A mum has hit out at Marks & Spencer for using an image of a brother pulling his sister's ponytail.
Tracey Garcia said the photo is "offensive on so many fronts" and sends the wrong message about violence towards women.
The mum-of-one shared the retailer's image on Twitter alongside an artist's drawing, reports the Manchester Evening News.
The drawing included a quote, which said: "Grown ups, if a boy is mean to your daughter, don't tell her it's because he likes her, violence and aggression are never signs of love."
Tracey then added in a follow-up tweet: "I’ve been dressed by you since I was 11 from memory.
"I love being able to shop online, especially for our son. Today I came across this image and I want to share one with YOU.
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"We have a responsibility as parents and advertisers to set the tone!"
Marks & Spencer has since removed the image from their website.
And Tracey, mum to Elliott, also told Manchester Family : "When I saw the image I thought how utterly ridiculous, and whilst my son doesn’t sit with me when I order I was left thinking; what kind of message is this.
"I reached out to ask them to consider their responsibility as advertisers and I also messaged Let Clothes Be Clothes.
"If we don’t challenge and set the tone for change what else slips through the nets. I find it offensive on so many fronts and feel let down by M&S - they are a family store."
The mum, from Berkshire, added: "My son is 8 Autistic with PDA - he struggles enough - I haven’t shared the image with him, only told him that I asked that an image that might encourage behaviours in others was removed and it was.
"He thought that was cool - I want him to never to accept things like this and to feel free and confident to stand up for others and question.
"To be fair they addressed the concern straight away."
Francesca Mallen, of Let Clothes Be Clothes, a campaign to end gender stereotyping in the design and marketing of childrenswear, said: "Fantastic to see Marks and Spencer take swift action on this, and the image now looks to have been removed.
"We love the transformation and move to more unisex children's wear at M&S, but all retailers need to be cautious of using descriptions and images that are likely to cause great offence."
An Marks & Spencer spokesperson said: "During the pandemic we used siblings to comply with restrictions – as can be seen with this image.
"We want our shots to be natural, fun, appropriate and inclusive and following feedback from our customers we took the decision to remove this particular shot.”
