Woman Slams Woolworths For Having Gendered Pencil Cases For Kids

A shopper has been shocked to see gendered pencil cases for kids in an Australian supermarket.

The woman was perusing the aisles at her local Woolworths and saw the pink stationary holders were labeled for 'girls' and the black and green ones were made for 'boys'.

The pencil cases didn't have any gendered names imprinted on them, however that's the way they were registered on the price tag.

The shopper posted a photo of the products onto Facebook and called out Woolies for being a little outdated.

"Really Woolworths - girls and boys pencil cases? Why not just 'pencil cases'?" she said.

Facebook

The post attracted a range of comments, with some people supporting the woman for calling it out, while others thought the rant was unnecessary.

One person wrote: "Nothing stopping any gender purchasing either one. Actually the world was a better place where people didn't care about the nitty gritty. Who cares to be honest.

Another added: "Who lets a sign dictate what colour they are going to buy?"

A third Facebook user hit back at the haters, saying: "My daughter, who is 14, would say the same thing and def would buy the so-called boys one!"

Woolworths has since responded to the drama and agrees that the products shouldn't be split between boys and girls.

Alamy

A spokesperson for the supermarket told 7News: "We aim to ensure our products are inclusive and agree the names of these pencil cases are dated.

"We're working to update the names of these products to better reflect community expectations and provide a more accurate description."

Supermarkets and clothing stores have been called out by shoppers in the past about having different sections for boys and girls.

A woman was furious last year when she was browsing the children clothing aisles in Kmart and found a stark difference between the messages that are promoted for each gender.

"What are we doing to our girls? Let's compare girls and boys shirts at Kmart," she said in a TikTok video.

"Why are we telling girls how to feel via their clothing? They see each other's shirts telling them how to act - be happy, love, be perfect."

When she travelled a few aisles over, she noticed boys are urged to seek out the fun things in life.

"Oh look, these shirts encourage boldness, adventure, fun. There's no shirts telling them how they should feel or behave," she said.

There is a big difference between the two forms of gendered clothing. Girls t-shirts have slogans like 'bright as can be', 'take it easy' and 'Aloha'.

While these are only just a few examples, Barbara says it's emblematic of how girls are constantly told how to feel and to just smile as they go through the world.

On the flip side, boys are dared to be dangerous, to take like by the horns and ride it out. The t-shirts featured in Ms Ryan's video have slogans saying 'adventure', 'alpine trail' and one even had a picture of a bear.

She called on Kmart to do better.

Topics: Australia