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Tesco Branded 'Sexist' For 'The Future Is Female' T-Shirts

Tesco Branded 'Sexist' For 'The Future Is Female' T-Shirts

Customers have branded the t-shirts as 'sexist and stupid' on social media, with some saying they will boycott the store

Jake Massey

Jake Massey

Supermarket Tesco seems to have scored an own-goal by selling t-shirts with slogans which have left some customers baffled and offended.

The two t-shirts are part of the shop's F&F range and they bear the slogans 'Fearless And Feminine' and 'The Future Is Female'.

But based off the reaction on social media, it seems the future is not 'The Future Is Feminine' t-shirts.

One person asked on Twitter: "How can you justify sexist t-shirts in your shops? If you were selling t-shirts with 'The Future is Male' there would be outrage!"

Another said: "Tesco are sexist, like c'mon how can they get away with this."

Triangle News

For one Twitter user, the t-shirts were enough to warrant a boycott of the store.

He said: "Who would want to wear a t-shirt, that cried out sexism and misandry. More importantly, what retailer would put their name to such idiocy? Won't be supporting Tesco with my shopping that's for sure. My hard earned cash will be spent with their competitors who value male shoppers.

"It's just beyond reasonable belief that a supermarket which relies on all shoppers is clearly indicating it has a gender divisive policy on inequality, which it wholeheartedly supports.

"The individual in marketing should be sacked!"

Most likely there is a shitstorm kicking off in Tesco marketing department now, though it is unlikely that just one 'individual' is wholly culpable. In reality, it probably went more like this.

Stevie: "Come on Barry we need to think of something to write in big letters across a t-shirt."

Barry: "Can't it just be plain?"

Stevie: "No Barry you lazy bastard it needs words on it!"

Barry: "Errr... how bout feminism? I hear that's going to be big."

Stevie: "Really? Never heard of it."

Barry: "Just write 'The Future Is Female' or something on it. Trust me - they'll love it."

via GIPHY

And it's not just customers who have criticised the t-shirts. Dr Ben Hine, who lectures in gender studies and founded the Men and Boys' Coalition, said: "I don't think these types of slogan help anybody. Gendered messaging of any kind shouldn't be on clothes.

"Phrases like this only serve to exclude men from a dialogue which they fundamentally must be part of moving forward.

"They also only serve to reinforce the battle lines between the sexes in unhelpful ways, at a time when we should be trying to recognise the damage gender stereotypes do to all of us."

Well that's you told Tesco. But it's not all lost for Barry and Stevie, as social psychologist and author of The Psychology of Gender, Dr Gary Wood, has a suggestion for a better t-shirt slogan.

He said: "I've argued in my book that gender role stereotypes are not good for our health.

"In this case the implication is that women can only make gains if men lose out. It's nonsense.

"A better t-shirt for all genders would be 'The Future is Psychologically Rounded Humans Unencumbered By the Limitations of Traditional Gender Role Stereotypes'."

Tesco declined to comment on the t-shirts.

Featured Image Credit: Triangle News

Topics: sexism, Tesco