In 1995, Walmart sold T-shirts in its stores with the phrase “Someday a woman will be president.” That is, Walmart offered these shirts in a single store, for a very brief period.
A Wal-Mart store pulled a popular T-shirt proclaiming “Someday a woman will be president” off its shelves, saying it was offensive to some shoppers.
“Some” was a bit of an exaggeration. The shirt was only available a few days. At the time it was pulled, the store had sold about 135 of the shirts. How many complaints had been lodged?
One. They had one, single complaint. But that was enough.
The T-shirt did have a female image as well as the phrase, but in case you think that the Arkansas chain was reacting a likeness of then-first lady Hillary Clinton or some other actual woman, the character on the shirt was the young girl Margaret, from the cartoon Dennis the Menace.
While a Walmart spokesperson refused to comment on why the shirt was taken away, a buyer for the chain provided a reason.
… a buyer for Wal-Mart’s national office in Bentonville, AR told her the store would not carry the shirt nationwide because the message “goes against Wal-Mart’s family values.”
Dear Walmart: It’s someday. Probably time to stock some shirts.
Thanks to Nick Kapur for uncovering this clip.