Mother accuses Asda of 'sexism' over stereotypical baby clothes

'When will this madness stop?'

(PA (PA)

A mother has accused Asda of sexism over the stereotypes it uses to describe children’s clothing online.

Katherine Tierney, from Scotland, recently noted the difference in the supermarket chain's clothing descriptions while browsing the children’s section of its website.

The mother-of-two was so enraged by what she found she decided to share two screenshots of the gendered ranges on Twitter alongside the caption: “I'm shocked at the different descriptions of trousers @georgeatasda have used for baby girls & boys.

“Active little men who need comfy clothes that move with them, or pretty little princesses who look as cute as a button?

“Are you actually kidding me?! #everydaysexism @letclothesbe.”

In the descriptions shared by Tierney, the girls’ leggings and jeans are labelled using phrases such as “oh-so-pretty” and “cute as a button”, while the boys’ trousers are advertised as “comfy” and “cool”.

The text also describes little girls as “princesses”, and boys as “active little men”.

Several Twitter users have commented on Tierney’s tweet expressing their outrage.

“So boys move around but girls just sit still and look pretty?! FGS Asda, sort it out. We're in the 21st century now, not Victorian England!,” one person commented.

Another added: “When will this madness stop? It is so limiting for our boys & girls”

Others shared their own experiences of struggling to find non-gendered children’s clothing at the supermarket.

“Shopping in ASDA today, PJs for my 11yr old girl,” one parent commented.

“Unicorns, sequins (uncomfortable to sleep in), ridiculous slogans and 90% some form of pink.

"She is none of those things and would rather wear old, small ones. She was angry."

A spokesperson for Asda tells The Independent: "We know that all of our customers, even the youngest, have their own favourite styles.

"That's why we include lots of different descriptions to give customers a flavour of the thousands of products we sell. We're pretty sure we have something for everyone and we’d never want to offend."​

Earlier this week, budget retailer Poundland was also criticised for selling "sexist" baby clothes.

Rebecca Roache, a senior lecturer in philosophy at Royal Holloway University of London, shared a photo of a babygrow she recently spotted at her local Poundland store which read: “Lock Up Your Daughters”.

Roache said she was concerned that the slogan sends out an irresponsible message to young children, adding that it could negatively influence a child’s attitude towards women in later life.

“It is just inappropriate and sends out a misogynistic message when they cannot even speak or walk yet,” she said.

“If this is the first message they are getting told, then when they do reach the age when they are sexually active, it is sending out the wrong message.”

In response to the backlash, a spokesperson for Poundland told The Independent: ”While we appreciate the feedback, it’s one of our best-selling babygrows, so it appears most customers appreciate the humour“.