Backlash over a girls’ superhero T-shirt that seems to suggest housework is as important as fighting crime has prompted Target Australia to remove the pink piece of clothing from its racks.
The T-shirt, which was only sold in kids’ sizes, featured a “Batgirl to do list,” with duties including “dryclean cape,” “wash Batmobile” and “fight crime.”
Some shoppers called out Target for selling and promoting a “sexist” and “offensive” top.
“Target, are you serious? In a world where so many are fighting so hard for equality for our daughters, you put this on your shelves? Speechless,” wrote one Facebook user.
Facebook user Summer Edwards called the T-shirt “out of step with 21st century family values."
Others online pointed out that the boys’ version of the T-shirt made no references to laundry work or cleaning. The yellow “Batman Short Sleeve Dad T-shirt with Cape” featured the Batman logo with the words “Like father like son … yes my dad’s Batman.”
In response, Target Australia removed the item from their stores and wrote on Facebook that it was never the retailer’s “intention to offend our customers with this item.”
But just as fast as the shirt prompted outcry, its removal from its stock sparked backlash, too.
Tweeters and Facebook users said they did not find the shirt offensive and accused Target of bowing to political correctness.
“Bring back the Batgirl tee!” wrote Courtney Lee Scherger on Target Australia’s Facebook page. “Why is everything made out to be so sexist these days? Grow up people.”
One person suggested the shirt was actually “progressive,” as Batgirl “is not expected to clean her own cape but take it to the drycleaner,” and she is “washing her own car.”
Another wrote on Edwards’ initial post: “Would you prefer she asked Batman to clean her car for her? Girls can’t possible clean their own car without assistance can they? Your ridiculous sexism offends me.”
To which Edwards responded that her point is that the T-shirt “asks little girls to value housework over her role outside of the home, and it does not ask little boys to do the same.”
Canadian newspaper columnist Jen Zoratti said in an interview on CTV News Channel that the message on the shirt “reinforces gender stereotypes and norms “that I think a lot of people are getting frustrated with.”
Zoratti, who also writes for the blog Screaming in All Caps, said people are speaking out more on social media, saying they won’t buy products they can’t support, which sends a “pretty potent message to retailers.”
It’s important for parents to understand how marketing impacts their children’s views on the world, Zoratti said.
“I think it’s important to realize the ways in which seemingly innocuous things, whether we’re talking about T-shirts or toys, shape our kids,” she said. “There’s a reason why plastic kitchens and shopping carts are pink and purple.”
