The difference in these shoes for girls and boys shows sexism is very much alive
A UK shoe shop with a "gender neutral ethos" has been accused of sexism after customers noticed a considerable difference in the naming of its shoe ranges for boys and girls.
Miranda Williams -- who was shopping for school shoes for her children -- spotted that Clarks' school shoes range for girls features a pair of shoes named "Dolly Babe Jnr." But, the name of a range of shoes for boys was markedly different.
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Meanwhile, the boys range features a pair of shoes called "Leader."
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Williams added that the name "Dolly Babe" is "purely offensive and inappropriate."
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon waded into the discussion, stating that the name of the shoes "shows what we are still up against."
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One Twitter user called on Clarks to "sort it out."
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Others accused the brand of "promoting" outdated gender stereotypes.
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This isn't the first time Clarks has been accused of sexism. Earlier this month, a mum complained that Clarks' girls shoes weren't comfortable or "not suited to outdoor activities in British weather." Meanwhile, she claimed that the boys' shoes were sturdier and meant for outdoor activities.
Clarks tweeted that the company has a "gender neutral ethos" and that they were phasing out the range of shoes.
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In a statement, a spokesperson for Clarks said the "Dolly Babe" shoe is "an old and discontinued line" with "remaining stock" being sold in stores.
"Following customer feedback regarding the name, we have removed the shoe from sale online and are in the process of removing the name from the remaining stock in store, though this process will take time to complete," the spokesperson said.
"We are working hard to ensure our ranges reflect our gender neutral ethos and we apologise for any unintended offence caused," the spokesperson continued.
Topics Family & Parenting
Rachel Thompson is the Features Editor at Mashable. Rachel's second non-fiction book The Love Fix: Reclaiming Intimacy in a Disconnected World is out now, published by Penguin Random House in Jan. 2025. The Love Fix explores why dating feels so hard right now, why we experience difficult emotions in the realm of love, and how we can change our dating culture for the better.
A leading sex and dating writer in the UK, Rachel has written for GQ, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Style, The Telegraph, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Stylist, ELLE, The i Paper, Refinery29, and many more.
Rachel's first book Rough: How Violence Has Found Its Way Into the Bedroom And What We Can Do About It, a non-fiction investigation into sexual violence was published by Penguin Random House in 2021.
