Moms Talk: Who Would Dress Their Girl 'Dumb'?

I watched the blogs and social media with great interest over the last week as a scandal spread like wildfire among the "internet moms" and "feminists" aghast at an article of clothing being sold at JCPenney.

The t-shirt, which declared "I'm too pretty for homework," and was directed at young and preteen girls, was pulled offline shortly after numerous articles, posts and online petitions targeted the retailer, demanding a stop to selling the offensive shirt.

'Allergic to Algebra'
It was only a matter of days later that another retail outlet, this time Forever 21, was exposed as having a similar shirt, this one stating "Allergic to Algebra," and targeting to the same young, female demographic. Once more the online cycle of outrage began.

I'm not defending the clothing outlets by any means. After all, as a mother of a girl myself, I've already found myself , and she's not even four years old.  I can't help but cringe as she describes what is and isn't pretty, and how she can only be pretty if she wears certain outfits, as if that determines who she is.

I know that at this point it's as much a lack of vocabulary to express what she is really trying to say about herself and her outlook on the world—after all, "pretty" is such a simple word and it can be greatly overused in her daily definitions—but I still worry about falling into the "pretty" trap and reinforcing those stereotypes.

Who Buys This Stuff?
But I can't help but wonder, where is the actual customer base for these clothes? As a mom, I can't imagine buying a shirt that in essence says my daughter isn't that bright.

I spend so much time reminding her that she is a brilliant, creative little girl who is capable of absolutely anything she puts her mind to, and who she can be anything she wants to be when she grows up.

(Well, except a princess. The intricacies of royal marriages and diplomatic relationships are a little above her heard right now.). 

Why would I purposefully purchase something to undermine that, and what parents would?

Turn the Tide
Erika Ebbel Angle, an MIT graduate, the founder and chief executive officer of Science from Scientists, and a former Miss Massachusetts, released a statement about the clothing, saying:

Novelty shirts with slogans like "Allergic to Algebra" and "I'm too pretty for homework" send damaging messages to young girls that it's not okay to be smart. They undermine efforts to reverse trends that indicate girls would rather be popular than competent, and they thwart the work being done to counter the stereotypes and misperceptions that girls can be both smart and popular. ... In order for us to turn the tide on the underrepresentation of women in math and science fields, we must face head-on those who limit girls' achievement through subtle and overt messages like these. I commend JCPenney and Forever 21 for pulling these T-shirts, but there is still work to be done.

Supply and Demand
It's not terribly difficult to find clothing with positive messages for young girls.  My own daughter owns four or five shirts from Pigtail Pals, which have dynamic messages about being whatever they love and aspire to be (see photo).

Society already places too many pressures on young girls to focus on their looks as a measurement of their worth. If parents can avoid falling into the same trap, we won't need campaigns to have retailers pull offensive items from their shelves. There simply won't be any demand for them in the first place.