There’s been tons of debate lately about whether kids are becoming sexualized too soon (see: Toddlers & Tiaras, Thylane Blondeau,bikini waxes for 11-year-olds) and now a sort of stodgy retailer best known for its refrigerator selection is making headlines for offering really inappropriate children’s apparel.
The New York Daily News reported this morning that they found some misogynistic and offensive kids’ clothing on Sears’ website. Some of the gems? T-shirts with the slogans: “Don’t Make Me Kick You in the Fallopian Tubes,” “Don’t Make Me Kick You in the Birth Canal,” and “Nice Girls Don’t Use Pepper Spray.”
The reporter called Sears to complain, and the Sears customer service rep actually agreed that they were offensive. The NYDN reported that many of the questionable styles were removed from Sears’ site, but we had to go look for ourselves. Turns out they missed a few.
While some of these items are sold through third party vendors on the site, it’s all under the Sears banner. The lovely garment above at left proudly proclaims “Hung Like Daddy,” which raised quite a few questions in my mind like: Who on earth would dress their child in that? And why would you want to compare your husband/partner’s equipment to that of a toddler? And in a weird juxtaposition, this particular shirt is offset by a very large number of shirts proclaiming “Believe in God.”
And in that same vein, we found this horrifying BABY BLANKET, featuring a demonic face, flames and the slogan “Fear No Evil.” And while not immediately offensive on the surface, the yellow onesie proclaiming “Pretty Like Mommy” really sort of pisses me off. Why not: “Good Reader Like Mommy”? Or “Kick Ass Multi-tasker Like Mommy”?
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