ed up of skull&Crossbones, little terror, little monster logos on clothes!!!!!! why!!!!

[Mama2b5]

Do you think "no harm in it" or do you also say "why?????"

I really am bothered by this all and hear you all !
im so sorry realitychick for pressing your rant button and this is why i started this post because i cant be the only person who just hates these slogans!
also the label mrsbadger like "rebel", "urban outlaws" also get on my nerves!!!! shall i name the shops ermm they both begin with "P"

For my girls - i hate skinny, pink, purple, clingy, tight, shoes with heels for under 15 year olds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think i have found what i should do design sensible clothes for sensible parents!for children LOL x

The worst skull ones I saw were on girls' tops- this gave me the heebejeebees and I'm 32.

Where did the skull logo come from? is it to do with pirates????why is it such a trend now?
why are most girls jeans skinny????????

lots of high street stuff if you are choosy:
Examples: these this, this, this all from next, plain tees from gap, plain and stripey from boden, and some lovely things from debenhams such as this, i love these!, and even asda and tesco have the odd gem

Of course you CAN find non-monstered clothing - if you hunt. But that's not really the point - to my mind at least. These stereotypes harm my boys whether I dress them in the clothes or not.

It's the fact that the majority of retailers CHOOSE to stereotype boys like this. Boys are effectively being told from the age of 0 that to be male is to be aggressive, unpleasant and a menace.

Why should retailers be allowed to pigeon-hole boys like this? It's wrong that retailers use slogans that sexualise little girls, and it's equally wrong that they use slogans that denigrate or demonise little boys. They are little people, not walking posterboards for society's preconceptions.

I don't care about girls wearing pink or boys wearing pirate - I'm not against gender stereotypes per se (though I do wish that the colour split wasn't quite so rigid)

What I mind are the kind of slogans the OP mentioned - like "little terror" "cheeky" or "little but loud".

It's the imbalance that annoys me - girls slogans are ALL about being cute, pretty and adorable - boys slogans are ALL about being loud, cheeky and rude. It feeds into how boys (and girls) feel about themselves and their self-esteem, and into how others perceive them.

And yes, maybe it's primarily a symptom of how society feels about boys, rather than a cause, but that doesn't make it better, and it makes me feel really sad. Why not have clothes that say positive things? What harm could that do?

I also despise the boys' negative logo tops and do my best to avoid them, although DS has conformed to the gender stereotype and does like anything remotely pirate-looking. I think it's dreadful that boys are expected to be 'little monsters' or 'mummy's little devil' or whatever - makes me really sad.

I also have a girl, and I am equally appalled at the tyrany of pink fluff in every shop.

I'm planning to dress both in nothing but red from now onwards!!

I guess my issue is the fact that there are tops with these slogans on of course i can dress my children without them wearing these tops but i believe its getting worse!
Tethersend - OMG - Ladydeath - why would anyone buy that top for any child!!!!!!!!!!
theyoungvisiter - i agree with you so much!!!!!!!!
sickonmyshoulder - thanks for all the effort that was very thoughtful of you to post the links!
shineoncrazy- i dont think the problem is pinks or pirates its the skulls,horny devil, im a little devil, small & loud, cheeky monkey( which can be deemed as very negative) crowns and tantrum, i like shopping chocolate and boys!!!

I started this post because i though am i the only one who feels this is going to far, as of most posts - i know im not!! Thanks to all for comments and helpful posts.
My dd 16 is actually going to do coursework regarding this topic!

MNHQ are holding a crisis meeting this morning.

You've used up the MN annual quota of exclamation marks.

Whatever will we do?

oppppss!
if only i could edit some out.

I agree with Shiney. My DS is nearly 3 and I don't like the cheeky monkey/little monster crap so I don't buy it. I don't have any problems finding nice clothes with no slogans on and I shop mostly on the high street - Next, M&S and Tesco usually and spend as little as I can get away with! Blue Zoo in Debenhams have loads of brightly coloured boys clothes in at the moment. I don't understand when people say they have to "hunt" - it's not that hard!

I'm not adverse to characters though - DS has a few Thomas and Mr Men things. He's a child, children like characters - what's the harm?

totally agree. it's unnecessary. plenty of nice stuff around though if you know where to look, DS has loads of animal stuff.

I always raided mini mode at Boots but they've gone bust :(

idont mind skull and crossbones, they can look quite cool! but i do agreethat "little monster" etc is v. tacky!

I have found that they are plain or have trains, cars,ships, or some kind of animal on it!!!! no harm but some i have seen which i think perfect to then see skulls on the pocket and large one on the back!
harmless characters like thomas, mr strong no problem its the negative slogans I have a problem with!
6 kids to cater for all different personalities sometime going all over is draining! but, oh well,never mind.

all comments for or against is fine! - personal opinions!

skull and crossbones can look cute, DS has one stripy t-shirt with a tiny motif in the corner which was a hand-me-down. same friend also gave us a load of character stuff which is lovely, and I wouldn't buy it myself so it's great to have it for free!

I hate the slogans though. different friend gave us another batch of clothes, and said we could keep what we want, get rid of the res. mostly lovely traditional stuff but one top with a naughty-boy type slogan, which is going in the thanks-but-no-thanks pile!

I normally find H&M OK for boys clothes, but yesterday their selection was dire. That may just be the branch I was in though, Zara have some lovely boys things at the moment.

DS is nearly 8 so has developed his own taste . I don't let him have anything too out and out hideous but I don't force him to wear things he hates either. His taste varies wildly.

have you seen the "lady death" top "Tethersend" - posted it! now, thats just awful!

one that really bugs me was a girl's t-shirt I've seen around, which says "study? I'm here to see my friends"

my ds 5 - luvs all things ben10!ds 11 -he loves looking smart, preppy look polo shirt,cords or shirts and tie.

I buy DD all plain/coloured tops, but I have no problem with DH buying her the odd thing with skulls on it. He was a hardcore punk rocker in his youth and if it makes him feel a bit more invested in his daughter I have zero problems with it - and having a daddy who cares about what she wears before she's a teenager certainly won't do her any harm.

He even bought her little trainers that matched his (with a little skull on the toe). Small things that help them feel connected are fine by me. I think it's a bit too easy sometimes (as a SAHM) to take over all the parenting and leave him out of it.

Licensed characters emblazoned on everything are far more insidious imo. To each their own.

so my ds school called me today he had been bitten by another child over a toy!!!!!!!!!
the boy was told off and the mum was called in for a meeting not first time this has happened, as walking pass i saw the little boys top "Tiny Terror" in bright red with a skull and crossbone in the letter r! can you believe it!