According to The Village Voice, J.C. Penney has agreed to pull a controversial t-shirt from its stores after parents complained that the shirt’s message was harmful to teenage girls.
After pulling the shirts, J.C. Penney released a statement that read, in part:
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.
J.C. Penney was selling a T-shirt for girls aged 7 to 16 featuring a colorful slogan across its front that read: “I’m too pretty to do homework so my brother has to do it for me.”
The online sales pitch for the tee reads, “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.”
Alarmed parents were concerned with the t-shirts message, which encourages conceit and overinflated egos among teenage girls.
The parents were correct to be worried, especially in light of a recent research study that shows narcissism on the rise among teens and college students.
Young girls who are constantly told how “cute” or “pretty” they are tend to develop a false sense of identity and a false feeling of entitlement. These children usually grow up to become depressed women who frequently have difficulty maintaining relationships.
The Village Voice reports that parents took to Twitter in droves to express their disgust with J.C. Penney. There was also an online petition circulating that had collected 685 signatures as of yesterday.
