Don't shop J.C. Penney for school clothes -- a rant

[grasswire]

OUTRAGEOUS messages on children's clothing!

To J.C. Penney:


Your advertisement of Wednesday, August 14, which I received in the Portland Oregonian, has truly peeved me. Here is the message sent by the slogans on your T-shirts: Boys should be violent and troublesome, and girls should be shallow and self-centered.

Messages as shown on shirts for boys: "I miss my sister, but my aim is getting better." "Will trade parents for video game!" "Chaos, panic, disorder -- My work here is done!" and "My parents said I could become anything I wanted, so I chose troublesome."

Messages for girls: "I want a little bit of everything." "I need chocolate." "Major attitude."

One would think that in today's world a major retailer could promote more family friendly and positive slogans for children to wear as a badge of self-identification.

I'm posting this information on an Internet message board with 78,000 members, urging them to boycott Penney's when buying school clothes. I sure won't be heading your way for shopping.

Put some thought into your merchandising and marketing. Try to avoid stereotypes, demeaning content, and the promotion of violence and family discord. Try to elevate society. It can be done.

[Kerrytravelers]

1. Love it! Especially the part about us! Very clever inclusion there!

[Melodybe]

13. Good call I hate that shit

It's not funny and it really sends the wrong message.

[rodeodance]

2. whow

[rodeodance]

4. needs a good media blast from all of us.

[Radio_Lady]

3. Thanks, grasswire. I saw the flyer in the Portland Oregonian, but

put it in the RECYCLING bin.

The only thing I've ever bought at Penney's is OVER-THE-CALF, GOLD TOE socks for my husband.

Oh, that's wrong! I did buy a couple of Americana (red, white and blue) quilts for my grandchildren in 2002.

Appreciate your message to Penney's.

[TrogL]

5. Get a life

I want one of the "Chaos, panic, disorder..." T-shirts.

[ismnotwasm]

20. As an adult women

I've been known to find cool shirts in the boys section in stores. My favorite: "Wear your helmet or you will get drain bamage and forget how to shoe your tie" (It's in the colors of a motorcycle club I know)I think the point here is sexual programming for young kids. The mass produced messages really can be really horrible.

[KitchenWitch]

6. Recommended!

[TimeChaser]

7. Eh... the "Chaos, Panic, and Disorder" line

was on a bumper sticker above my bed for years.

However, the sister t-shirt's just bad.

[MiniMandaRuth]

32. Your siggy

totally is sooo cool.

[Not_Giving_Up]

8. My son came home from vacation with grandma and dad with shirts that said

"It's all good until your parents find out"
"Will trade sister for new video game"
"I traded my sister for this shirt. Best trade I ever made"

My daughter and I were out one day, and she saw a shirt that said "Daddy's Little Girl" that she wanted. No problem. The other shirts said "It's all about me", "Focus on me" and other stuck up sayings.

[Radio_Lady]

9. "The world would be a great place, if YOU weren't in it..."

Gruff T-shirt saying, worn by a cute boy in Canada!

[Ediacara]

10. Uh...

I think maybe you need to chill out....

[Skittles]

28. I disagree

these are sad stereotypes

[renate]

11. I wish it was just Penney's doing that

Unfortunately, that kind of stuff is everywhere. Blech.

Good for you for telling them you want something better. I think letters like yours is how companies were convinced to quit making those ho-type clothes for little girls to the exclusion of anything else; back when that kind of stuff was popular, I talked to parents who literally couldn't find anything decent for their 8-year-olds.

[Radio_Lady]

12. I bought my grandkids some summer outfits at K-Mart -- no problem!

Also, there are still great clothes at thrift and consignment stores.

[DemGirl7]

14. I don't find anything wrong with those sayings...

I actually like to wear those T-shirts, especially the "It's Happy Bunny" ones. I like rude/snotty saying. It's not demeaning in any way, I'm sure you have no problem with T-shirts that have anti-republican sayings on them, so you can just chill out

[grasswire]

15. perhaps when you've a few more years on ya....

....you'll see the harm done when little kids are wearing this stuff. This ain't harmless self expression. It's primary grade children being shaped into little rigid and narrow molds. Girls shallow and vain, boys violent and troublesome. I reject that characterization as outmoded, old-fashioned.

[kestrel91316]

30. You like rude/snotty sayings?? Gee, I never would have guessed.

[bigwillq]

16. Great letter.

I noticed that the other day when I was in Sears with my Mom.
All of the girls' t-shirts (we were in the women's department, my mom had to buy her 1,203rd pair of shoes) were demeaning.

All these shirts like "One hot babe", and "Boy Crazy" and the like (can't really think of the others I saw but I think you get my point.

I would never let my child buy a shirt like that.

[MiniMandaRuth]

17. not only this

But I believe Pennys is an all red company.

[Lex]

18. Call me a classist or whatever, but t-shirts like that are

redneck.

Those t-shirts have always had dumb, sexist-in-training sayings on them (for years and years) and seeing them on kids is like saying "My parents couldn't care less about what kind of little shit I turn out to be."

[Corgigal]

19. "Will trade sister for new video game"

My 13 year old wears that shirt and I bought it for him a Kohl's.
If you knew his 15 year old sister you would understand why I bought it. Sister finds it amusing.

[grasswire]

21. at least there's no violence in your son's shirt

....and yes, I can see the truth and humor in it, being in close proximity to a couple of teenagers. I'm more shocked by the demeaning messages on the younger girls' shirts and the implied violence on the ones in this ad.

[Corgigal]

24. well thats true

My daughter has shirts like Question Authority. dem

[Straight Shooter]

22. A crappy rehash of "I still miss my wife but my aim is getting better"

Not funny. Not funny at all. The others aren't so bad, but to make jokes about shooting your siblings is in really poor taste.

[Proud2BAmurkin]

23. Forget the clothes, JC Penney is a long time REPUKE company

.

[seabeyond]

25. not just jc penny's. there is a lot of that i am very selective

what the boys can buy. wont let them buy anything tat implies dumb or lazy is good either. especially as they sit in a classroom. what a message for a teacher to look at all day as she is trying to teach tem

good for you. i agree. i have last couple years made a real stink about this myself

[WildEyedLiberal]

26. It's not just JC Penney

That shit's everywhere. All those slogany shirts are stupid as hell. It was dumb of Penney to advertise theirs, though.

[proud2BlibKansan]

27. I saw a 12 year old girl today

wearing a t-shirt that said "SEXY".

[barb162]

31. I wonder about the kid's parents

[LittleClarkie]

29. At the rate we're going

I'm gonna end up wandering around nekkid, I just know it.

A breathtaking sight that will be. As in -- GASP!!!!

on edit: yep, just went to opensecrets.org. Most of the cloths retalers around here give mostly to Repubs.

I'm a gonna be nekkid.

[sonicx]

33. "give me sperm dumpster"

[Deja Q]

34. I AGREE ENTIRELY. There ARE limits and those cross the line.

The last 20 years of such trash (never mind people spending $50 for one shirt that has "NEW ARMY", "TIMMY HASENPFEFFER" or some other company or person's ego-moniker/logo sewn into it in a sweatshop) have only done bad.

It's time for a change. A pro-society one. If we're not a society then we're all animals.

[lildreamer316]

35. I would recommend

Old Navy (cheaper; and all they have is the damn name of the store on the shirts) but I'm not sure if they are blue.