J.Crew Stands By Its “I Am a Feminist Too” Boys T-Shirt
Despite backlash from some parents.
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It’s an adorable concept: a shirt little boys can wear to show they care about equality with girls. But when J.Crew started selling T-shirts for boys with the words “I Am a Feminist Too,” some fans of the brand weren’t too happy, Insider reports. Despite the backlash, J.Crew is standing by their shirt.
The tee is a product of J.Crew’s collaboration with Prinkshop, a company that makes clothing and accessories with activist messages. Their site also sells adult-sized shirts with the “I Am a Feminist Too” slogan. Sales from the J.Crew/Prinkshop collaboration benefit Girl Up, a group that partners with the United Nations to help girls around the world get an education.
On J.Crew’s Instagram account, some commenters, especially conservative ones, called the company out for encouraging kids to wear slogans they don’t fully understand. “This poor kid doesn't even know what he's representing,” one commenter wrote. "Shame on you for politicizing little boys into what their MOMS want them to be. Kids should be kids not political grandstanding tokens,” another wrote. The backlash continued on Twitter.
Y'all... don't make your children pawns in your political game. It ain't cute. I work in politics and my almost 5 yr old doesn't even know what I do or who the president is. All she knows is that I talk to her "uncle @benshapiro." https://t.co/1OGOdyutjWMay 30, 2018
This has nothing to do with "right-wing fans". It's the fact that CHILDREN DON'T HAVE THE MENTAL CAPACITY TO UNDERSTAND IDEOLOGIES!This is tonedeaf adults using their children as a platform to push their narrative. It's sickening https://t.co/OZAETslEmgJune 1, 2018
Other people supported the shirt, saying feminism isn’t a political issue and that all parents should be raising their children to be feminists.
This hurts my brain. Isn’t it exhausting to get so offended by everything. Like are you trying to raise your son to not believe in equality or? Feminism isn’t political. It’s about recognizing women are human. Lordt. https://t.co/d5gHQvku8WJune 1, 2018
Why is this even an issue? A feminist is someone who thinks women deserve equal rights. Men can be feminists. Men SHOULD be feminists. If I had a son, I’d be raising him to be a feminist.May 30, 2018
The company is defending the somehow-controversial shirt, saying it shows their commitment to equality. A representative for J.Crew responded to the uproar in a statement to MarieClaire.com: “J.Crew stands for equality, and is for everybody.” And that commitment is working, because it’s already sold out in a few sizes.
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Megan Friedman is the former managing editor of the Newsroom at Hearst. She's worked at NBC and Time, and is a graduate of Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism.