Photo: Twitter
Boys aren't allowed to wear colorful clothes.
By Isaac Serna-Diez — Written on Mar 10, 2023
A mom on TikTok was shocked to discover what she found in the boy’s clothes section of her local Target — so much so, that she decided to post about it on TikTok.
Although the original video was deleted, likely because of the backlash she received, people were able to stitch it and save it and repost it all over the internet for others to see.
She believes that Target is ‘pushing an agenda’ because of the colorful boy’s section.
At the start of the video, the mother (@goddess_domoo) asks an unnamed employee at Target where the boy’s section was, to which she replied “it’s right here. All this right here, always.”
She pans the camera over to the boy's clothes, and asks with incredulity, “this is the boy’s section? Wow,” showing the shirts and pants that occupy the stands.
It was clear to see what the mother’s issue with the clothes was, as one of the shirts had a rainbow on it and a separate one had a lot of purple and pink on it.
The mom moves to the other side of the display to look at the shirts there, asking once again “is this the boy’s section too? You’ve got to be kidding me, wow. This is the boy’s section.”
The shirts on the other side of the display feature more colorful options — pink t-shirts with one of them featuring what appears to be a shark with flowers on its head in front of a colorful background. Another shirt has a cartoonish Earth on it surrounded by a rainbow, but right next to it, there’s a shirt that reads “My DAD is my [superhero]” with a picture of a superhero and a blue background.
Referring to the superhero shirt, she says “Oh, hey! We got a boy’s shirt.” That, however, seems to be the only shirt she approved of.
After gasping at another pink shirt and shorts set, she reveals the purpose behind her video.
“Now, if this isn’t pushing an agenda, I don’t know what is. This is sick,” she says into the camera. “Target, do better. Yes, we’re at Target. Look at this — so you can look like your sister, isn’t that something?”
This seems to be a clear case of the recent trans panic that has been sweeping the nation — either that or just a homophobic/toxically masculine way of seeing things.
The shirts and shorts simply have a lot of colorful options on them, some may have flowers or bugs or dinosaurs on them, but it shouldn’t matter. The point of having a range of colors is not to push an agenda, it's to give kids options. Maybe they don't like the blue shirts, is there anything wrong with them having a pink one instead?
Clothing has nothing to do with gender or sexuality — it's about expression and feeling comfortable.
Even though she deleted the original video, it was reposted and criticized online.
“Many parents, myself included, are ecstatic to find boys’ T-shirts that aren’t covered in skulls and bald eagles committing war crimes,” one parent wrote in the replies of a Tweet.
“So, just don’t buy them. Stores are full of things you don’t have to buy. Just [don’t]. This type of offended is a choice,” another user wrote.
One person even stitched the TikTok and pointed out how the mother seems more concerned with the colorful clothes than her own child’s safety as she stepped away from the shopping cart that her child was seated in.
Not only that but the booster seat she was using should not be attached to the front of the cart in the way she had it.
Hopefully, the mom saw the error of her ways judging by the fact that she deleted her video and her account, but this dangerous mentality is still very much alive in a lot of places today and has catastrophic impacts.
While wearing a pink shirt won't change anyone's gender or sexuality, if a child does happen to identify as part of the LGBTQ community, having support and affirmation from those in their community is life-saving.
According to the Trevor Project's 2022 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health, 45% of LGBTQ youth seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year. However, youths who felt high levels of support in their families and communities reported attempting suicide at drastically lower rates than those who felt low or moderate support.
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health or suicidal ideation as a result of feeling unsupported due to an LGBTQ+ identity, The Trevor Project offers 24/7 support from counselors via their online chat, by texting 678-678 or by calling 1-866-488-7386.
Isaac Serna-Diez is an Assistant Editor who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics. Keep up with his rants about current events on his Twitter.