Is This Inappropriate?

[ExcuseTheCheese]

We had the whole 'coolest monkey in the jungle' thing but I saw the jumper first whilst looking for some clothes for DD, in the search results all you see is the jumper and not the model. I thought it was an odd thing to put on a child's jumper in all honesty, I thought it should perhaps say boss. Anyway, I clicked on the other pictures and saw the ethnicity of the model and thought that someone, somewhere has made a massive error in judgement and that this is actually quite inappropriate. AIBU?

Boss would have worked so much better in this context. Children still know what a boss is!

I mean if his circumstances are poor, not so much about money.

Children cannot "be their own masters" that is why they are treated as vulnerable in society, why we have safeguarding, why abusing them is seen as singularly bad etc etc

Yes overthinking obviously but hey those were my thoughts on reading the op

That sounds very profound and I'm really not sure it's true

Sounds like a handy get out clause for ignoring accusations of racism wherever they come from!

Most of the people who are told off for "over reacting" or seeing racism when it "isn't there" are not white.

See also, women who "over-react" and "see sexism everywhere"!

The fact that so many of you see master and a black child and think slaves says a lot about you.

I also feel this - anyone that works in a technical type field will be used to "Master" as a commonplace term, anyone that watched He Man and the Masters of the Universe, reads books, watches Doctor Who etc. is more than capable of seeing the word without feeling that it's an offensive reference to Slavery..........

No problem with that slogan or with that slogan and model combination.

The first thing I think of when I hear "master" is "master and servant" by depeche mode...

Yes strawberries.

Sometimes it feels like the things MN finds racist are

1. The KKK
2. Any perceived slight or discrimination against white people, ever

That’s it.

"reads books"

lol

what like ones about the history of imperialism, or the slave trade in the usa?

which "books" in particular did you have in mind? There are quite a few

No problem with it, it just means, be your own boss, totally overthinking. Though I would have put a girl in that, as probably the alternative for the girls, is made to be gorgeous.

How can a child be their own boss?

Apart from all the other stuff, the slogan is nonsensical.

If there's one group that literally can't be "their own masters" then it is children.

I am not white and I am withHandsoff on this. I honestly think some people look for issues to be offended by.

I am a black female and I consider myself to be my own master.

Be Your Own Boss and Be Your Own Master are different slogans though.

Don't you think a girl in that shirt would get comments from men about 50 shades of grey type stuff.

Maybe I'm cynical.

Yes be your own boss would be better.

Although children literally can't be their own boss - there's that small matter.

Unless they are sleeping rough I suppose or come from homes where there is extreme neglect.

If there's one group that literally can't be "their own masters" then it is children.

This is true. Any child of mine telling me he was in charge would get short shrift from me

"I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul." is a great quote from the poem Invictus. So I take the design of the T shirt in that spirit, about taking control and overcoming life obstacles in a broad sense.

Getting a non white child to model is, however, unwise. Should be more much more aware after the monkey T shirt advert.