Life

Moms Are Not Fans Of These Inappropriate Baby Onesies

by Mia Mercado

Pretty much everyone who has ever gone to middle school or been to a department store is more than familiar with those overly inappropriate, joke t-shirts. (Bless those of you who were able to make it through your preteen years without buying a t-shirt that had a cringe worthy quote on it.) However, one item of clothing featuring a dirty joke recently caused a stir among moms on an online parenting forum: a weirdly sexual baby onesie. (If you’ve reached your cringe quota for the day, you might want to stop reading here.)

One user on Mumsnet, a U.K. based messaging board for moms and dads, shared a picture of the onesie in question asking fellow parents, “Am I being unreasonable to think this babygrow is awful? Cringe!” (Side note: if there’s one positive thing to come out of this story, it’s that the colloquial word for “onesie” in the U.K. is “babygrow,” which is both quaint and accurate. Okay, back to the cringy stuff.)

The picture the user shared shows a white, one-piece baby outfit with black text that reads: “All mummy wanted was a backrub.” There is also a small illustration of a baby’s face in the corner. You know, in case you forgot it was for babies.

Over 100 other users commented in the thread with overwhelmingly shared disgust, with many comments just reading “ew” or “gross.” One user noted the more insidious implication behind the onesie writing, “If ‘Mommy’ did not want sex, then she was raped. This trivialises rape and that is never okay. How are these things allowed to exist?” So, the onesie is tacky and gross at best and trivializing rape at worst. Not a good look for anyone.

Other users on the board pointed out that this is far from the only onesie on the market that prominently features a questionable joke. One parent linked to a onesie that reads, “I don’t always drink milk, but when I do I prefer dos boobies.” There’s also an illustration of boobs on the onesies. You know, in case you forgot what those looked like, too. You can find dozens of baby clothes donning versions of the Dos Equis slogan. Even the initial “all mommy wanted was a backrub” onesie is available for online purchase in pretty much every color, style, and font you can imagine. A quick Google search for “inappropriate baby onesie” will bring you list upon list of questionable attire for your newborn. Basically, these kinds of outfits are nothing new. Pretty gross and, like, no thanks pass? Sure. But definitely not new.

Kids clothes as a whole have recently come under scrutiny for their misogynistic messaging. You can walk into most major retailers and find sexiest kids clothes that imply boys can be superheroes and girls can date superheroes. If you think parents are alone in finding these clothes offensive, you haven’t met this 8-year-old girl whose comments on sexist shirts will give you life.

This is all to say that everyone expects better, parents and kids alike. Also, if you’re looking for some cheeky baby clothes, here are twelve funny baby rompers that don’t have weird, sexual vibes.