To think that nothing is going to change for women while girls are still targeted with this bullshit?

[WinterTrees]

In Sainsburys this morning. In the boys' clothes aisle I noticed tops with the words UNLIMITED and UNSTOPPABLE printed on them. Took a quick detour down the girls aisle to see what similarly empowering messages were being directed at them...

[firstimemamma]

Yanbu. It's also Sainsbury's that has the 'housewife' range of pillowcases etc. Ffs!

[thewhatsit]

This stuff sells though. As soon as people find out they are having a girl they want everything pink and frilly.

[Claudethecat]

@firstimemamma

Yanbu. It's also Sainsbury's that has the 'housewife' range of pillowcases etc. Ffs!

To be fair, that is the established name for a type of pillow case. I think the design was invented by a group of women.

[Pythonista]

They have a limited amount of space in stores - they can only display what sells. So this shit is being bought by people. They are hardly going to say 'oh well these sell well. Let's stop stocking them'

[Rummikub]

@thewhatsit

This stuff sells though. As soon as people find out they are having a girl they want everything pink and frilly.

But there needs to be a choice.
I ended up buying boys clothes so I could dress my girls in colours other than pink. But the fit isn’t quite right.

[Excited101]

@firstimemamma

Yanbu. It's also Sainsbury's that has the 'housewife' range of pillowcases etc. Ffs!

All places sell housewife pillowcases, is a shape of pillow like king is a shape of bed! 🤦‍♀️

[Pythonista]

Can you not buy plain clothes for them?

[WinterTrees]

If clothes manufacturers produced t-shirts with swastikas and "I love Hitler" on them, would anyone buy them? No.
If you disagree with something, don't buy it. If enough people make a stand, they will stop selling it. But blaming the shops for daring to sell it is ridiculous.

Pythonista, you seem to be saying that manufacturers would be perfectly at liberty to produce children's t-shirts with 'I love Hitler' on them, and the only reason they don't is that there isn't a market for them. Whereas in reality it would be illegal on the grounds of racism, anti-semitism and being highly offensive, quite apart from anything else.

Big brands do have corporate responsibility, which is why they're so keen to deck themselves in rainbows for pride month, and associate themselves just now with black history month. They know the messages they send out are important. Sainsbury's are a brand whose customer core is families. Selling children's clothes with sexist bullshit slogans may not be illegal, but it is harmful and I do think it needs to be challenged, though it's fucking tiring to have to be pointing this shit out in 2021.

[ThreeLittleDots]

Selling children's clothes with sexist bullshit slogans may not be illegal

Maybe it needs to be made illegal?

I would not be against this.

[Rummikub]

@Pythonista

Can you not buy plain clothes for them?

It’s actually quite difficult.
Rows of sexist slogans and one plain white t.
It’s frustrating.

[Neveratruerfriend]

@Porcupineintherough

Retailers choosing to sell this shit is not nearly as depressing as people choosing to buy it for their children. And yet they do.

I'm afraid so. Retailers sell this shit precisely because it sells. They wouldn't do it otherwise as buyers' heads would roll.

One way to keep clothes cheap is to stick a logo or an image on it, as per the OP's photos. It means then you can dispense with details that make a garment otherwise interesting but would have to sell at a higher price point - eg top-stitching, trims, buttons etc.

[inferiorCatSlave]

It wasn't me or DH buying this stuff it was DGP - usually MIL and FIL.

(We actually went so far as to dye some of the pink stuff at one point and it looked much better as different threads and material took dye differently and some tops with bad messages did get lost in the wash and the kids never minded would have been impossible of they loved the items)

I manged to avoid buying it though I agree with PP once they can read they frequently don't want boys clothes - though as soon as they got close to adult sizes -
Qwertee was good - have to look through and find appropriate designs but still find them in their sales.

[5catsonthedesk]

Thanks for posting this OP. It is blatantly ridiculous. Like you, I often wonder what actual process is happening in the meetings when they pass this crap off for the shelves.

Anyone remember M&S a few years ago when they ran an Xmas window campaign. It was something like, “What he needs...”and “What she needs...” (something like that). The men’s window display was models in business suits with their M&S brief cases etc. The women’s display (placed right alongside he men’s) was models in red and black basques, babydolls and stockings. People were Wtf? M&S had to release a statement that they had not considered the impact of these two displays side by side in all their stores across the U.K.

[TReXX]

Meanwhile for women...

[Blossomtoes]

@firstimemamma

Yanbu. It's also Sainsbury's that has the 'housewife' range of pillowcases etc. Ffs!

Housewife style pillowcases have been around for decades. And WW1 soldiers were issued with a housewife kit. I can live with that and roll my eyes. The gender stereotyping of kids’ clothes and toys pisses me off far more.

[WinterTrees]

That's a very stark illustration of where this leads 5cats

And as for that t-shirt TReXX... I find I am without words. (But I do love your username.)

[waybill]

Oh dear. It's grim, isn't it?

Let's just hope that someone high up at Sainsbury's sees this thread and makes a mental note...

[hardboiledeggs]

I bought my DS this hoody yesterday and I was thinking there "fuck does this mean something I didn't notice". I get what you mean though.

[TReXX]

@WinterTrees

That's a very stark illustration of where this leads 5cats

And as for that t-shirt TReXX... I find I am without words. (But I do love your username.)

Gives me flashbacks to being asked to smile by random creepy blokes.

I have the blissful invisibility cloak of middle age these days!

[nokidshere]

My boys are 19 & 22 now and I have never bought them an item of clothing with a slogan or a brand name blazoned across it.

It's easy to avoid if you want to. I always went for stripes in fab colours or just plain.

Sadly enough people still buy this rubbish to make it worthwhile for the shop to sell it. Parents are the ones who can change this.

[LovelyLovelyWarmCoffee]

Slogans I don’t like and never buy. However I’ll admit that I categorize most clothes as for boys or girls. Obviously nothing wrong with a girl wearing a blue hoodie / a boy wearing a pink polo shirt. But let’s not pretend clothes has to be unisex, do you buy men’s clothes for yourselves?
I know for adults the shape is not the same, I know some woman will buy a piece of outerwear in the men’s department. But honestly, 99% of women wouldn’t want that.

[ColdColdWinter]

@ErrolTheDragon

I’ve literally never seen an item of clothing or anything else aimed at men that has “be kind” printed on it.

The one place I've seen them is from The Man Who Has it All - if you've not come across this before it's essentially a site which simply swaps all the sexist stereotypes. Some of the merch looks good though!

[[https://www.facebook.com/MANWHOHASITALL/shop?rid=845933925525600&rt=6&referral]]code=pageeshopcard

I'm not too thrilled with this one!

[GreyhoundG1rl]

Is that last one a pisstake? I'm very much afraid it isn't

[fairislecable]

M & S are often criticised but they are at least making an effort : www.marksandspencer.com/cotton-embroidered-slogan-sweatshirt-6-16-yrs-/p/clp60510966?color=BRIGHTBLUE

[fairislecable]

And this one: www.marksandspencer.com/cotton-embroidered-slogan-sweatshirt-6-16-yrs-/p/clp60501099?color=PINK