Forever 21′s ‘Allergic to Algebra’ Shirt Draws Criticism
Editorial:
From ABCNews.com:
A Forever 21 shirt with the words “Allergic to Algebra” printed on the front is the latest shirt to draw criticism for its seemingly anti-education message for girls and teenagers.
...
“Our merchandise is intended to appeal to all audiences, not to offend them,” Linda Chang, a senior marketing manager for Forever 21, told ABCNews.com in a statement. “We would like to apologize to our customers as our intent was not to discredit education and we are taking the proper actions necessary.”
The company told ABCNews.com that it is pulling the shirt from its website.
The trendy, Los Angeles-based retailer is popular among teenagers and the shirt is being sold for $12.80. There were no shirts that alluded to education in the men’s section of the website.
And the algebra shirt isn’t the only one on the website that seems to be down on school.
One shirt blatantly declares “Skool sucks” and another shirt has a list on the front that reads: “A+=amazing, B=brilliant, C=cool, D=delightful, F=fabulous.” The website’s tagline for selling the shirt is “F doesn’t always mean fail!”
One shirt seemed promising with the message, ”I heart school” emblazoned on the front, but a photo of the back reveals the rest of the message: “not…”
The “Allergic to Algebra” Forever 21 shirt follows a controversial and similarly themed shirt from JCPenney.
Less than two weeks ago, JCPenney pulled a shirt from its website that drew sharp criticism from consumers calling it “sexist.” The girls’ shirt read: “I’m too pretty to do homework so my brother has to do it for me.”
After a Change.org petition was created to remove the shirt, the company obliged and apologized to its customers. “We want to apologize to our customers,” Ann Marie Bishop, a spokeswoman for JCPenney, told ABCNews.com. “We agreed that the shirt does not deliver an appropriate message.”
Source:
ABCNews.com
URL:
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2011/09/forever-21s-allergic-to-algebra-shirt-draws-criticism/
Date:
September 13, 2011
Affiliate:
0
What We Do
NCRW is a network of leading university and community based research, policy, and advocacy centers with a growing global reach dedicated to advancing rights and opportunities for women and girls. We also have a Corporate Circle comprised of senior diversity professionals from leading U.S. and global member companies and a Presidents Circle of college and university leaders who share our commitment. NCRW harnesses the collective power of its network to provide knowledge, analysis, and thought leadership on issues ranging from reducing women’s poverty to building a critical mass of women’s leadership across sectors.
Print-friendly
Send to friend