A Tale of a T....shirt

J.C. Penny recently pulled this t-shirt because of a controversy - many thought it was sending the wrong message to young girls...including some young girls (see above website for their comments).

Part of me agrees with the push back and part of me agrees with the shirt.

You see, I've never been pretty and I've had to work damn hard for everything, including relationships - well, except for this last one - he loves me for me.

Now I'm sure there are pretty girls out there who will tell you that they've had to work hard, too.
Uh - maybe not so much.
There have been studies that show differently. For example, when given the choice between a pretty woman and a plain one, all other considerations being equal, it will be the pretty one that usually gets the job.

I won't even get into the subject of junior high/high school/college rejections. That's a parallel universe and one we carry throughout our lives. I was on the Senior Prom Committee. I wrote the poem for the prom book: An Evening to Remember. How do I remember that evening? I remember that I wasn't there - no date - in that era no girls could go alone.

And don't be the not-pretty girl with a high IQ. You may as well start your cat collection now, dearie. You scare everyone away, except if they need you for something. That t-shirt could have said: I'm too pretty to do homework, so my ugly friends have to do it for me. Been there, done that, got nothing for it.

So maybe the t-shirt should have stayed on online and in the store, as a reality check. Is it any different than "I'm with stupid"?

Yes, a girl today can be anything she wants.
But good looks hold an advantage.
Taking a t-shirt away is not going to change that.
Maybe nothing will.
We'll still have to work harder.
And girls should know what they're up against.