A popular Australian sleepwear brand has been forced to pull a boy’s jumper from sale after a mother complained the clothing item contained a ‘sexist statement’.

Peter Alexander Sleepwear removed the controversial ‘Boys will be boys’ top from its catalogue on Wednesday, a week after the complaint was lodged.

‘Boy won’t be boys. Boys will be held accountable for their actions,’ Melbourne woman Bridie Harris wrote on the business’ Facebook page.

‘I hate to see an Australian store, who makes such great pjs, put such a sexist statement on a t-shirt intended for young boys. Excusing boys of their behaviour is not a step in the right direction. It’s 2018.’

A Peter Alexander Sleepwear employee initially responded to the post saying the feedback would be passed on to the design and production team.

They then informed Ms Harris, who had first spotted the jumper in-store, the brand had decided to stop selling the jumper.

‘I just wanted to update you and again thank you for taking the time to get in touch with us and bringing this to our attention. We do not tolerate the behaviour that is being associated with this slogan,’ a Peter Alexander Sleepwear employee wrote.

‘In the light of your feedback, we have decided to withdraw this item from sale.’

Ms Harris, who has a two-year-old daughter, told The Sydney Morning Herald she was glad the jumper was no longer being sold as she did not want her little girl ‘to think if someone pushes her on the playground it’s just “boys will be boys”‘.

‘I want her to stand up and tell someone and be able to feel safe, playing in playground or walking home at night as an adult,’ Ms Harris said.

The jumper had been marketed online with the tag line: ‘Boys will be boys, so leave them to it in this warm and cosy quilted sweater. Perfect for winter adventures’.

Ms Harris’ concerns were followed up by another complaint on the day the jumper was withdrawn from sale.

One commentator on Facebook said they ‘interpret the “slogan” as a child will get up to mischief where they break things, throw balls on roofs’ and another said ‘I find the current over the top PC culture toxic’. EXACTLY!

And a domestic violence victim, Jenny, told 3AW the decision to axe the jumper was ‘ridiculous’.

‘It has to stop. This has gone too far. There’s so many rules that nobody can be themselves any more,’ Jenny said.

What is WRONG with boys being boys?

I knew before I finished reading this article it just had to be a mum of girls jumping to the conclusion that there was something wrong with the slogan that “boys will be boys.”

WHY does it always have to be so terrible?

I have asked the question before,We Empower Young Girls Every Day But What About Our Boys?

YES domestic violence is out of control, there is no denying that. But WHY do we always put that label onto our young boys. Little boys! Children!

It is not their cross to burden, surely?

We have mums proudly declaring that they teach their girls to kick boys in the balls. How is that OK?!

As a mum of boys these posts really frustrate me. Boys are NOT all bad and are certainly not all sexual deviants. There is NOTHING wrong with boys being boys.

Just because something says “boys will be boys” does that instantly have to be interpreted as boys will be mean? Or that boys are bad?

Surely the ‘boys will be boys term has adapted (or should be!) with the times the same as everything else?

How does a slogan (words!) on a PJ top mean something terribly dreadful?

Boys CAN be dirty, smelly, rough and loud. (so can girls from what I hear!)

But boys CAN ALSO be sweet, loving, cute, cuddly, gentle, quiet, caring, anxious, emotional little balls of love just like girls.

They can wear princess dresses and play with dolls like this mum shared. They can be free to dress like Elsa as this little boys does.

They are not always the one in the wrong. Girls can be too.

Aussie men ARE damaged, but please don’t write our boys off just yet!

Author, Tim Winton, spoke on The Interview this week saying how we too often shame the sweet and tenderness out of boys.

“All boys are lovely tender hearted creatures when they are small. Full of kindness and curiousity.

“Sadly after the age of 10 it starts to be shamed (even beaten) out of them due to the culture around them and other influences.

“To see these boys who are reservoirs of tenderness, drying up and just becoming this narrow, cracked dry creek that really just runs on for the rest of their lives for many of them.”

“They start out with all the colours and then they are left with black, purple and dark blue.”

As a mum of boys, it breaks your heart to hear that!

It’s up to you. It’s up to ALL of us.  Boys need good, strong, positive role models. All kids do.  If you think a child needs that in their life, then BE THAT role model.

Tim Winton says too often boys are left to work it out for themselves because we are too scared to take control as a parent.

Boys (all kids) need more guidance. They need boundaries! Don’t be scared to PARENT your child. Don’t fear being labelled an “uncool parent”. Step up!

Tim adds that women, strong mother’s, have a huge influence on their sons lives. More than they think. It’s not all up to dad to raise the perfect man.

So why not just let a slogan on a PJ top, be just that. Words. Nothing more, nothing less.

PLEASE let’s not label all boys as nothing but monsters from a dreadfully young age.

Rant over. (Sorry!)

Signed, Mum of two AMAZING boys. (Yes, they can sometimes be arseholes, but that’s OK! So can girls!) x

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Read more:

• Should we really be teaching girls it’s OK to kick boys in the balls?
• We Empower Young Girls Every Day But What About Our Boys?
• Why would “looking like a girl” be a bad thing?
• When it comes to sport, boys actually ‘play like a girl’
• Mum tells boys they look beautiful wearing trousers or a dress

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