A mother has criticised Poundland for selling a babygrow that she believes encourages misogynistic behaviour in young boys.
Rebecca Roache, a senior lecturer in philosophy at Royal Holloway University of London, shared a photo of the £1.50 babygrow on social media after recently spotting it at her local Poundland store in Witney, Oxon.
The blue garment features a cartoon image of a bow tie alongside the words: “Lock Up Your Daughters.”
“It's never too early to start training boys to be sex pests, eh @Poundland? #everydaysexism“, Roache captioned the photo on Facebook.
The mother-of-two claims 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 sends out this message that boys will be boys - they can just run wild and do not need to take responsibility for their actions or whatever they do,” Roache says.
"It is a subtle message but implicitly there is a sexual context to it that men dominate women.
“It is just inappropriate and sends out a misogynistic message when they cannot even speak or walk yet.
"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.
"It is also assuming that everyone is heterosexual and to be sold to children under a year old is depressing."
Roache adds that the item was available for newborns to infants up to 12 months and was sold next to a pink baby grow aimed at girls with the slogan “Mummy’s Little Diva”.
Parents have commented on Roache’s post to show their support, with one mother saying the babygrow makes her feel “uncomfortable”.
"It is just awful because it places the male infant as a sexual aggressor,” commented one person.
“It would not be put the other way around saying 'lock up your sons.' If I saw one of my relatives putting their child in it I would feel the need to explain why it is wrong - it makes me feel uncomfortable.”
Another added: “They are just stereotyping what girls and boys should be.
"It is putting girls as the victims and I agree it paints boys as sex pests."
However, others have criticised those not in favour of the babygrow for being “oversensitive”.
"Get over yourselves, you oversensitive snowflakes. It is just a bit of fun and nothing else. The world really has gone made,” one person commented.
Another added “I think it's cute. There are far worse things going on in the world than implying your child is handsome.”
In response to the backlash, a spokesperson for Poundland told The Independent: "While we appreciate the feedback, it’s one of our best-selling baby grows, so it appears most customers appreciate the humour".
