as superficial looks.