After being so enraged about these disgusting t-shirts for toddlers, I sent an email to corporate. Here is the message I sent: I was horrified to walk into your store to see baby shirts that express messages such as "My mom is a hottie" and "my mom is hotter than your mom". This is beyond inappropriate! It is depraved to have baby clothes that express sexual attraction to ones own mother. Both of those words are used to descibe someone who is sexy, attractive, and meets all society's physical expectations, does it not? I always thought of your company as one that promotes, health, well-being, and values. I see no value or morality in selling this trash! Please remove this merchandise from your stores!
Upon returning from my family get together, there was a message on the machine from the store manager. I called him back this morning. He wanted to let me know that the shirts with these particular sayings had been moved to the back of the rack, where customers would have to search through the shirts to find these. Hardly satisfactory! He stated that his customers had seen these shirts in other stores and requested he get them in his store. I asked him what it meant when a person was referred to as "hot" or a "hottie". He replied that it meant someone was "attractive or cute". Yea-try again! I told Mr. Manager that it meant someone was sexually attractive and by making a baby wear this shirt, it implied that the baby was sexually attracted to it own mother. I told him that he knew very well that it did not mean someone was "cute"! I asked him if he would buy these shirts for his kids-he does not have kids. Nieces and nephews? Long, Long pause. He claimed he had bought several for his nieces and nephews, but after such a long, long pause and stuttering out that he had, I doubt this to be true. He also stated that he really didn't have the authority to remove them from the store. I told him that I suspected as much and that was the resaon I had taken it up with "coporate". I asked him how he felt working for a company that would pass the buck of responsibility on to the store managers. Ouch! Was that too much? I didn't give him time to answer. I just wanted him to ponder that. I was polite to the man, but I didn't want to be!
Ok-here's the thing: remember how I said my friend worked at the store? Well, the day that I was in the store complaining about these shirts, my friend told the manager about my concerns. When the manager siad he didn't see anything offensive, my friend asked if he would dress his own kids in those shirts. (See, I influenced my friend, made him really think, and he passed it on!) The manager then started asking all the employees what they thought it meant. My friend told my husband that there were several complaints emailed to corporate about the shirts. WOW! That gives me hope!
It gives me hope to know that even though we may not get the resolution we are looking for, people will still voice their opinions. I don't think we should complain about every little thing, but every time we settle for a product not worth the money, bad customer service, or smut being marketed towards or for our kids, we send a message that we will take all the crap they can heap on.
Get your opinion out there! Have your say! Power to the people!
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2 comments:
The vast mindless majority, though, will still think those shirts are "cute" (oh, isn't teaching sexism adorable??) And that manager missed the point that the shirts don't say "My DAD is a hottie". That would still be creepy, but the message is, what women look like, and whether they are sexually attractive or not, is apparently important, but not so much for men. Sure, let's print messages like that on little kids' shirts and teach them to be as mindless and stupid as any parent who would buy those shirts.
Yea, I wonder if the public would be offended by a child's shirt that read something like "my dad has a huge set". I can't imagine that would be accepted! The whole thing is just disgusting!
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