T-shirts slogans go from curious to bizarre

“Do not touch! Electricity Danger Death”

Photo: Kon Heo

TUOITRE

If clothes are meant to be a fashion “statement,” some Ho Chi Minh City teenagers are taking it literally – by having bizarre slogans printed on their T-shirts.

The phenomenon emerged two years ago and soon became popular among teenagers. But initially they were just funny rhyming sentences like “Xau nhung biet phan dau” (I’m ugly but know how to try) or “Chuan khong can chinh” (Everything's in place, no need to change).

But soon some began to carry, in what is a deeply conservative country, shocking slogans like “I’m lesbian. I love girls” “40 ngay chua di toilet” (Haven’t been to the toilet for 40 days), and “Nhan sac co han – Thu doan vo bien” (My beauty is limited - I'm very evil).

If their aim is to shock, sometimes they end up being shocked themselves.

T.Ngoc, a saleswoman in District 1, told Tuoi Tre about a young woman she once saw on the street wearing a T-shirt with the slogan “Cam so/co dien/nguy him/chit nguoi” (Do not touch/ electricity/ Danger/ death) printed on her chest.

“Most people just smiled at the funny slogan. But two boys didn’t: they came up to her and actually touch her breast,” Ngoc said.

T.T., a student at the HCMC College of Economy, said she wore a T-shirt with the slogan “Ban chat tot nhung dong doi xua day” (I was born naive but life makes me bad) to an interview for a part-time job. The interviewer asked her about it and rejected her.

“I once saw a girl wearing a T-shirt with the slogan ‘Khong the chong lai nhung thang ngu boi vi chung qua dong’ (Cannot deal with the stupid because they are so many) at a charity event for orphanages,” Hoai Thu, a woman living in Phu Nhuan District, said.

Many parents were displeased with the girl for dressing inappropriately at such a solemn event.

But there are also some who make use of T-shirt slogans to do good.

The voluntary group Green Dreams has printed T-shirts with the slogan “Vi cuoc song la nhung nu cuoi” (For life is full of smiles) to raise funds for their charity works. 

They sold nearly 500 T-shirts last month to fund scholarships worth VND500,000 ($25) each to 60 physically challenged children.

T-shirts with the slogan “Pray for Japan” to raise funds for Japanese victims are also doing the rounds.

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