Funny or inappropriate?

[jas]

I agree, it's totally sexist and in bad taste. Me? I'd rather someone bought my baby, girl or boy, a onesie that said "Future PhD".

This. Plus what AGBF said.

However, if we're going for irony, if someone gave ME a shirt that said, "Future Hooters Girl" I would find it funny. And still not wear it outside the house. Or in front of my kids. Maybe in front of DH. While I was wearing my mortarboard.

 

[steph72276]

I agree, it's totally sexist and in bad taste. Me? I'd rather someone bought my baby, girl or boy, a onesie that said "Future PhD".

This. Plus what AGBF said.

However, if we're going for irony, if someone gave ME a shirt that said, "Future Hooters Girl" I would find it funny. And still not wear it outside the house. Or in front of my kids. Maybe in front of DH. While I was wearing my mortarboard.

bhahaha, you crack me up Jas! Now that's humor I get!

 

[princesss]

Normally, I'm all about inappropriate jokes. But this one hits too close to home for me as far as the cultural rules that surround women and girls go, and I just can't laugh it off no matter how much I feel like I'm probably taking it too seriously.

 

[meresal]

As a perspective that hasn't been shared:

I was a Hooter's Girl (Gasp... ). I would laugh at receivinbg it, since it would more than likely be given as a joke... but I would never have my daughter wear it out of the house. Just as any future daughter I might have, will never wear the shirts that have been mentioned. (Brat, Sexy, anything Playboy, etc.)
Don't get me wrong, I love a good novelty shirt, but these are not "novelty" IMO. They are things that are associated with adults, not children.

I was at a baby shower this weekend and the mom received a few cute onesies. One said, "I took the Bar." (The soon-to-be mommy is 8.5 months pregnant and took her Bar exam a month ago, whilst pregnant.) Too cute IMO. Another which says "My Daddy can sue your Daddy." (Dad works for the DA's office) These are cute novelty onesies, IMO.

AS far as Hooter's goes, it is actually a great company and does wonderful things for women that don't necessarily have the funds to make it to college or find a solid career. They are one of only few restaurants that offer insurance for families and children and also offer education assistance. I worked with a few ladies that otherwise wouldn't have the ability to take their child to a doctor if sick.
I know many will say there are free clinics etc... but to be honest, the money was great, and when it comes to waiting tables, you just can't beat the tips. Sue me, I said it. With my situation, I could only work evenings or late afternoons, and to me, if I was going to be waiting tables, I was going to make the most money possible.
I had never set foot in a Hooter's or eaten their food until I applied for a job there. Great friend pickles

 

[Dreamer_D]

I think the women's movement was about giving women freedom: the right to own their own bodies, not to be owned by men. To me that means that women should be free to wear sexy clothes and not be accused of enticing men to rape them. It should mean that they can burn their bras if they want to do so and opt not to dress in sexy clothes to please men. And it also means that they should not be treated like sex objects by the likes of Hugh Hefner and other men who want to exploit them for money. I think women should be as sexy as they want, but to see Hooters making money off their breasts turns me way off. And I find it really, really vulgar. It's sex for money, and that is vulgar in my book.

I don't think it should be illegal, but I do think it's an exploitation of women. Unless women own the Hooters franchises. (If women own the Hooters franchises it's still sex for money and, in my opinion, vulgar...but it's not exploitation of women by men.)

Deb/AGBF

Very, very, very well said. To add: I think that clothing which assumes and prioritizes the general sexualization of grown women is kinda grody. Clothing for little baby girls that does it? Is tacky and offensive and contributes to the kind of culture in which 8 year olds get bikini waxes. If they're "future Hooter's girls" before they can walk or talk, and worrying about dieting and looking sexy before they can read, when the hell do they get to just be kids?

I wholeheartedly agree with all of this. For the same reason, I really dislike bikini's for little girls, and short skirts and all of that stuff.

The only reason I would find it funny at all was if my friend got the shirt for me because she *knew* I felt this way and was trying to push my buttons in an ironic way. Like buying my daughter a shirt that said "NRA forever" or something, which would be an equally ridiculous gift for me or my family.

 

[Dreamer_D]

I'll sit this one out too. I received my own dose of assumptions and leaps based on photos I shared of my 13 month old. It was her 1 year professional photos and a friend sent me an email to say she was ashamed that I exposed her breasts and posed her in a sexual manner which was offensive (to say the least) so I am admittedly too close to the topic.

But see, Fiery, to me making those comments to you about your daughter is the SAME as giving a hooters shirt. You were not the one sexualizing your daughter, it was the person looking at innacuous photos. Both giving the shirt and looking at typical baby photos and seeing sex, sexualized your baby girl in an inappropriate way. I see them as part and parcel of the same issue.

 

[ericad]

I think the women's movement was about giving women freedom: the right to own their own bodies, not to be owned by men. To me that means that women should be free to wear sexy clothes and not be accused of enticing men to rape them. It should mean that they can burn their bras if they want to do so and opt not to dress in sexy clothes to please men. And it also means that they should not be treated like sex objects by the likes of Hugh Hefner and other men who want to exploit them for money. I think women should be as sexy as they want, but to see Hooters making money off their breasts turns me way off. And I find it really, really vulgar. It's sex for money, and that is vulgar in my book.

I don't think it should be illegal, but I do think it's an exploitation of women. Unless women own the Hooters franchises. (If women own the Hooters franchises it's still sex for money and, in my opinion, vulgar...but it's not exploitation of women by men.)

Deb/AGBF

Very, very, very well said. To add: I think that clothing which assumes and prioritizes the general sexualization of grown women is kinda grody. Clothing for little baby girls that does it? Is tacky and offensive and contributes to the kind of culture in which 8 year olds get bikini waxes. If they're "future Hooter's girls" before they can walk or talk, and worrying about dieting and looking sexy before they can read, when the hell do they get to just be kids?

I wholeheartedly agree with all of this. For the same reason, I really dislike bikini's for little girls, and short skirts and all of that stuff.

The only reason I would find it funny at all was if my friend got the shirt for me because she *knew* I felt this way and was trying to push my buttons in an ironic way. Like buying my daughter a shirt that said "NRA forever" or something, which would be an equally ridiculous gift for me or my family.

+1, Dreamer. Under very specific circumstances I can see how it could be funny. After all, babies nourishment comes from "hooters" so I assume that's the gist of the joke, or for example if there were some hidden meaning to the mother - like an inside joke but not meant to ever be worn by the baby. But personally, I have VERY strong feelings about sexualization of children and this shirt would go straight to the trash and I'd feel very disgruntled that someone supported the manufacturer by buying it. I think it's in poor taste. And I tend to have a very sarcastic sense of humor - this issue is just one of my hot buttons.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Laila I also detest Playboy Bunny shirts of little girls because it send a message to your daughter, at a very young age, that being a Playboy Bunny is an appropriate life goal for her. Something she should aspire to. And that is not a message I want her to have. Ditto for all those other nasty T-shirts out with silly messages on them.

***

If you think kids don't pick up on that stuff at a very early age then you are mistaken. Maybe they will not pick up on the t-shirt slogan, but they will sure as heck pick up on the general tone and attitue towards women in the house and in their lives. People will respond to them differently wearing that T-shirt, and THAT will shape their self-concepts.

For example, if a girl is 4 and wearing all pink and her shirt says "I'm a pretty pretty princess" what type of conversations will she have with adults she meets? I bet they will all circle around her prettiness and how she is a princess. Not wearing that shirt, maybe there is a chance that the conversation would be about something more meaningful, like her skills, likes and dislikes, wit or humour, her feelings or her day.

 

[Laila619]

Completely inappropriate in my book. I see no humor in it at all. I think I am quite good at accepting gifts with a smile, even if the gift was not to my taste; however, in this case, I don't think I would have been able to disguise my true feelings.

Laila, I'm curious. How did the mom react?

The mom was laughing and thought the tank top was adorable. A bit of back story is that the aunt who gave the gift is pretty young--only 23, and she has a little boy herself. Both sisters still like to party. They tell crass jokes (even around kids), so it didn't surprise me that she wasn't offended. I am sure she will have the baby wear it.

I'd say half the room was chuckling, and the other half sort of looked uncomfortable, like "Whaaaaat?"

 

[Guilty Pleasure]

Completely inappropriate if given to a child old enough to comprehend or speak.

In this case however, I think it was simply a tacky joke and not a big deal. 1st birthday parties are definitely for parents, as the child has no clue what any of it means. While it's not the sort of joke I would make, I can totally see someone giving me a onesie like that at my (hypothetical) baby shower or the baby's first birthday with the single intention of watching my reaction to such a gift. That person would know full well that it would never be worn, in or out of the house.

 

[packrat]

I wouldn't like it, personally. If someone gave it to my daughter then I guess I'd see who it was from and consider the source. I'm all for having a sense of humor and I've seen some kids shirts that were really cute and a couple w/the F word and such on them and I just don't get the point. I've got a tank top w/a heart and Serial Killer written on it. London will not be wearing that either.

 

[Amber St. Clare]

I would totally laugh if someone gave my daughter that (but wouldn't ever let her wear it in public).

That sums up my reaction. Someone gave my 14 year old son a Budwiser tee shirt. I wouldn't let him wear it out of the house. I also made a student who was wearing a "Girls Gone Wild" sweatshirt take it off and gave him one from the lost and found. Some girls were VERY uncomfortable with him when he came in with it.

 

[partgypsy]

As far as the topic, going to sit that one out and assume it was a joke onsie.

I don't know if I'm too sensitive but I don't like clothing that sexualizes CHILDREN, up into and including preteens. It makes me uncomfortable. I was shopping with my 8 year old cousin and the preteen clothing store were selling thongs in the underwear section, along with underwear with lace, or with sexual innuendos (like one that had an ice cream cone and says "Tasty"). I'm like WTF? There is something wrong with society.

 

[packrat]

When I was young, I forget how old exactly, but 12 I think-I was in 6th/7th grade. Anyway, my Aunts then husband (who I did not like one bit from the second I met him and refused to ever be alone with him) always used to tease me about my flat chest (hello? I was a kid?) and gave me 2 shirts. One said IBTC in big letters on top and in smaller letters it said Itty Bitty Titty Committee, and the other I don't remember but it was another jab at flatness.

 

[Imdanny]

Just curious what you personally think of this :

I was at a 1st birthday party this weekend for a little girl. The mom was opening all the presents because obviously the little girl was too young to understand what was going on. Anyway, mom opens this one gift, and pulls out a tiny little tank top for a baby/toddler and it says "Future Hooters girl" with the Hooters logo on it--just like the Hooters girls wear. The tank top was a present from the girl's aunt (the mom's sister). A bunch of people were chuckling. Do you find the gift amusing or inappropriate?

Are those my only two choices? I'd find it obnoxious.

 

[princesss]

As far as the topic, going to sit that one out and assume it was a joke onsie.

I don't know if I'm too sensitive but I don't like clothing that sexualizes CHILDREN, up into and including preteens. It makes me uncomfortable. I was shopping with my 8 year old cousin and the preteen clothing store were selling thongs in the underwear section, along with underwear with lace, or with sexual innuendos (like one that had an ice cream cone and says "Tasty"). I'm like WTF? There is something wrong with society.

Holy cow. That makes me want to puke. I hate stuff like that on kids.

 

[Laila619]

As far as the topic, going to sit that one out and assume it was a joke onsie.

I was shopping with my 8 year old cousin and the preteen clothing store were selling thongs in the underwear section, along with underwear with lace, or with sexual innuendos (like one that had an ice cream cone and says "Tasty").

That is disturbing.

 

[lyra]

As far as the topic, going to sit that one out and assume it was a joke onsie.

I don't know if I'm too sensitive but I don't like clothing that sexualizes CHILDREN, up into and including preteens. It makes me uncomfortable. I was shopping with my 8 year old cousin and the preteen clothing store were selling thongs in the underwear section, along with underwear with lace, or with sexual innuendos (like one that had an ice cream cone and says "Tasty"). I'm like WTF? There is something wrong with society.

When my daughter was in middle school all the way through high school, she absolutely would not even consider buying underwear that said anything. Sometimes they were cute from the front but she would freak out if it said anything at all on it. Same for those sweats that said things on the butt. Basically my kids never wore anything at all with a slogan on it. I never did "get" that period where middle school girls were wearing those thongs with strings hanging out so people would know you were wearing them. I couldn't grasp a parent allowing that (although I guess kids hide things like this too). In school, kids aren't allowed to wear slogan shirts for the most part, the schools try to be very PC.

 

[meresal]

I think the pre-teen abercrombie store got in a bunch of hot water for selling thongs. The sizes sold there are nbo bigger than around a 14, I believe.

 

[vespergirl]

I think this is no different than an 8 year old girl wearing a playboy bunny logo on her underwear. Funny? To some perhaps... there are plenty of things that are ironic and goofy to get a good laugh at without sexualizing babies or children. Things like "Help! I've started talking and I can't shut up!" or "Future Geek".

Cehra, you hit the nail on the head. I put plenty of funny/ironic silly clothes on my baby boys, but none of it sexualized them. I am SO glad that I have boys, because I just loathe the way that they make sexy clothes for little girls, like thongs for 6 year olds, and then people act all scandalized when they start giving BJs in the 5th grade. Talk about mixed messages. Society is pushing enough sex on little kids without dressing a baby like a Hooters girl.

And BTW, I am the farthest thing from a prude - I think that prostitution should be legalized for adult women, so I have nothing against sex workers. I just think it's gross to sexualize babies.

 

[iheartscience]

Normally, I'm all about inappropriate jokes. But this one hits too close to home for me as far as the cultural rules that surround women and girls go, and I just can't laugh it off no matter how much I feel like I'm probably taking it too seriously.

Ditto. And if that makes me a humorless feminist I don't care!

 

[junebug17]

When I was young, I forget how old exactly, but 12 I think-I was in 6th/7th grade. Anyway, my Aunts then husband (who I did not like one bit from the second I met him and refused to ever be alone with him) always used to tease me about my flat chest (hello? I was a kid?) and gave me 2 shirts. One said IBTC in big letters on top and in smaller letters it said Itty Bitty Titty Committee, and the other I don't remember but it was another jab at flatness.

Packrat, I'm really sorry you had to experience that, it was very sick and inappropriate and SO not funny that that idiot gave you such a thing. I sincerely hope he's an ex-husband by now. I'd love to use stronger language in referring to him, as in a word that starts with "a" and ends with "e".

 

[monarch64]

I think risque sayings on onesies are pretty funny at this point in my life, but that's probably because I don't have children. If I did, or when I do, I will likely want them to be looked at as innocent and angelic for as long as they possibly can because that's what childhood should be all about, imo.

So many tee-shirts (and onesies with sayings are just mini tee-shirts) are just out there to get a rise out of people. Many find them amusing or titillating and that's ok, too. I think what isn't ok are the examples like the 6 yr. old wearing a pink dress that also has a playboy bunny emblem on it. Or little boys wearing "stud muffin" tees or onesies. I'm not a fan of sexualizing kids either, as most in this thread have already stated.

My mother tells me that I had a shirt when I was a baby that said "dumber than a box of rocks" on it. I really scratched my head over that one. Who would think that was funny? Maybe in the '70's people thought it was. Now it just seems kind of mean...I'm sure in 20 years today's babies will be seeing pics of themselves in the latest waves of outrageous onesies and tees thinking the same thing...not so funny. But hey, as long as everyone's parents and their friends got a good laugh about it and all of their social networking site friends got to see it and laugh too then it's all good, right? Maybe we all go through a bit of the I'm-still-hip-and-funny-even-though-I'm-a-parent thing? I dunno.

 

[Sha]

I don't fnd it to be funny. Actually, my first thought after reading your post was that 'I would be to receive a gift like that. I guess I 'could' see some humour in it after reading some of the posts...but I would still find it really inappropriate.

 

[risingsun]

I think that the gift was tacky and tasteless. It would go directly into the trash bin. If an adult woman chooses to work at Hooters, that is her business. Putting such slogans on babies and young children is inappropriate, IMO. How about "Future Yale Graduate." Feel free to use the university of your choice.

 

[doodle]

For me, it'd depend entirely on the giver. My best friend and I work a night a week together at a bar (she's the bartender; I run trivia), and we jokingly refer to boobs as moneymakers. If she got my daughter a shirt like that, I'd immediately understand that it was referencing a joke we share and not actually intended to be worn by the baby. On the other hand, we have a friend who regularly chastises us any time we crack a joke like that or show a hint of cleavage or anything--if she were to give my kid the exact same gift, I'd probably be pissed. As for my kid actually wearing it, no way, but then I don't really care for logos and whatnot on clothing anyway, regardless of the statement or the age of the wearer. To each his own, I suppose.

 

[AGBF]

If an adult woman chooses to work at Hooters, that is her business.

Agreed. As meresal said, sometimes a woman has to make a choice about what is in her best financial interest. In my opinion, the women's movement was about choice, about allowing women to choose what they wanted to do. I don't want to stand by and see Hooters or Hugh Hefner make women look like objects without throwing some stones at them, however. Because those men use the women who need the money. I have a visceral reaction to men like Hugh Hefner. I am going to have to go look up a more elegant word to apply to men of his ilk than the one which comes to mind. I can think of the adjective ("porcine"), but not one for the noun class of animal in which I think he should be grouped.

AGBF

 

[ksinger]

If an adult woman chooses to work at Hooters, that is her business.

Agreed. As meresal said, sometimes a woman has to make a choice about what is in her best financial interest. In my opinion, the women's movement was about choice, about allowing women to choose what they wanted to do. I don't want to stand by and see Hooters or Hugh Hefner make women look like objects without throwing some stones at them, however. Because those men use the women who need the money. I have a visceral reaction to men like Hugh Hefner. I am going to have to go look up a more elegant word to apply to men of his ilk than the one which comes to mind. I can think of the adjective ("porcine"), but not one for the noun class of animal in which I think he should be grouped.

AGBF

I'm certain the word you need is in "Websters' First New Intergalactic Wickedary of the English Language" and is "snool". This is a vague recollection alas, but it was fairly unflattering as I recall. This is one of those surface things that are anchored so far down in past reading, that I can't find the end of the tether though the depths, but it IS down there.

Anyone have a copy to look it up? I'm sad to say my bookshelf doesn't have this book. I think it was out of print for a while....

 

[Cehrabehra]

See Erica Touched on something for me... If the shirt said "I heart hooters" i would like it much better than future hooters girl

 

[CJ2008]

I don't have children, but I am pretty sure, my reaction would be that I'd find it funny when I opened it, for about two seconds...but I wouldn't put it on my daughter, in or out of the house.

And if it came from someone I didn't particularly care for, it would make me like her less.

Fiery - I can't believe a "friend" would say those things to you - knowing how you feel about your daughter. Doesn't sound like much of a friend.