A Rant
This evening as I came back from my walk I saw a nine year old wearing a t-shirt with the following slogan emblazoned across her chest ‘If you’re cute, then I’m single’.
Parents, for crying out loud take some responsibility for the kinds of symbols and logos that your children wear, and just because the damn t-shirt is made in a size that fits your little girl doesn’t mean that you are absolved from thinking. When a big, profitable company makes garments covered with deliberately offensive text like FCUK, it doesn’t cease to be rude and offensive simply because the company is successful and because the garments are available in every high street store. And as for garments covered in the Playboy bunny symbol, what on earth are parents thinking of – allowing their daughters to wear such stuff. Playboy promotes pornography and the idea of women being toys for the amusement of men. I don’t know about you, but I have far higher aspirations for my daughter and quite frankly I’m appalled that any of you lucky enough to have children are so bloody stupid, if you don’t think about these things.
Dear lurkers please comment if you agree with me, if nothing else but to underline the point that I am not mad and that parents should be taking responsibility in this area.
Parents, for crying out loud take some responsibility for the kinds of symbols and logos that your children wear, and just because the damn t-shirt is made in a size that fits your little girl doesn’t mean that you are absolved from thinking. When a big, profitable company makes garments covered with deliberately offensive text like FCUK, it doesn’t cease to be rude and offensive simply because the company is successful and because the garments are available in every high street store. And as for garments covered in the Playboy bunny symbol, what on earth are parents thinking of – allowing their daughters to wear such stuff. Playboy promotes pornography and the idea of women being toys for the amusement of men. I don’t know about you, but I have far higher aspirations for my daughter and quite frankly I’m appalled that any of you lucky enough to have children are so bloody stupid, if you don’t think about these things.
Dear lurkers please comment if you agree with me, if nothing else but to underline the point that I am not mad and that parents should be taking responsibility in this area.
posted by Julie Oakley at Saturday, June 24, 2006
23 Comments:
I completely agree with you, Julie. These are battles I fought, furiously and vociferously (like you) when my girls were younger.
Yes, I absolutely agree with you about the offensive words and symbols on T-shirts etc. for even young children. What are their parents thinking! I won't spell out the words, sentences, etc. because google may pick them up and it will end up on some list of disgusting references.
Wendy
I totally agree with you. Some people just don't think!
I agree! I put my foot down on a few things with my daughter while she was being raised ... and come to think about it, recall my dad putting HIS foot down about a few tee-shirts I wanted to get in the early 70's ...
:-) You're right! Parents should be taking responsibility!
I agree, parents shouldn't let their kids wear that stuff.
Interesting that my latest NEW visitor (whose blog currently doesn't have any offensive pictures in it, if you want to check it out) seems to have a much more tolerant attitude to pornography than I have, but nevertheless can see how unsuitable and inappropriate it is for children to be wearing clothes with symbols and slogans that are related to offensive language, sexuality and pornography.
Laura, Wendy, Shelly and Linda, as like-minded mothers it's good to have you adding your comments.
I support you Julie! I have a 14 year old girl, and there is no way these slogans are appropriate for them to be sporting around town in.
We have a wonderful relationship, and we talk openly about what is acceptable and what is NOT.
:))))))
Julie, I agree. Parents should be involved in their kid's choices. I realize there may be compromises at times, but they should be involved.
Thank you for speaking out about this - I think parents who allow their kids to wear 'provocative' garments are ignorant or irresponsible or both - however I reserve my real wrath for the companies who generate it in the first place. If more responsible parents started boycotting companies who produce garments of this sort we might see it start to disappear.
re. the last comment - Kids of 9 aren't old anough to make responsible and well-informed choices about garments like this!
Yes, Kathleen and Rramone discussion and agreement are obviously the way to go. But as Katherine said, a nine year old isn't old enough to make decisions like this and at the end of the day as long as a child is a minor the parents need to use their greater experience of life and take responsibility to ensure their children are not walking around wearing clothes that bear logos or slogans that ultimately could be harmful to the children.
I total agree that these kids should not be wearing such things, it's bad enough that my girlfriend of 3 years chooses to wear the odd FCUK top let alone kids who have no sexual conciousness. That said Pornography in it's own right is no bad thing, but I'm aware many will differ with me.
Apart from anything else I think those FCUK tops are downright rude. I'm amazed that for some reason the fact that it is a 'brand' seems to sanitise the offensiveness in the eyes of people who would never normally go round using four letter words in front of vicars and old ladies.
I have to put a hand up and say my DS1 has a FCUK tee-shirt but the slogan is barely noticable (may not be the sort you are talking about and I haven't seen an FCUK shop since our visit to the UK)However I'm in complete agreement about girl's clothes and TG I never had a daughter even tho I dearly wanted one. With role models like Jordon and Pamela Anderson I feel that women following their example to look like freaks or pros is truly sickening. (How many women in pop videos DON'T try to look like porn stars?)How far have women come in their quest for equality? We've shot ourselves in the foot. Sadly Julie, I think this has taken such a hold that the majority of women don't even analyse it any more. The same women who call men monsters for looking at their little girls in a sexual way...
20 years ago, I was part of a group that took on some of our local shops about 'nasty toys' and with legislative support achieved some changes but eternal vigilance and effort is needed and now everyone seems so busy. We have been buying australian animal picture tee shirts from stringybark
graphics for 20 years to get around the dearth of slogan-free, violent image-free tee shirts in the shops. Sigh
Felicity, I have to say that however discreet, I almost always read the text on a person's t-shirt - I can't help it. So, for that reason I'm very firm about what I'll let my children wear, so that they don't cause offense (so no FCUK logos, however small). I suppose it's 2 issues isn't it, causing offense and sexualising children. And it can be very difficult to resist the marketing ploys of big business and peer pressure. Also as a society we're not just doing a disservice to our daughters by encouraging the porn star look, but how can our sons learn about real love and fidelity, when they're encouraged to view women in this way?
Alison, I wish more of us could could find the time and energy to do what you did.
Julie, I have two sons and that's an important point - trying to teach them to respect girls. Thankfully both are sensible but there are times when they tell me about things at school when I wouldn't blame them for thinking all females are idiots!
Interesting comment on my blog BTW. I suppose I said it partly for effect but I've lived in south London for years and years so I feel fairly safe there but one incident with a guy obviously out of his head on drugs (with my young DS1 in tow) made me a little more wary. With the influx of 'yuppies' where I used to live, I think the difference between the haves and the have'nots has made things worse.
this lurker agrees 100%...about tee-shirt slogans best left in the garbage and mothers/fathers who think it's cute/encourage tots to dress like sexpots.
I totally agree ... it drives me nuts to see what some parents let their younger kids wear. It's bad enough that the older kids are wearing trashy stuff, but it's much worse when the younger ones are wearing it. And why would the companies even make such trashy stuff in the younger sizes? Aarrgghh!
I totally agree!!!
Count me in...the whole trend of kids (even teens) dressing like street walkers is appalling. Watch a show showing prostitutes on the stroll, and then visit a mall, and you will have difficulty seeing a diffence. Putting little kids in clothes like this is just sick.
In popular music and in fashion women are more objectified now than they were 20 years ago. It's a shame that we seem to be going backwards in this matter of respect.
When you are a parent part of the job is to put the brakes on when your kids want to do something unwise...even if it makes you extrememly unpopular with your kid. Parenting is not a popularity contest. If you are doing a good job, part of the time the kids aren't going to be crazy about your decisions.
My 2 cents.
Wow, sorry about all the bad spelling...I guess I got carried away...I cannot type as fast as I think and it gets me into trouble sometimes :)
kathleen marie, zephyr, jennifer, squashed toad and pedalpower thank you for adding your thoughts to this post. I am thinking that I'm going to make a big fuss in any shop I'm in, every time I see any of these clothes with unsuitable messages on if they're in smaller sizes
Lurker here! I just found your blog and couldn't agree more! What small child needs this? I live in America and it is just as bad here.
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