This seems to be a case of grossly misjudged humour.
A new t-shirt available at Forever 21 has pissed off a lot of people for its sexist and frankly inappropriate message. Worryingly, the t-shirts are being sold as part of the children’s range, aimed at boys as young as 5.
“Hola ladies,” “Sorry ladies I only date models,” “Ladies man,” and “Chicks are all over me,” are among the problematic messages on the tees, available in sizes age 5/6 through 13/14.
One Twitter user highlighted the shirt which promoted pretty bad backlash from parents.
What messages are we sending our kids with these t-shirts? #NotBuyingIt, @Forever21. https://t.co/7xIPSdyHmB pic.twitter.com/C8tBsxE0NI
— Miss Representation (@RepresentPledge) July 13, 2016
@RepresentPledge @Forever21 What the actual ?
— Jay (@MurrayMonday) July 13, 2016
@RepresentPledge @Forever21 yikes. hate this shirt.
— Jan Lee (@JanLeeHypnosis) July 14, 2016
@RepresentPledge @Forever21 that’s so not cute.
— Unrequited_Beef (@marshonica) July 14, 2016
? @RepresentPledge @Forever21 Heterosexism, Pedophilia, Misogyny, to name a few things
— LADYSHACKLES (@LADY_SHACKLES) July 13, 2016
As expected, the retailer was forced to withdraw the product.
In a statement provided to Yahoo Style the company said:
“Forever 21 takes feedback and product concerns very seriously. With regards to the T-shirts in question, after receiving feedback we have taken immediate action to have them removed from our website. We sincerely apologize to anyone who was offended by the products.”
Professor of psychology Christia Spears Brown spoke to Yahoo Style about the offending pieces.
“It sexualizes children at an age when they should not be sexualized,” she said.
“It reinforces a harmful stereotype about boys that says their value and worth is dependent on how many girls or women they can ‘conquer.’ This has a ripple effect that can harm boys, both gay and straight, as well as girls. It indirectly says that girls are only for sexual attention and not for friendship. Anything that says that only models are worthy of attention is never positive for girls.”
She continued to point out that for children, everything is educational.
“They learn from these messages about how they are supposed to act, what they are supposed to value, and how they are supposed to treat others. Parents of sons should question whether these are the messages they want their sons to take into adult relationships.”
Perhaps go back to the drawing board Forever 21.
