The whole "Sissy" thing wraps up at Yale. A history in links and a IMHO
Rights group criticizes Yale
Anyone interested in knowing more about this particular story, here's some links:
http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/yale-wimps-out-again/
http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2009/12/30/shirt-yale-one-sissy/
http://justoneminute.typepad.com/main/2009/12/sissies-and-men-at-yale.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/greg-lukianoff/font-size5college-student_b_399372.html
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/archives/2009/12/yale-harvard_si.php
http://www.thefire.org/article/11317.html
http://freecounterpoint.blogspot.com/2009/12/harvard-men-are-not-sissies.html
http://www.yale.edu/tnj/content/nov05/howwehate.html
http://deadspin.com/5412127/sissies-drunk-yoga-and-the-last-pure-football-game-a-dispatch-from-harvard+yale
As for my personal thoughts on the matter: Give me a break! As one article states, this is probably one of the least offensive shirts in a history of offensive "The Game" shirts. Not to mention it was a literary quote. I'm sorry, but I just can't be convinced that calling someone a sissy is offensive to anyone (other than the folks you're insulting). One can argue that the issue is calling someone feminine (or effeminate, as is the case in the dictionary definition) as an insult is insulting to females. However, I think that telling the enemy football team (football being considered that most manly of sports) that they are a bunch of little girls is a pretty legitimate insult. I don't think it is offensive enough to become a banned word. I'm not going to go out and say that we need to change literary classics or remove smoking from old movies either. Frankly, judging from Deadspin's description of the game, they are hardly your typical football fans.
The argument always becomes about context, and while the context of "sissy" may have changed, the context of this particular t-shirt uses it in a perfectly legitimate way IMHO.
PS: Interesting fact from the Deadspin article: "In 1984, the Supreme Court found the NCAA in violation of the Sherman Act and inaugurated the multi-network arms race we have today. "
