Gender War, Aisle 3: Unisex Kids’ Clothes Stir British Backlash
By doing this they perpetuate gender stereotypes." The statement added, "John Lewis have basically said they’re not going to do
that anymore." John Lewis began in 1864 as a drapery shop on London’s Oxford Street and has since transformed into a barometer of sorts for Britain’s aspirational middle class, with 48 stores across the country.
" she said. that We do not want to reinforce gender stereotypes within our John Lewis collections and instead want to provide greater choice and variety to our customers, so
that the parent or child can choose what they would like to wear,
Dinah Spritzer, an American in Prague who writes about gender issues
and is the mother of twin boys, said policies like John Lewis’s were liberating for both children and their parents.
John Lewis, one of Britain’s most storied retailers, said on Monday
that it had scrapped "girls" and "boys" signs at its department stores across the country last year and had introduced unisex babywear earlier this year.
"I wonder how many parents going to John Lewis will be looking to buy a dress for their 6-year-old boys?
The supermarket Asda came under criticism for selling T-shirts for boys featuring slogans like "Future Scientist," while their T-shirts for girls proclaimed "Hey Cutie!"
and "Ponies Rock." Last year, an 8-year-old British girl, Daisy Edmonds, became an internet sensation after her mother filmed her at a Tesco supermarket, railing against T-shirts she saw as sexist.
But Let Clothes Be Clothes, a national parents group
that has led the drive for gender-neutral clothing, praised the new policy, noting that resistance to the change was reminiscent of the antiquated era of the 1950s and chauvinists opposing women wearing trousers.
