“Girl clothes are the worst.”
Michael Vaughn is a “Great Value brand Seth Rogen,” a “Licensed Girl Dad,” and he’s tired of the annoying little girl clothes on the market. The TikToker, who goes by @world.shaker, did a stitch video last year with @ericasaystuff and answered the question: “tell me about the time you realized the over-sexualization of women starts incredible young.”
“It was 100% the clothes. I knew it was going to be bad but I didn’t know how bad,” says Vaughn. “Then we got a onesie for our daughter that said, ‘Sorry, boys, Dad says no dating.’ Sized for a newborn. I guess I’m wondering who they thought was gonna date our zero-month-old daughter.”
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@world.shaker #stitch with @ericasaysstuff #parenting #girldad #walmartsethrogen #babyclothes
♬ Emotional Piano Instrumental In E Minor – Tom Bailey Backing Tracks
“All the girl clothes are remarkably annoying for so many reasons…Why is everything hyper pink?…Why are the girl clothes smaller than boy clothes when they’re the same size?” Vaughn questions. “I don’t get why boys get normal shorts and my daughter gets shorts with an inseam of negative 2.”
Parents have long touted the issues with finding girls clothes that aren’t skin-tight and super short. Then add in school districts who unfairly penalize clothing like dresses and skirts, categorizing them as more “sexual” and “unprofessional” than pants, and we basically have no where left to turn––except the boys section.
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@world.shaker #stitch with @annethepa Boys 👏🏻are 👏🏻not 👏🏻bigger 👏🏻than 👏🏻girls 👏🏻 #parents #parenting #girlsclothing #sexism #misogynistic
♬ original sound – World Shaker
Naysayers will have parents believe that girls clothing is smaller and tighter because “boys are bigger than girls,” which is just false, says Vaughn in a follow up video. If you really think about it, girls clothes are designed to be form-fitting and not always built for play, while boys clothes are meant for comfort and function.
So if boys and girls are the same size, why then do clothing companies continue to market their clothing the way they do? And if girls clothing uses less fabric because they are smaller than the boy version, shouldn’t it be cheaper instead of more expensive (i.e., the dreaded pink tax), as so often is the case?
While there is much to be frustrated about, parents have a few options. We can continue to advocate for our kids when it comes to holding clothing companies accountable for their sizing and manufacturing processes and we can also shop gender neutral brands who put an emphasis on children, not boys and girls.
Check out some of our favorites that include Primary, nununu, Pact, and Monica + Andy.
