Overshadowed by Controversy: Difference between revisions

* A particular style of shoe sold by C. & J. Clark, one of the largest shoe manufacturing firms in the UK, became this<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/business-40916607 Clarks in sexism row over Dolly Babe girls' shoe - BBC News]</ref> when an angry mother made a rant not just about how easily worn out the "Dolly Babe" Mary Jane school shoes were, but the [[Political Correctness Gone Mad|shoes' name itself]] being "sexist" and "promoting gender stereotypes" with its [[All Women Love Shoes|overly feminine design]]–a lavender heart-print insole and a heart-shaped charm on the toebox. Not helping matters was that the "Dolly Babes" were compared unfavourably to the football-themed "Leader" shoes for boys, also made by the same company. [[Serious Business]] ensued, and as a result Clarks issued an apology, stating that it wasn't their intention to offend, and withdrew the shoes in question from sale; they did briefly re-release<ref>[https://www.charlesclinkard.co.uk/girls-c23/school-shoes-c71/cla-dolly-babe-jnr-p23607 Clarks Movello Lo Junior Girls School Shoes]</ref> the style [[Same Face, Different Name|under the name]] "Movello Lo"<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20180818015227/http://www.mumzworld.com/en/clarks-movello-lo Clarks - Movello Lo]</ref> presumably to clear out existing inventory, though. They would later commit to designing and selling "gender-neutral" school shoes, which presumably also had a side-effect of being more acceptable in certain schools where dress codes are stringently observed. It's not that Clarks hasn't come up with anything appealing to girls in recent years though, like the "Etch Bright" shoes for girls with its sparkly purple insole and star accents,<ref>[https://www.clarks.co.uk/c/Etch-Bright-Kid/p/26151125 Etch Bright Kid Black Patent]</ref> or the "Sea Shimmer" Mary Janes with a prominent mermaid theme,<ref>[https://www.clarks.co.uk/c/Sea-Shimmer-Kid/p/26155543 Sea Shimmer Kid Black Patent]</ref> but by then people may have forgotten about the sexism row with the shoemaker and moved on to the next scapegoat.