feminist: What does pretty have to do with it?

Bender Rodriguez (

gynocide) wrote in

feminist,
@ 2005-07-07 20:38:00

Current music:	Moby - Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?
Entry tags:	activism, sexism

What does pretty have to do with it?
Image hosted by Photobucket.com

This shirt is sold here. The company that sells it is Alloy and they specialize in clothing for females in their teens/twenties.

Am I being completely hypersensitive or is this just ignorant and offensive? Maybe I'm taking it too personally because of my own learning disabilities, but this shirt really irritates me. It's funny in a sarcastic context, but then again, I don't think this company means for it to be sarcastic because they're stupid like that.

EDIT: Emails can be sent to comments@alloymail.com.

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	skate97 2005-07-08 03:36 am UTC (link)
	ugh, i think abercrombie already got in trouble for this shirt. barf. (Reply to this)

	auroracrystal 2005-07-08 03:36 am UTC (link)
	is pisses me off too.....but i guess it's partially cuz im dyslexic and its hard for me to do math, and partially cuz well it's fucking insulting (Reply to this) (Thread)

	fire_trucks 2005-07-08 06:35 am UTC (link)
	What does dyslexia have to do with whether someone is pretty or not? (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	willowannelyra 2005-07-08 03:41 am UTC (link)
	As a geek, I'm offended, too. I've already sent off an email. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	fire_trucks 2005-07-08 06:37 am UTC (link)
	Why not, instead of sending an email, create a your own fashionable wear featuring positive messages you want to communicate to others? You'd be doing far more by doing that than engaging in a useless argument that only sucks up time. And from experience, arguing never changes peoples' opinions. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	welsey 2005-07-08 03:41 am UTC (link)
	As if I didn't hate Alloy enough for firing my dad and making him train his sucessor at the NYC office. I can't believe people still think printing this kind of shit on a shirt is acceptable. It goes back to the "math class is hard!" Barbie in '92, it's simply absurd. That message is bad news on many levels. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	welsey 2005-07-08 03:43 am UTC (link)
	ps - Alloy is owned by a parent company called 365 Youth and they own a lot of teen-oriented catalogues and stores including Delias and CSS Skating stuff. Just in case anyone wants to avoid supporting that piece of crap corporation. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	callist0s 2005-07-08 03:41 am UTC (link)
	I wouldn't mind so much if they had the shirt available for men too. Preferably in pink. :p (Reply to this) (Thread)

	gynocide 2005-07-08 03:50 am UTC (link)
	Maybe they should if they only mean it as a joke. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	fromforeignfilm 2005-07-08 03:41 am UTC (link)
	I think another clothing store has put out t shirts with the same slogan. I love mathematics and it's fun and interesting and looks have nothing to do with it! I do not want to see little girls grow up and believe math is for the "ugly nerdy" bunch. Because with this shirt, thats the message they're putting out and it is extremely disgusting and discouraging. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	fromforeignfilm 2005-07-08 03:47 am UTC (link)
	oh but i didnt meant to come off as thinking nerds arent cute. but that's just the stereotype that's out there right now (which is unfortunate)..smart and unattractive, dumb and actractive.. meh. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	blahthequah 2005-07-08 03:44 am UTC (link)
	oh i think its mildy assuming. i cant imagine wearing it out of sheer embarasssment, but it brings a slight smile to my face (Reply to this) (Thread)

	gynocide 2005-07-08 03:49 am UTC (link)
	When I first saw it I thought that it had to be a joke, but this is the same company that sells sweatshirts that say "Angry, Young, & Poor" and other stupid shit like that. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	fire_trucks 2005-07-08 06:25 am UTC (link)
	Don't you think you are juxtaposing your own experience upon people who do not share it? I mean, there's lots of shitty things that happen in the world. If I, myself, was concerned about all the abused people currently living, and how not not to offend them, I wouldn't sleep at night. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	anngwish42 2005-07-08 03:49 am UTC (link)
	I was surfing cafepress last night, looking for tank tops, and came across that one, and it pissed me off big-time. Glad to know I'm not the only one really offended by it... (Reply to this) (Thread)

	fire_trucks 2005-07-08 06:23 am UTC (link)
	People spend too much time being offended about what other people do with their time when, in fact, they should just be going about their business, keeping their noses clean, and living with integrity according to their own ethics. What other people do is their own damn business. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	vcrbeauty 2005-07-08 03:50 am UTC (link)
	Methinks I will stencil a tank to read, "I'm too pretty to wear Alloy." (Reply to this) (Thread)

	gynocide 2005-07-08 03:51 am UTC (link)
	..and send a picture of yourself wearing it to them! (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	timetokill 2005-07-08 03:53 am UTC (link)
	Eh, I think it's funny. I don't really take offense at t-shirts, though. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	mustbered 2005-07-08 01:38 pm UTC (link)
	I can't believe it took me this long to scroll down before someone said - hey, it's a joke. It's obviously sarcastic. It's funny. It's a freaking t-shirt, not a piece of legislation or a quote from a governmental official or anything that can be construed as important at all... (Reply to this) (Parent)

	hauntxme 2005-07-08 03:53 am UTC (link)
	I guess...i can see where people would be offended by it, but im not. I dont really know why because i dont stand by the stereotype that it refers to, but im just not all that offended. I probably wouldnt wear it though...but if someone wants to...its really up to them, i wouldnt even think less of someone for it. Its just a tank top. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	pressed_flowers 2005-07-08 04:03 am UTC (link)
	For real. Interesting how people get worked up over this but I have a baby tee that says "Teacher's Pet" and nobody gets worked up over implications that could have. Acutally when most people hear I have a teacher's pet shirt they want to know where they could get one. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	email twoheadedgrrl 2005-07-08 03:57 am UTC (link)
	I emailed them as well. If anyone else would like to email them... comments@alloymail.com (Reply to this) (Thread)

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	Re: email gynocide 2005-07-08 04:03 am UTC (link)
	Thanks, I'll add that to the post. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	evil_laugher 2005-07-08 03:59 am UTC (link)
	I think it's meant to be "hipster"-ly ironic. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	gynocide 2005-07-08 04:07 am UTC (link)
	Hipsters always strike me as too intellectually deficient to understand irony. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	the_midgetqueen 2005-07-08 04:15 am UTC (link)
	that is VILE! what were they thinking?! (Reply to this) (Thread)

	fire_trucks 2005-07-08 06:19 am UTC (link)
	They were thinking that they'd be cheeky, funny, and flauntable all at the same time. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	turnyourback 2005-07-08 04:37 am UTC (link)
	there was a post about this a while back where somebody formulated a good letter to send to alloy. it's worth finding to read. (Reply to this)

	matcha 2005-07-08 04:47 am UTC (link)
	While it does purport a negative stereotype, I do believe that people should have the right to wear or sell what they want. It's the gender-stereotype argument - yes, gender-stereotyping is bad, but some people are that "stereotype", and should be allowed to be so just as much as others should be allowed to break it. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	unripe 2005-07-08 05:51 am UTC (link)
	Yeah, it's infuriating when people (politicians particularly!) are patronising to belittle points made in debate - only I find that they do it most often when they feel that they are not winning the argument ;) (Reply to this) (Parent)

	quitelife00 2005-07-08 05:48 am UTC (link)
	As an attractive-looking (so others tell me) math/science geek and future theoretical physicist, I find that T-shirt offensive. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	fire_trucks 2005-07-08 06:14 am UTC (link)
	If you are not the one wearing the shirt, you shouldn't find it offenseive. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)