JCPenney Sends Girls Back to 1950 with “I’m Too Pretty to Do Homework” T-Shirt

I’m pretty sure I have a concussion as I write this.  Because after hearing about this, I banged my head on the desk several dozen times…

Mothers with daughters, grab a helmet before reading this:  JC Penney is selling a girls’ T-shirt that declares, “I’m too pretty to do homework so my brother has to do it for me.”

Wow.  Just… wow.

“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,” the marketing copy declares.

What an awesome message to send to young girls!

Seriously, who would buy this shirt?  I’d joke that only a Kardashian sister would proudly wear such a message, only we all know there is no WAY Robert would get involved with anything academic.

Turns out, I’m not the only one who gave herself a concussion over this; after getting excoriated for trying to send girls back to 1950, JC Penney pulled the shirt from its site today, issuing this statement:

“jcpenney is committed to being America’s destination for great style and great value for the whole family.  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 our customers and are taking action to ensure that we continue to uphold the integrity of our merchandise that they have come to expect.”

But never fear!  We’ll always have Abercrombie & Fitch, which sells T-shirt for girls with messages like “Who needs brains when you have these?” printed across the chest.  Awesome. Betty Friedan would be so proud!