-
Aug 24, 2005 10:43 pm US/Central
-
Digg |
Facebook |
E-mail
|
Print
Rude Bunny T-Shirts Have Some Hopping Mad
Happy Bunny Shirts Are A Hot Item This Season
by Dana Kozlov
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
Back to school means new clothes for many students and this year Happy Bunny shirts are a hot item. The shirts show cartoon bunnies, but CBS 2's Dana Kozlov reports some parents and teachers aren't keen on the shirts rude sayings.
It may be cute, but don't let the bunny fool ya'. This furry friend is now gracing T-shirts with not-so-friendly messages on them.
"Well, it's the sayings, they are just sayings," said high school student Jill Dunigan. "They are funny. That's what they are."
Young teens, like 13-year-old Dunigan, seem to be the bunny's biggest fans. Some shirt messages are eyebrow raising and some are suggestive, and some may consider them downright mean. For example, one shirt says: "Wow. You're ugly."
"It's just a shirt, you know? No one really cares," said high school junior Claire Webb.
Teenagers tend to downplay the perceived mean side. But some parents, teachers and DePaul University psychologist Dr. Joseph Ferrari are not.
"It's pairing some insulting comment with something that's pleasant, warm and fuzzy, and that's a problem because it's desensitizing people, kids, to the aversiveness of what some of these shirts say," Ferrari said.
But harmful? Not necessarily. Ferrari says the shirts are likely a symbol of teenage rebellion. But is 'mean' becoming more acceptable? And should parents take note?
"There's a breakdown of perhaps responsibility that's occurring in our society. We are not respecting each other as individuals as much as we used to anymore," Ferrari said.
We only showed teenagers shirts with tamer messages on them. Other shirt statements are considerably more sarcastic and insulting.
But humor - like art - is subjective. And so far, Happy Bunny shirts seem to be a popular back-to-school item.
(© MMV, CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)