I found it really interesting to learn this week that JC Penny yanked a graphic t-shirt off its website after public outrage that it sent out the wrong message. The shirt reads, “I’m too pretty to do my homework so my brother has to do it for me,” and caused uproar by consumers who claimed that it sent out the wrong message to girls. They believe the phrase on the t-shirt perpetuates the idea that a girl can’t be both smart and beautiful.  When I first viewed the shirt, which is marketed to girls between the ages of 7-16, I honestly didn’t think twice about it or feel offended. I don’t believe a girl wearing that shirt will start believing the phrase to the point that she will stop doing her homework, or feel that she is too pretty to focus on school. And, I really don’t believe that this one t-shirt, amongst the hundreds of graphic shirts out there on the market, should be especially targeted for its phrase. Some shirts say things that are much worse (check out some of the ones below). At the end of the day, it comes down to freedom of speech, and if you don’t like a phrase on a t-shirt, just don’t buy it.