URGENT! Asda have signed up to our Let Girls Be Girls campaign - and would like to consult you quickly!

[HelenMumsnet]

Hello.

As we hope you've already seen, George at Asda were one of the first clothing ranges to sign up to our Let Girls Be Girls campaign.

And now they've phoned us to ask for our help.

The press (who are all over this story today) have contacted Asda to point out that they're selling this T-shirt for girls.

Asda would love to know whether Mumsnetters think it's OK or not.

They say that, as they've signed up to Let Girls Be Girls, they'll take action if we have a negative reaction to the T-shirt.

Please post your comments ASAP - Asda are biting their nails...

ASDA

Can we have some unisex clothes and shoes please?

not all little girls want sparkly pink/purple shoes with rubbish straps that will break if used for anything other than walking sedately, and not all boys want charcoal/navy/olive green blocks of plastic that look like they have been hewn from granite and weigh about as much.

How about some plain red/green/white trainers? With NO flowers and hearts and trains and diggers on? how about some purple/yellow/green/red stripes - or ANYTHING other than sludge colours?

How about some T shirts that are not stuffed into the boys section just because they aren't nipped in at the waist and three inches shorter than those aimed at boys (as if 4 year old girls even HAVE a defined waist, or SHOULD have their waists defined for them!)

Even the material used for girl's clothes is inferior - if you feel the t-shirts for boys and the t-shirts for girls, the boys' t-shirts feel much thicker and heavier material.

While we're at it - why do all your boy's jeans have such massive waists? Ds1 is the perfect weight and height for his age so he should have a bang average waist for his age too - but your jeans are so big in the waist they don't even fit with a belt - there's four spare inches of fabric!

I know you won't take this criticism well, and your marketing and design people will come up with a load of guff about "We at Asda strive to provide the best value for money " etc, but how about you actually listen to us for a change?

Your clothes sell because most of your buyers feel they have no economic choice, so your sales won't go down if you change the clothes slightly as long as you don't put the price up. People aren't outright choosing to dress their children in clothes that fit badly and are, in the girl's clothing, sometimes shoddily made and not fit for the purpose of being a child.

If you listen to use, your sales will go UP.

6 year old boys are too beautiful to be dressed only in City Banker colours shitkicker shoes, and 6 year old girls are too innocent and playful to be emblazoned with slogans emphasising their appearance above all else and shoes that are designed only for sitting down nicely.

and why is there such an obsession to put slogans on clothes?

Don't like the slogan at all. Message is that the wearer wants her looks noticed first of all, yuck. Old-fashioned sexist tripe.

although I prefer to avoid slogan T shirts I'd put DS in one as much as DD

sorry, in one saying "gorgeous" I mean

I don't like it.

I don't find it offensive.

I go the other way - I think the statement 'gorgeous is an understatement' is fine for younger kids - it's just the sort of cheek-squishing thing I might say to a young child.

After school age, when children's clothing starts to be more like scaled-down versions of teenagers' designs, I'd say that this begins to seem like an attempt to mimic adult statements about how desirable the wearer is - v dodgy ground I think.

But it's pretty impressive that Asda are taking this seriously and would ask our opinions. I don't think there are many brands which would be that transparent.

Let's hope they listen to Pronoia - I might even change from Sainsburys to Asda if they make an amazing kids clothing range!

I do not like it and, like many, find it rather tacky. However, I don't think it falls in the 'premature sexualisation' category, and therefore isn't strictly speaking in contradiction with the Let Girls Be Girls campaign.

I agree about the waist sizes. DS1 is perfectly in proportion but his jeans just fall down constantly. I can either have the right length or a waist that fits - not both. And ds1 doesn't want to wear a belt and I don't want one either.

Also agree with MsSpentYoof about how this outfit would actually sit on a prepubescent girl's figure.

Not to my taste, but I don't think it comes under the category of sexualisation.

I don't like it and wouldn't buy it for DD (8) but don't think it is overly sexualised. I had got a T-shirt for DS (3) once saying 'Handsome is an understatement' - it doesn't seem much worse than that.
Thanks for asking ASDA!

Don't like. Don't have girls but do feel strongly about this - I don't think encouraging children to think about the way they look is necessary or healthy. Any child under about, I don't know, ten, say, should not be preoccupied with their looks or pointing out to other people that they're gorgeous.

Also don't like it because it's part of that horrible boasty look-at-me I'm amazing blah blah crap which our children are encouraged to adopt as if it were that that would give them a positive view of themselves or raise their self-esteem. It's just wrong.

This t-shirt effectively says 'look at me, look how gorgeous I am.' Inappropriate for a child.

I also hate t-shirts for boys that brag about how naughty they are, as it happens.

Not OK. Stop stupid slogan tee shirts full stop.

don't like it, naffaroo and part of the whole empahsis on girls must look gorgeous.

It is not overly sexual, but if they are taking this campaign seriously then it needs to be zero tolerance, otherwise where do you draw the line?

no, dont like it, and would never let one of ym 4 girls wear it.

I dislike it too. If you must have a slogan, it's a tshirt to go with a denim skirt isn't it. Well how about 'good genes' instead. Will mean bog all to the kids but will at least not offend their parents.

Sexist but not specifically sexualised .......however does verge on contributing to the whole cultural thing where it is essential that women preen and be 'gorgeous', which in turn eventually contributes to 16 year olds feeling like they need botox.

As others have said - can we please have other messages to girls - not just those based on appearances.

Who gives a shit whether a little girl is gorgeous looking?