Mum’s plea to make Kmart clothes ’genderless’ sparks divide

An angry NZ mum who launched a petition calling for Kmart to make “genderless” clothing has sparked a major divide online.

A furious New Zealand mum who launched a petition calling on Kmart to make clothing labels “genderless” has copped major backlash online.

The woman shared her frustration with the budget retail store on Facebook and Change.org after coming across a “boys” label when buying a dinosaur T-shirt for her daughter.

However, her plea sparked a major divide, with some parents passionately agreeing while others branded the petition “madness”.

“Hey Kmart … get with the program already would you?!” she wrote in the now-deleted post on Facebook.

India Springle has sparked a major divide among parents with her Kmart petition. Picture: Facebook

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“Even my nearly three-year-old thinks your gender labels are bull … why the hell are all the cool T-shirt’s labelled ‘boys’, what makes this T-shirt a boys T-shirt anyway?!?

“Girls can only wear a dinosaur T-shirt if it’s pink and full of sequins?! Honestly, it is beyond ridiculous, get in the modern world you archaic bunch of fossils.”

While the mum acknowledged “there are heaps of bigger things going on in the world right now” – it didn’t stop people slamming the opinion.

“Why can’t you take the label off?” one person suggested.

“Just buy the shirt, cut the tag off they’re annoying anyway and keep on with your day,” another said.

One mum wrote: “Why does it matter so much about the words written in the label? Your daughter looks delightfully happy in her dinosaur top so why make an issue out of nothing.”

“The only madness here is the mother who has the time to start a petition,” one person wrote on Facebook.

However, the now closed petition received lots of support, with 170 signatures from people who branded Kmart’s gendered clothing “stupid”.

“So frustrating, being in an environment that tries to pit people and our preferences in boxes … That’s not what I want our kids to feel …” one person wrote.

“Gendered clothing for kids is stupid. Almost as stupid as gender reveal parties,” another commented.

“YES!!! So sick of the gender labels!! Why are there no cat shirts for boys!!!” a mum agreed.

A Kmart Australia spokesperson told news.com.au they were taking the comments into consideration.

“At Kmart our store design is set up to assist customers with a convenient shopping experience based on their shopping behaviour. At Kmart we are constantly listening to our customers and incorporating their feedback to both future product ranges and store design,” they said.

The outrage about this Kmart ‘offensive’ kids dress up costume caused Kmart to pull it from shelves. Picture: Kmart

Last month, Kmart was slammed for a child bride kids costume that was branded “offensive”.

The $6 costume, which included a white wedding grown and headband with veil for children between the ages of 4 and 6, was stripped from shelves after someone named “Shannon B” launched the petition on Change.org.

What do you think about the labels? Do you think Kmart should make all clothing genderless? Let us know in the comments below.

Continue the conversation @RebekahScanlan | [e-mail]

Originally published as Mum’s plea to make Kmart clothes ’genderless’ sparks divide