Some mommy bloggers are offended by the slogan 'Pretty like mommy' on Gymboree clothing.gymboree.com
Apparently retailers learned little from JCPenney's "too pretty to do homework" gaffe this summer.
This time, it's Gymboree in mommy bloggers' crosshairs over two "sexist" onesies: "Pretty like mommy" for girls and "Smart like dad" for boys, complete with two bespectacled (male?) beavers.
The onesies caught the eye of MomsRising.org, which quickly published a letter to the company.
"We know 1950's-like television shows and fashion are popular right now, but retro gender roles for infants? No way!" wrote the author, unnamed. "And while infants can't read, other children certainly can," the letter continued.
Gymboree reportedly yanked the offending onesies from the website, which still has plenty of options for "genius" boys and princess-wannabe girls.
"If you're a little boy, you can be 'Daddy's Little Buddy.' A 'Perfect Little Man.' You can be a 'rascal' or 'cool,' an 'Adventure Seeker' or 'Mr. Personality,'" wrote Salon's Mary Elizabeth Williams.
Options for daughters, meanwhile, include "Daddy's Little Cupcake" and "A Little Bon Bon."
"Dream big, baby girls! Boys may be on a course for greatness, but you can be a dessert!" Ms. Williams opined.
Other bloggers weren't entirely horrified by the offerings.
"Choose your battle, ladies," Sasha Brown-Worsham wrote at The Stir.
"We aren't going to get respect by starting letter writing campaigns to Gymboree. If we get hysterical over every perceived slight, we won't get anywhere."
Commenter Katriena Young seconded the sentiment: "It's a onesie that the baby is going to out grow in no time and during that time spit up on it and poop in it. People need to chill out."
Over at BabyCenter.com, commenter Stephanie put forth a simple solution to the debacle: "I'd put my daughter in the smart like dad onesie and call it a day."
Do you think the onesies merit the uproar? Would you buy one?
Zosia Bielski