Walmart Once Pulled This Feminist T-Shirt for Offending "Family Values"

Impact

After Hillary Clinton put what she called the "biggest crack" in the glass ceiling yet — becoming the first woman to secure a major political party's nomination on Tuesday night — Rutgers University professor Nick Kapur dug up an old news story as a reminder that the idea of a female president used to be considered offensive. 

According to an article from the Associated Press, printed in a 1995 edition of the Tuscaloosa News, a Walmart store once pulled a shirt with cartoon character Margaret from Dennis the Menace exclaiming, "Someday a woman will be president!" 

At the time, Walmart spokesperson Jane Bockholt said, "It was determined the T-shirt was offensive to some people and so the decision was made to pull it from the sales floor." 

The AP reported just one customer had complained. 

The shirt was designed by Ann Moliver Ruben, then-president of Women Are Wonderful Inc., an organization aiming to empower girls and young women. She told the AP Walmart was sending a clear message by pulling it from its racks — one that suggests "promoting females as leaders is still a very threatening concept in this country."

The buyer for women's clothes at the Walmart location told her they couldn't continue selling Ruben's T-shirt because the message went "against Walmart's family values."

Though the concept of a woman president now doesn't seem so ludicrous, Clinton has certainly been served a healthy dose of sexism throughout her 2016 campaign. In 2016, the misogyny against Clinton is more subtle: It doesn't cry, "Family values!" but rather critiques her outfits, asks her to smile or scolds her for the tone of her voice

Still, Clinton is hopeful for what her nomination means for young girls and women in the U.S. 

"And, if there are any little girls out there who stayed up late to watch," said Clinton on Tuesday night. "Let me just say: I may become the first woman president, but one of you is next."

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