Image credit: Zazzle.com
Check out the piece on ‘playground pimp’ onesies and the sexualising of little boys in fashion over at double x. Thoughts?
The sexualising of little boys in oh-so-ironic pop culture seems to be happening in a somewhat more knowing way (and on a much smaller scale) than is happening with little girls where in most cases there is simply a failure of imagination to perceive any other goal for girls in growing up than to be sexy. Also, the sexualising of little boys is not orientated towards reducing them to consumable items as it is with little girls, instead their sexuality is expressed through their response to and control over female sexuality. But the sexualising of little boys is just as stereotype-driven and just as weird.
If you’re up to it.. (stop and really think about that because they aim to offend)… go on over to T-Shirt Hell (so NSFW) and behold the perplexing sight that is a bunch of cute babies wearing slogans positively screaming “my parents are finding baby cuteness a very stifling time in their lives, please give them some shock and disgust so they can still feel young and rebellious”. Samples include: Hung like a pony, My pee pee is bigger than yours, Hung like a five year old, I enjoy a good spanking, F!#K The Milk Where’s the Whiskey Tits?! and the previously mentioned, ever so darling Playground pimp.
blue milk 
See I just don’t understand this……when it comes down to it I would just be plain embarrassed to dress my child in something like this and have others see it! I have a three year old daughter who is very tall for her age and trying to find clothes that don’t make her look like she is 18 & clubbing can be difficult at times – I think a lot of babies/kids clothes now cross the line.
“my parents are finding baby cuteness a very stifling time in their lives, please give them some shock and disgust so they can still feel young and rebellious”.
Dead on. So many people put a really high price on being edgy and when it comes to stuff like this they are paying with their self respect and respect for their child. Sexualization aside, I’m pretty against putting words into a non-verbal child’s mouth.
What is wrong with just a plain ol’ freaking onesie anyway?
Oh right, they aren’t cool enough.
See, if I had a kid, they’d have onesies that said “Klingon Inside” or “When I grow up, I wanna be a Time Lord.” Harmless geeky shit like that.
This stuff is just horrendous. 😦
Ooh! I thought of another one! If it’s a girl, it’ll say, “Sure, I’m a Princess.
A _Warrior_ Princess.”
“my parents are finding baby cuteness a very stifling time in their lives, please give them some shock and disgust so they can still feel young and rebellious”.
You see, I’m so down with that. But it doesn’t need sexism and vulgarity as an outlet. We made our baby some onesies that said “solipsist”, “This is Not a Drill” and “I thought I heard a voice say: sleep no more” (which is from Macbeth).
I LOVE your onesie slogans.
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The “I enjoy a good spanking” one gives me the heebie jeebies, I guess because it sexualizes the boy wearing it. Interesting that it bothers me *more* than the ones a boy would wear sexualizing girls. I wonder why that is. Am I used to girls being sexualized so it’s not as shocking? Argh.
We had some baby t-shirts in Australia lately… thankfully withdrawn from sale, now… that said “they shake me” with a retro pic of an Etch-a-Sketch.
It’s not funny, or edgy, or at all clever. Just very, very wrong.
Little boys in black tees that say “Security” in white block letters, though, look cool.
This problem exists in so many ways. I am saddened by it. It wasn’t long ago, when my daugther, whose now 17, was in ballet at around 10 years and I noticed how in dance classes, the thing that was most obvious that people got a kick out of at recitals was 4 year old girls shaking their butts. Everyone thought it was hysterical and clapped endlessly. I just wanted to cry. Those little ones grow up to think that what makes them worthwhile is that they are ‘hotties’ who can ‘shake it’. Not only that, but they had them wearing as little clothing as possible. Wrong!
I do think you’re right that it seems to be a parental expression of rebellion. I say, “Grow up.” Rebellion for the sake of rebellion is just, well….childish. At least have a good reason for it, KWIM.
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