are we losing our sense of humor?

abercrombie and fitch was in the news earlier this week. again, they were selling t-shirts that some found offensive. this time it was ladies Ts with sayings like "who needs brains when you've got these?", "I had a nightmare I was a brunette", etc. there was a group of teenage girls in southwestern pennsylvania who felt the Ts were degrading to women. they became vocal, got some press and now A&F is pulling the Ts.

at first I thought "you go girl-friend" (to quote Celine Dion), but the longer I've been thinking about it the more disturbed I am. now, don't get me wrong - I'm all for women being held in the highest esteem. however, I started to think about the humor in the Ts. these t-shirts in and of themselves don't degrade anyone. they're meant to be funny. I could totally picture ladies I know wearing them and I would find the comments funny.

then I started a little test in my head. what if Britney Spears or Jessica Simpson were wearing the T? again, I can see the humor in it. but, could others find it degrading? I think people probably could find it degrading - but, would it be just because they were wearing the t-shirt? they both go after the "dumb blonde" image even though I would bet a certain body part that neither is even remotely dumb - maybe not even blonde. wouldn't it really be the combination that degrades women? or does it degrade women at all? I argue that it doesn't.

let's face it - some people have some pretty messed-up thinking. a few lines in Madonna's song "what it feels like for a girl" come to mind: "it's okay to be a boy. but for a boy to look like a girl is degrading. because you think that being a girl is degrading". it's not the boy looking like a girl that's degrading on it's own. it's the person's mindset that makes it degrading.

would a person who values women really think less of women because she/he sees a woman wearing a t-shirt that says "who needs a brain when you've got these?" probably not. she/he might think more or less of that woman, but she/he probably wouldn't generalize it to all women. conversely - would a person who doesn't value women really think any less of women in the same situation. probably not. he/she would probably think "right on", but the t-shirt wouldn't likely change the person's point of view. so how is the t-shirt degrading?

stupid people exist. they're everywhere - like it or not. should we curb our sense of humor because of stupid people? isn't that like the terrorists winning or something?