DonLever Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 A Victoria mom who went looking for a firefighter costume for her young daughter says she is outraged by what she found. Raina Delisle, whose daughter will soon turn four, said that when she checked out the costumes at her local Value Village store, she found gender-specific firefighter outfits — and she thought the difference between them was appalling. 'A little girl cannot even be a pumpkin without having a lace-up corset-like outfit. It's absolutely disgusting.'— Victoria mom Raina Delisle "There's a girl's version and a boy's version. Now, the boy's version looks like the real thing. The model on the package has a hardhat, a jacket and even an axe," Delisle said. "The girl's version, on the other hand, looks absolutely nothing like a firefighter. It's a skin-tight, black, shiny dress. It doesn't even have a helmet. It has a fascinator instead in place of a helmet." ■'Sexy' kids Halloween costumes ignite fierce debate about parental responsibility "What those costumes tell me is that the boys can wear the real thing. They can be a real firefighter. The girls, on the other hand can't. They can dress up pretty and pretend to be a firefighter, but they could never aspire to be the real thing," she said. Delisle, dismayed, looked at some other costume options. She found a police officer's costume being marketed for four-to-six-year-old girls, but it too was a dress with a short skirt. Other offerings proved similar. "A little girl cannot even be a pumpkin without having a lace-up corset-like outfit. It's absolutely disgusting," Delisle said. She said she made several calls to Value Village, first as a concerned parent, and then later she made calls to the company's media relations line in her capacity as a freelance journalist. Delisle told CBC News that she feels the "sexy" costumes can present a good opportunity to open up dialogue with children about what's appropriate to wear, but the store also has a role in the choice. "It's really hard to steer your kids away from those costumes when you're in the store. they gravitate towards shiny and frilly … and they see that that is how firefighters are represented and how police officers — and pumpkins — are represented." Delisle said the company has a corporate responsibility to live up to, and she would like it to respond by pulling the child-sized sexy costumes. "By selling those costumes, they are in effect promoting the sexualization of young girls," Delisle said. She said Value Village did not respond to her calls. Company pulls costumes On Monday the company issued a statement saying the costumes in question were being removed from store shelves. "Every year, we select our Halloween inventory based on feedback and demand from shoppers," said the statement. "We’ve taken the recent comments surrounding certain Halloween costumes sold in our stores very seriously, and as such, are removing this merchandise from our sales floors." "We apologize to those who were offended, and as we move forward, we will evaluate all costumes and packaging keeping this specific customer feedback in mind." With files from the CBC's Jeff Harrington Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Korea Bob.Loblaw Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Tsk tsk non-conformist. She should shell out the bucks and get her girl what she REALLY Wants... an Elsa/Anna costume. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twilight Sparkle Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 photo from the article/twitter maybe i'm alone on this when i think that the photos used for these things is child exploitation. no sane person wants to see little kids dressed in these. in my opinion the mom did the right thing. that's greasy i would find it weird seeing parents buying young girls these costumes. i used to love going to value village for halloween, shopping with my sister and my mom and dad when we were kids-- hell my first halloween, i was 6, i was a bed sheet-made ghost. i don't recall seeing costumes like these Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2SKATES1STICK Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 i don't recall seeing costumes like these These weren't the types of socially acceptable childhood idols either Rihanna Miley Katy Perry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avelanch Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 this is why i'll be asking my daughter what she wants to be and then getting/making it for her. i'm not taking her to choose a halloween outfit off the rack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neversummer Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Little Miss Sunshine was prophetic ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghostsof1915 Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Problem one is you're going to Value Village. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jägermeister Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Katy Perry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brick Tamland Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Put a pair of black leggings on and no one cares Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heretic Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Problem one is you're going to Value Village. Some people can't afford to go to big department stores. The costumes above are offensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KFBR392 Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 If she wants to be a firefighter buy her the "boys" one. She's 4. They're built the same. What does it matter? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avelanch Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 If she wants to be a firefighter buy her the "boys" one. She's 4. They're built the same. What does it matter? the fact that the "sexy" firefighter costume exists at all is the issue. there should be 1 firefighter costume style for both genders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down by the River Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Kids dress up as police and firefighters because they want those jobs. Well, the uniform for men and women police/firefighters isn't different, and so it shouldn't be different for children. Whoever thought this was a good idea is disturbed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 the fact that the "sexy" firefighter costume exists at all is the issue. there should be 1 firefighter costume style for both genders. Then we'd get the whole "There's no girly costumes? That's not fair, blah, blah" Edit: I'm in NO way defending the above costumes, I'm just saying that we can't just have one set for both genders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TOMapleLaughs Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Hehe. Saw some in the bargain bin. No need to get all mad. Just don't buy it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Armada Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Did someone say Sexy Firefighter montage? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raoul Duke Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 You can say funny one-liners here or play devil's advocate and say there's nothing wrong with these costumes. But if you do that, you are an idiot. No way should there be "sexy" costumes for kids this young. Effing disgusting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TOMapleLaughs Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 You can say funny one-liners here or play devil's advocate and say there's nothing wrong with these costumes. But if you do that, you are an idiot. No way should there be "sexy" costumes for kids this young. Effing disgusting.While I agree, there is a whole sub-society based on beautifying toddlers. I guess this is the semi-perverted market the costumes were designed for. All wrong. And should end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonMexico Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Whatever happened to Halloween costumes being scary/frightful? On top of being inappropriate for a young girl, isn't it too cold to wear that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warhippy Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Did someone say Sexy Firefighter montage? Great...now my house is on fire.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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