"Offended" by child's shirt

[SpeakNow]

The blogger bought her son a shirt from an amusement park. The shirt had an image of the "you must be this tall to ride" sign on the front. The blogger didn't think anything of it until a woman approached her son and told him the shirt was inappropriate. While I understand the shirt could be construed as innuendo, I find it highly distasteful to tell a 12 year old you find his shirt inappropriate because YOU (not the wearer) misunderstood its meaning.

http://m.blogher.com/inapproriate-you-bet

[snarkykitty]

Good gravy, that is crazy

This past weekend, my nephew told us a story about how he chose his username for a popular website. He posted on another site that the first person to reply, gets to choose his username. A female classmate/friend of his (she is 12) came up with something similar to "crazybananas".

An older relative of mine began to lecture to him that "a banana is the one fruit you should never use in your name," because it "can come across as bad." :shock: I immediately wanted to hurl at the insinuation coming from this person.

It took a minute or two for my nephew to figure out what she meant, and was SO embarrassed. My poor 9-yr-old niece was confused and my sister and I exchanged a freaked-out look. Talk about destroying innocence.

I seriously just wanted to tell this relative that she was being ridiculous, but I said nothing bc it would cause drama. Sigh. It's so funny that the most "conservative" people think and talk more about sex a hundred times more than those who are "more sinful".

:roll:

[Stephanie66]

The woman's actions were inappropriate, not Noah's shirt. I get that there might be a dirty joke there, but as she pointed out, there could be a dirty joke in practically everything.

My (then) 14-year-old nephew had a shirt that was much more explicit than that (I can't remember exactly what it said) and my parents let him wear it around. Long story short-Parents posted pictures on facebook, sister saw photos and hilarity ensued.(His dad, my sister's ex, bought it for him. He delivered them to my parent's for summer break.) Eh, pick your battles, I say.

[lilith]

I wouldn't have even thought of a sexual connotation to that slogan, and I'm not generally particularly clean minded. Some people seem to seek a reason to be offended.

[Sola]

Pretty much confirms my thoughts that the ones who are obsessed with sex are the fundies.

[OkToBeTakei]

Pretty much confirms my thoughts that the ones who are obsessed with sex are the fundies.

Totally. They must go round on a daily basis thinking this shit up. Is not their whole philosophy to keep their kids 'pure' etc. Pointing out all the 'nike' moments and crap like the above is just some form of actually drawing attention to sexuality.

[formergothardite]

I wouldn't have even thought of a sexual connotation to that slogan, and I'm not generally particularly clean minded. Some people seem to seek a reason to be offended.

I would not have gotten anything dirty out of that either. And I have a dirty mind. But it appears fundies have a dirtier mind than I do.

[Jana814]

That shirt was not dirty, it was funny!

[apple1]

I wouldn't have even thought of a sexual connotation to that slogan, and I'm not generally particularly clean minded. Some people seem to seek a reason to be offended.

(I live within 10 minutes' drive to Kings Island). The only thing that shirt reminds me of is a kid having a very fun day at KI.

What is wrong with people?

Oh, and a banana just reminds me that I should make a from-scratch banana pudding.

Really.

[Guest]

I would never think of such a thing because it's a 12 year old boy and the shirt is from King's Island. If it were a college student at a frat party, I might have seen a dirty joke, but he's an innocent kid. Even if I had seen an innuendo, I would have chuckled to myself, but I certainly wouldn't have shamed some random kid! That poor kid was probably self-conscious for the rest of the day, even more self-conscious than 12 year olds already are, and it probably put a damper on his fun time.

[Alice_Fraggle]

I wouldn't have even thought of a sexual connotation to that slogan, and I'm not generally particularly clean minded. Some people seem to seek a reason to be offended.

I agree. If a grown man was wearing it - then I'd see the innuendo, but for a child? Nope. Or, if I did think of the innuendo, I'd have KEPT IT TO MYSELF and had a private chuckle. Oy these people! When do the ships for Mars start leaving?

[ceg045]

I would not have gotten anything dirty out of that either. And I have a dirty mind. But it appears fundies have a dirtier mind than I do.

Same here. And why would you even be thinking in that vein when it's a kid's t-shirt? *vom*

[auntsally28]

Posted on another thread that our fairly mainstream church has seen an outbreak of three quarter length leggings on little girls...under perfectly normal dresses and mid length shorts. Sexualisation of little kids is no laughing matter...it is shuddery in fact....

[TheJewAmongUs]

I've seen shirts with the same saying posting on sites that sell other shirts with innuendos, so yea, my mind would go there. However, this shirt has the name of an amusement park on it, so I wouldn't take it to be inappropriate.

[Savoring Samsara]

I'm going to dissent from the prevailing opinion here and say that the only association I have with that shirt is the suggestive one. I've only ever seen that slogan on adult-size shirts that made the sexual meaning overt and I don't like it being on a child-size shirt because I think it's too easily misconstrued as having that meaning. For that reason, I would probably not buy it for my child. However - for a stranger to comment on that to the child himself is a totally inappropriate overreach. If it doesn't cause harm to another (which that shirt doesn't), then for heaven's sake let other parents parent their own kids and decide what's appropriate in their own family.

[Closed Womb]

I'm going to dissent from the prevailing opinion here and say that the only association I have with that shirt is the suggestive one. I've only ever seen that slogan on adult-size shirts that made the sexual meaning overt and I don't like it being on a child-size shirt because I think it's too easily misconstrued as having that meaning. For that reason, I would probably not buy it for my child. However - for a stranger to comment on that to the child himself is a totally inappropriate overreach. If it doesn't cause harm to another (which that shirt doesn't), then for heaven's sake let other parents parent their own kids and decide what's appropriate in their own family.

[Rosa]

I think leggings (or pants) under skirts is a general elementary girl trend, it goes along with young women wearing leggings under tunic-length shirts or miniskirts, which I've been seeing for 3 or 4 years now. It's part of the general resurgence of late '80s/early '90s fashion. Some people may be doing it for "modesty" reasons but it's common enough that can't be the only reason.

My son's 2nd grade classroom is full of little girls wearing MANY layers of sparkly things, when the weather is chilly like it has been this spring.

[lilith]

Yeah, my daughter's been wearing tights under skirts and dresses ever since she was a toddler, it's partly fashion and partly what makes her feel comfortable. Now she even wears tights under her short shorts, a look which I hate but she adores. It's never really been about modesty, except that she wants to be able to do handstands and hang off the monkey bars without flashing her undies.

[Genevieve]

I am an adult woman trapped in a 14 year old boys body, toilet talk and potty mouth is a common part of my repertoire. This one? Yea it went right over my head. Guess I am not as cool as I thought I was lol

[RosyDaisy]

What? There's nothing wrong with that t-shirt. Now if the shirt had a penis on it, I can see it being offensive. That woman has a dirtier mind than a porn addict.

[ShesCrafty]

I'm going to dissent from the prevailing opinion here and say that the only association I have with that shirt is the suggestive one. I've only ever seen that slogan on adult-size shirts that made the sexual meaning overt and I don't like it being on a child-size shirt because I think it's too easily misconstrued as having that meaning. For that reason, I would probably not buy it for my child. However - for a stranger to comment on that to the child himself is a totally inappropriate overreach. If it doesn't cause harm to another (which that shirt doesn't), then for heaven's sake let other parents parent their own kids and decide what's appropriate in their own family.

This. My mind lives in the gutter, so I don't think that shirt is appropriate for a child (and pretty tasteless on an adult). But unless the child is in danger, it's not a stranger's place to interfere.

[crazyforkate]

I can definitely see how someone would miss the meaning, but it's not as blatant as some of the innuendo I've seen some little kids wear on their shirts (especially little girls). If it was a kid you knew, that's one thing, but a stranger? No way. Just move on.

[darkplumaged]

I see innuendo everywhere, and never in a million years would I have picked up on this one.

I hate people who shame kids. I still remember times I was shamed for making a simple mistake or just being myself, so I really feel for this boy.

[ILoveJellybeans]

I think leggings (or pants) under skirts is a general elementary girl trend, it goes along with young women wearing leggings under tunic-length shirts or miniskirts, which I've been seeing for 3 or 4 years now. It's part of the general resurgence of late '80s/early '90s fashion. Some people may be doing it for "modesty" reasons but it's common enough that can't be the only reason.

My son's 2nd grade classroom is full of little girls wearing MANY layers of sparkly things, when the weather is chilly like it has been this spring.

I wear exclusively leggings under miniskirts-theyre warmer than tights and no way do I want to have bare legs as I live in a place where summer exists for maybe three days a year. I also dont particularly like my bare legs-I have incredibly fast growing leg hair, and I would have to shave my legs every day for fear of growing my own leggings.

[apple1]

Oh, for goodness sake.

KI has had those EXACT signs since the park opened in 1970. (I know, because I have been going to KI off an on since then). If anyone sees something offensive in that, it is THEIR problem.