What appeared to be just another T-shirt for young girls became the center of a social media uproar on Thursday, September 3, after people took issue with the phrase printed on it.
The garment was sold by Spanish retailer El Corte Inglés.
“The undertone is unmistakably p**ophilic,” a netizen pointed out, while another asked, “Who in the world approved of this?”
Highlights
- El Corte Inglés faced fierce backlash over a girls’ T-shirt carrying a controversial four-word phrase.
- Netizens accused the retailer of using a suggestive undertone on children’s clothing.
- The controversy put a fresh spotlight on previous criticism surrounding the company’s children’s products.
The brand is no stranger to such controversies, having previously faced accusations of gender stereotyping and, on one occasion, depicting self-destructive behavior among children.
El Corte Inglés slammed over girls’ T-shirt bearing a four-word message
The advertisement for the T-shirt on the retail giant’s website indicated it was intended for kids ages 3 to 5.
The promotional image appeared to corroborate this, featuring a young model wearing the mint-green item, with the print clearly visible to help shoppers make their pick.
The shirt featured a slogan that read “small ones are more juicy,” alongside an image that appeared to be a kiwi.
While the accompanying graphic suggested the words referred to the fruit, social media users interpreted it differently.
“It’s absolutely shady,” another echoed, arguing, “Kids that age can’t even read, so that phrase is there for someone else to read and understand.”
“Who is the disgusting creep who designed this?” asked a third person, while a fourth called those behind the product “indefensible.”
Several others, meanwhile, struggled to believe that the T-shirt was real.
“Tell me this is AI,” one user urged.
“Tell me this is a joke,” a second added.
The T-shirt was genuine, though it is no longer available for purchase
A link to the garment now returns a 404 error page, with reports claiming that El Corte Inglés unlisted the product after the backlash.
The company, however, has not issued a statement confirming the removal or directly addressing the criticism.
This has led some social media users to question whether the retailer actually took action or whether the website was experiencing a temporary glitch.
One X user supported the latter theory, pointing out that the item had been on sale with its price “slashed down 70 percent,” which they said could have generated significant traffic and potentially caused the website to “crash.”
Another concern raised online was that the T-shirt could still be available in physical stores, potentially leading shoppers with limited English proficiency to purchase.
“Not many people speak English in Spain, so they won’t understand the phrase,” one person wrote.
The wording itself also raised questions, as the phrase is grammatically awkward in English. Some argued that this could indicate it was written by someone who was not a native English speaker.
El Corte Inglés previously withdrew a product over gender stereotyping allegations
Hipercor, a supermarket chain belonging to the El Corte Inglés group, launched children’s onesies in September 2014 bearing the messages “Smart like Daddy” and “Beautiful like Mama.”
The then-director general of Spain’s Institute for Women, Carmen Plaza, was quick to criticize the products.
“It is sexist to attribute intellectual qualities to men and beauty to women because it encourages the stereotypes that are the basis of discrimination to continue,” she said.
Shoppers rallied behind Plaza, expressing disappointment with the retailer, which eventually led to the garments being withdrawn from sale.
A company spokesperson said at the time that “there was no intention whatsoever to disrespect women.”
Yolanda Besteiro, then-president of the Federation of Progressive Women, said she believed that most stereotyping occurs without malicious intent.
Regardless, she suggested that educating students in schools and universities could help bring about the necessary change.
A back-to-school campaign also landed El Corte Inglés in hot water
A 2020 advertisement for shoes from the retailer drew criticism for featuring an unusual image of a child’s legs with the toes facing inward.
Many social media users interpreted the framing as resembling the legs of a child who had been hanged.
El Corte Inglés said the interpretation was not what the company intended, explaining that the image had originally been part of a wider photograph showing a child jumping from a chair.
The company subsequently removed the image from its website and from its store displays.
It also apologized to anyone who had been hurt by the visual.
The campaign resurfaced amid the latest girls’ T-shirt backlash, with one netizen accusing El Corte Inglés of being a habitual offender.
“It’s their trademark to be disgusting,” another person wrote.
"At what point did it seem appropriate to sell this to little girls," a netizen asked El Corte Inglés
