This is where Glenn and I part company. People need to keep their sense of humor. Political correctness is wrong, no matter what side you're on. The response is not to boycott the damn shirts, it's to counter it with humor, such as, "You're a Feminist? How cute."

I agree with Connie. Masculist PC is even more annoying than the feminist variety. Also, this line seems to be missing a noun:

"A wildly popular girl's sold in some parts of the country reads..."

I don't think they still sell girls anywhere in this country.

I really like the idea. Honestly. We could use some more like that. How about "Girls are sissies, put live cockroaches in their hair"?

How about, "girls are annoying, hit them with bricks?"

I have no problem with keeping my sense of humor--how is this T-shirt funny? At least "Save the alligator; shoot a preppie instead" was a pun. The righteously-indignant boycott does sound likely to backfire, though. Dean's idea sounds promising, however sardonically meant, but there has to be a way to rhyme chicks with bricks in there somewhere.

By the way, thanks for catching my typo, Xrlq.

This is a prime example of PCness gone hog crazy. Of course, girls can do no wrong, cuz they are "victims". Right!!!
SomePC folks are actually vicious hatemongers. Too bad, if I a male were to wear a shirt with the phrase dean suggests, i wonder if i will be charged with a "hate-crime" and of "verbal sexual assault"?

I've never seen one of these shirts, and I live in the offensive T-shirt capital of the world, Madison Wisconsin, where I wear several offensive T-shirts, including: "I Hate Myself and I Want to Die" (with rainbows and butterflies), "Pervert" (white on black), and "I Support the Homosexual Agenda" (duh). If I saw a shirt that said, "Boys are stupid, throw rocks at them," I wouldn't start hitting myself with a rock and I wouldn't start ducking. I would laugh.

Given Dean's rather ham-handed attempts at sarcasm and irony on this site (yes, I'm going there), I'd think he'd be a bit more tongue-in-cheek. It's that parenting reflex again.

As JohnKusch said, "it's that parenting reflex again". Perhaps parents are more likely to recognize the double-standard, but surely most people can see it. You just know that if my boy wore one of the suggested anti-girl t-shirts he'd be expelled from school.

Substitute other groups in place of "boys" and what do you have? Try "blacks" or "homosexuals". You have a hate-crime (in some places). The reality of it is that in our society its becoming OK to denigrate white males. Please note, I'm a big fan of free speech. But, I think free-speech policies should be applied to all groups. The problem is in the un-equal treatment of white males.

What kind of message is sent when adults demonstrate that its ok to insult white males, but no one else? Its reasonable for children to assume the message is that the "white males" deserve it, as the crazed violent oppressors that they are.

I have seen these shirts before. I found them mildly offensive and just plain dumb. Advocating violence against boys is not humor.

John:

Aw, shit! As an on-and-off resident of Madison over the years myself (now expatriated to Iowa), I never wore anything more offensive than a mirror-image white-on-black "Mad City" tee shirt-- you know, the one with the capitol dome, and [a half-inch-tall image of] Miss Forward on top of the dome dressed in a bikini...

Then again, nobody who saw me walking down State Street circa 1980 would've dared to throw rocks at me. In these mellow latter days, I look like a drummer in a rock band; back in those days, I looked more like a biker. :)

And speaking of tee shirts in Madison, Wisconsin— when I was living in the Lakeshore Dorms (late 70s), I always envied a shirt which the residents of Bullis House got printed up.

On one side it read, "Bullis Is Merrill Lynch on America." On the other side, of course, it read, "BULLISHIRT."

And speaking of tee shirts in Madison, Wisconsin— when I was living in the Lakeshore Dorms (late 70s), I always envied a shirt which the residents of Bullis House got printed up.

On one side it read, "Bullis Is Merrill Lynch on America." On the other side, of course, it read, "BULLISHIRT."

John: My sarcasm is ham-handed, is it? :-)

Dean, here's the difference. Is there any evidence that girls have seen this shirt and begun throwing rocks at boys because of it? Conversely, if the shirt encouraged boys to throw rocks at girls, or worse, I could almost see some psycho brat taking them up on it.

Then again, I may be a bit partial toward offensive shirts. My fave is the anti-polo shirt I recently had to retire, which had the rider falling off the horse and landing on his head. And no, I don't think it would be funny if that really happened. Jeebus.

Actually, Xrlq, there is a growing amount of data suggesting that for 20+ years we have been simultaneously teaching boys that there is something wrong with them if they hit girls, but that girls are just being cool and funny if they hit boys. There is also a growing body of evidence that we are shortchanging our boys in the classroom, and treating them as less important than girls.

Want a list of references--most of them written by female scholars? I have one handy, for anyone interested.

I'd like to see it, Dean.

I actually saw one of the "boys are stupid" tees a while back, in South Carolina. Makes me wish I had one of the complementary "girls" shirts. Sauce for the goose...

Comedy should not be lost in all of this, but personally it is great to see that the sword is cutting both ways. If you dont want antifem shirts or antimuslim shirts etc .. then whats good for the goose is good for the gander.

I personally like the idea of a counter t-shirt though.
How about "Girls suck, Me next!"

Would Einstein* have got his job at Princeton by wearing this T-shirt?: "I'm smarter than everybody else and I'm proving by throwing rocks at people."

(*a dead white European male, and a Jew)

Let's face it. Women are typically knee jerk in their reactions. If men were to wear a T-shirt with a message similar to theirs we would castigating, sued, probably criminally charged. Thank god for bastions like Augusta National Golf Course and the Men's only businessmans club I belong to that women had the audacity to attempt to Join. Martha Burk and anyone like her can kiss my rear.

How many girls do you think have looked at these shirts and thought 'that's a good idea, I'll throw stones at the next boy I see!' The reason these shirts are OK is because girls hardly ever do that sort of thing. These shirts are harmless fun for girls, just like, say, page 3 girls are harmless fun for men. I like the shirts because they're cute and funny, not because I'm a nazi-feminist and hate men. Stop being so overly PC and get a sence of humour!

The "get a sense of humor" line unfortunately echoes a more general approach to ignoring and trivializing violence against men. For a discussion by a professor of social work, see
http://mensnewsdaily.com/archive/m-n/mills/03/mills120203.htm

The extent to which concern about domestic violence has neglected males and turned into a vehicle for anti-male hate is truly horrifying.

Some men at least are no longer willing to be ridiculed and shamed into silence. The idea that males should shut up and take it like a man has got to go.

Claire's is a large, national retail chain that is selling "Boys are Stupid, Throw Rocks at Them" accessories to young girls. Some caring men and women are trying to get Claire's to stop selling products that urge violence against boys. For some discussion, see
http://www.mensactivism.org/articles/04/01/22/2258221.shtml

If you're not concerned about this issue, you just don't get it.

I understand that these teeshirts may offend some people and that in a lot of ways they are very inappropriate when we are trying to maintain a tolerant society, but I really don't think it's as big of an issue as it's being made out to be. I sincerely doubt that the teeshirt was created in an effort to unite women across the world to randomly toss rocks at men. It's more of a throw back to those, "ewww boys have cooties" days from first grade. It's meant to be funny, but again, I can understand that to many people it wouldn't be. However, when you come on here and post comments in retaliation to the shirt, like "Girls suck, me next!", you only come off as a hypocrite. The whole "she did this to me, so i'm going to get back at her with something nastier" thing is also a throw back to first grade. If your going to make a statement, at least make an intelligent one.