Irritated Youth Voice Their Annoyance; JCPenney Pulls Provocative Garb
by Allie Martin and Jody Brown
December 23, 2003
(AgapePress) - One of the nation's largest department stores has listened to thousands of teenagers and is pulling a line of sexually-suggestive clothing.Recently T-shirts with crude and suggestive messages targeting teenagers were offered at JCPenney's stores nationwide. Among the selections were a printed shirt for the fictional "McLay's Plumbing Service" which had "Winki" proclaiming: "No pipe too big or small. We clean your pipes 24/7." Another for "Wanda's E-ZZZ Slide" promises, "Hot wax for a deeper, richer shine and wet looking curves." Others read, "Had a great time last night, whoever he was," and "You don't know me, but your girlfriend does."
Soon after the shirts hit the shelves, OneMillionYouth.com -- an Internet activist campaign spearheaded by the American Family Association -- alerted Christian teens and encouraged them to contact store officials. The website now quotes JCPenney senior public relations manager Tim Lyons as saying the company is reviewing all "attitude" shirts marketed to teens, and has introduced policies "to more closely monitor the T-shirt designs" the retailer chooses to purchase.
Randy Sharp | |
AFA's director of special projects says the shirts are being pulled from store shelves because of the public outcry."Some of the shirts were pulled; some of them still remain, but they're on their way out," says Randy Sharp. "JCPenney has confirmed to us that they will not carry them in the future, and they've instituted policies to make sure that these types of incidents [or] shirts do not appear on their store floors in the future."
Sharp says there are many teenagers in America who want to live God-honoring lives and are willing to stand up for Christian principles. "We've got a good group of kids in America who want more modesty in clothing," the pro-family activist explains. Those young people, he says, are approaching companies like JCPenney, stating they are offended by product lines and requesting clothing that is more modest in appearance and more in line with youth who want to remain pure until marriage.
Sharp says "sending the message of free sex and free love to teenagers is certainly the wrong message," but "JCPenney now understands that and [is] taking appropriate steps to make sure it doesn't happen again."
Another national clothing retailer reacted in similar fashion recently to consumers who voiced their displeasure over the company's sexually-oriented marketing tactics aimed at America's youth. Abercrombie & Fitch, long targeted by pro-family groups and angry parents for its sexually explicit quarterly catalogues, announced earlier this month it was ceasing publication of the pornographic "magalog." A statement from A&F indicated the company "believes it is time for new thinking." (See Related Story)
