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New Zealand mother, India Springle wants Kmart to get rid of the gendered labels put on children’s clothing after her daughter fell in love with a dinosaur t-shirt that was marked to be worn by a boy. The mother was furious after seeing the shirt labeled for boys ages one to seven.
Springle went to Facebook to share her concerns about the labels based on gender. She called out the store so that children can wear what they like without worrying if it is meant for “boys” or “girls.”
Many users in the comments agreed with Springer and identified with this issue:
“Ridiculous, I cannot understand in this day and age why I have to go to the boys’ section to get even just a plain black t-shirt and black jeans for my two-and-a-half-year-old girl. Labeled boys – WTF. It’s mental,” one mother said.
Springer even started her own petition saying that children’s clothing doesn’t need to have gendered labels. “Children should be free to pick what they want to wear without their gender being called into question. If a little girl wants to wear a dinosaur T-shirt or a little boy wants to wear a pink T-shirt why shouldn’t they? Stop this gendered madness! No more ‘girls’ or ‘boys’ on labels!”
Her petition has been deleted as the idea backfired. Many people suggested that Springer should just cut off the labels from the clothing if it bothers her that much.
One woman said, “I feel sorry for Lola having a mum that can get so upset over a label. Why didn’t you name her GREG or even better, why can’t you take the label off?”
Another woman said, “Just buy the shirt, cut the tag off they’re annoying anyway and keep on with your day.”
And one more woman said, “Why does it matter so much about the words written in the label? Your daughter looks delightfully happy in her dinosaur top so why make an issue out of nothing.”
In the midst of all this controversy, A Kmart spokesperson released a statement: “At Kmart, our store design is set up to assist customers with a convenient shopping experience based on their shopping behavior. At Kmart, we are constantly listening to our customers and incorporating their feedback to both future product ranges and store design.”
