Clothes make the man -- or woman. So, if the shirt someone is sporting has offensive or crude slogans, what does that say about the person?
Offensive T-shirts have been in existence for as long as manufactures have known how to apply lettering to fabric and sell it cheap. Little known websites and small boutiques produce many varieties of shirts meant to be witty, but easily bordering on repulsive. Now that small corner of the clothing market, appealing mostly to college students, has entered the mainstream.
Abercrombie & Fitch and Urban Outfitters are the two main entrants into the "humorous tees" category. Some of Urban Outfitters' shirts say that "Voting is for old people" and "Jesus is my homeboy." An Abercrombie tee claims that in "West Virginia: It's all relative here."
Both companies received complaints regarding their shirts. The governor of West Virginia Bob Wise requested that Abercrombie "destroy" the shirt in question, but the apparel company declined, saying the shirts were selling well.
Leaders of Harvard's Institute of Politics sent a letter to Urban Outfitters' CEO saying that the voting apathy shirt "makes the wrong statement at the wrong time to America's youth."
Some students at Tufts agree. "The 18 to 24 demographic, which Urban Outfitters caters to, has low voter turnout," sophomore and political science major Leslie Powell said. "It is appalling that a store like that would make a shirt to dissuade young people from becoming politically active."
Urban Outfitters representatives argued that the "Voting is for old people" shirt was merely social commentary, but in early April removed it from store shelves.
The store seems to have a knack for printing offensive shirts. Originally, a "Everyone Loves a Jewish Girl" tee had money signs and shopping bag icons surrounding the text. The shirt was quickly re-vamped -- now it doesn't insinuate that Jewish girls are materialistic. Some, however, say the controversy was unnecessary.
"I don't find [the shirt] at all anti-Semitic or offensive" Leah Sushelsky, a Jewish sophomore, said. "It's actually kind of funny and yes, I think I'd wear it."
Junior Brett Weiner, editor-in-chief of Tufts humor magazine The Zamboni, said that offensive humor only works if it is placed in the right context. "Something racist or something that seems to be an anti-religious statement could actually be a parody, if placed in a comedy show like "The Chappelle Show" or in a humorous newspaper like The Onion."
Two years ago Abercrombie released a series of shirts playing on Asian stereotypes. One shirt depicted two grinning Asian launderers, with the words "Two Wongs Can Make it White."
The reaction from the Asian-American community was immediate -- the shirts were not found amusing and were pulled from Abercrombie shelves.
"We personally thought Asians would love this t-shirt," said Hampton Carney, a spokesman for Abercrombie & Fitch said in a San Francisco Chronicle article. "It's never been our intention to offend anyone."
Many students blame Abercrombie, regardless of the company's claims. Karen Lin, a sophomore involved in Asian American issues, interpreted the shirts as "a strong reflection of power dynamics in our society." Lin said that this mainstream-sanctioned stereotyping can "perpetuate a 'de-legitimizing' and an 'it's ok to make fun of and/or disrespect' attitude towards this particular person or people."
"The problem with 'offensive' shirts is that they have no context," Weiner said. "Wearing that racist 'Two Wongs' shirt on the street can be interpreted as a racial slur no matter whether the intent behind it [was racist or not]."
Here on the Tufts campus, certain fraternity slogans displayed on shirts have also caused some controversy. Theta Delta Chi's Homecoming shirt for 2003 declared "Freshmen girls: Get them before they get fat". For Winter Carnival 2001, the Zeta Psi fraternity sported tees claiming "Our escort service: we'll come early, hope you're not late!"
Though some consider these catchphrases and mottos as humorous, others find them sexist and offensive.
"The messages on these shirts contribute to the climate on campus that makes many women feel unsafe walking alone at night, hyper-conscious of their body images, and objectified," junior Sara Arcaya, a peer educator, said.
Weiner agrees. "I think being sensitive to others is very important for anyone who wishes to make a joke," he said.
