Can You Believe This T-shirt Was Deemed Too Controversial Just 20 Years Ago?

By SheSpeaksTeam Aug 01, 2016

Though some may have a hard time believing how far we’ve come, it was just a little over 20 years ago that Walmart pulled a t-shirt from their racks that read, “Someday a woman will be PRESIDENT.” The store pulled the shirt after some customers complained that it was offensive to them. Later, after some controversy, the store reintroduced the t-shirt. But it still is surprising that in 1995 we were having this type of debate over a t-shirt and now in 2016 a woman is actually running for president.

Today reports about the controversial t-shirt from 1995 that featured the character “Margaret” from Dennis the Menace proudly proclaiming “Someday a woman will be PRESIDENT!”. The designer of the t-shirt, Ann Moliver Ruben, explained to the AP during the time of the controversy that, “promoting females as leaders is still a very threatening concept in this country.” Ruben also claimed that she was told by a Walmart buyer that the shirt “goes against Walmart's family values.”

At the time Walmart said in a statement that the shirt “was offensive to some people.” But not long after the controversy and threats from women’s groups to ban the store, Walmart began singing a different tune and selling the shirt again. Now, 20 years later Walmart is happy to point out their mistake (even if they’re a little embarrassed the whole thing even happened) and changing ways over the years. Walmart spokesperson Danit Marquardt explains, “Wow, it still pains me that we made this mistake 20 years ago. We're proud of the fact that our country — and our company — has made so much progress in advancing women in the workplace, and in society.”

What do you think about the controversy from 1995?

Do you think we’ve come a long way over the last 20 years?