We were shopping for summer clothes. My son, avowed lover of graphic shirts, thought this was funny:
I told him I didn't like it, then tried to explain why.*
"He's saying his sister is so annoying, he was happy she was kidnapped."
He understood that part, but the back took a little more.
"This is based on a stereotype that girls and women talk a lot, that their talk is annoying, and that what they say isn't important."
A debate ensued, which he began with, "Mama... some girls do talk a lot."
He kept looking at the shirts, then said, "You are really not going to like this one!"
He was, of course, right.**
(crossposted at elle, phd as part of my Things Seen series)
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*Sorry for the (camera phone) picture quality. The shirt says "The Flying Monkeys Stole My Sister... But They Brought Her Back for TALKING TOO MUCH."
**The front of the shirt features a smiling boy holding duct tape. "I have no idea where my sister is," he says. On the sleeve is his unsmiling sister, restrained with the duct tape.
