The Horror… THE HORROR!
So yesterday evening when we went into the basement and gave Rissa the task of going through her cubbies of long-forgotten toys, she discovered this in her dress up box…
The pic really doesn’t do it justice. It’s way more fuschia-y in real life. The sentiment upon the chest of an adult would be enough to bring the bile into the back of one’s throat, but this shirt was manufactured for a child. A small girl child. Like a 5-7 year-old girl child.
“Mummy, where did I GET this??” I had no clue. I can say with absolute certainty that I didn’t buy it. Never in my life would I have purchased a shirt like this. 1 – because of what it says. And 2 – Rissa was a child who despised pink. The feminist in me was bound and determined that she would NOT wear pink at all as an infant, until I realized that, when your 4 month old daughter sports a Friar Tuck monk’s fringe of dark hair, and baby acne, you want to give folks a clue before they say “Oh, he’s adorable! What’s his name?” Pink ginham it was. Plus, she looked pretty frickin’ amazing in pink. But, by the time she was 4 – NO pink. NO princesses. HER decision. I kid you not. And honestly, at this point, having realized how amazing she looked in the pink? I was pushing it. She said NO.
But I digress… Back to my point. Who, I ask you, WHO in their right mind would think that this t-shirt is appropriate for a child? Shopping Makes Me Happy?!? REALLY?? This is what our 5-7 year-old daughters should be modeling? No child, female OR male should be wearing this.
Is there a line of boy’s t-shirts that would be equivalent? Something equally offensive and gender cliched? Something that makes him seem stupid yet consumerist at the same age? Creative Writing Is DUMB! Bacugan Makes Me Happy? Farting While Playing Pokemon Makes Me Happy? Sometimes small things can set me off. But you know what? This t-shirt is NOT a small thing. It really isn’t. This fuschia children’s t-shirt encourages young girls to think that they’re supposed to be made happy through spending. Not only is is denigrating to young women, it’s setting up a ridiculous precedent. Shopping Makes Me Happy? How about Reading Makes Me Happy? How about Improvisation Makes Me Happy? How about just wearing a t-shirt that has NO WORDS on it. The more I think about this shirt, the angrier I get. I’m snorting and swearing while typing this. For-fu-grr-rutz-er-frutz-blargh-dee-sadan’s-aus!!!
I love a good t-shirt. I do. Something that is ironic and makes you snicker – usually with a bad pun. This thing is – most kids don’t get irony. They’re not there… yet. Sarcasm either. Please – for the love of all that’s good in the universe. Wait until your child chooses a shirt with a message. And if your 5-7 year old daugther reaches for a shirt like this one on the rack? TELL. HER. NO.