As a parent, one of our missions is to provide what’s best for our little ones. Be it the kryptonite of every 7-year-old, veggies, or comfy clothing. But perhaps there’s an underlying reason why kids love to fight over getting dressed every morning? Why this universal little-kid behavior turns every parent’s morning into a 35-minute negotiation about what they should wear and what’s appropriate for their rapidly blooming identity?

While theories range from the “it’s what the kids just do” phrasing to deep-level cognitive behavior, Meredith Alston, a TikToker with 12,700 followers, may have found yet another culprit. On her recent run to Target, this mom noticed there was a stark difference between boys’ and girls’ clothing — not only in their gender-specific pastel colors but also the difference in durability and functionality.

Seeing that no one has raised this point before — besides the occasional mention of the infamous ‘Pink tax‘ — Meredith published a now-viral video where she calls out one of America’s largest retailers for encouraging parents to (subconsciously) enforce gendered ideals on their kids from early on. Not surprisingly, the video quickly caught the attention of over 2 million TikTok users and ignited an important discussion.

Noticing a stark difference between the durability of girls’ and boys’ clothing at Target, this mom decided to make an in-depth comparison video which quickly went viral

Image credits: naptown_thrifts

Image credits: naptown_thrifts

Image credits: naptown_thrifts

Image credits: naptown_thrifts

Image credits: naptown_thrifts

Image credits: naptown_thrifts

Image credits: naptown_thrifts

Image credits: naptown_thrifts

Image credits: naptown_thrifts

Image credits: naptown_thrifts

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Image credits: naptown_thrifts

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Gone are the days when gender dictates the way people dress. World-class celebrities like Harry Styles and Kid Cudi are confidently going on stage rocking dresses; some, particularly Celine Dion, are dedicating entire clothing lines to gender-neutral clothing. And then there are stores (John Lewis) that, unlike Target, get rid of gender labels from their children’s clothing altogether. No surprise that gender-fluid clothing and the share of the number of products labeled “genderless, gender-neutral or unisex” has more than doubled in the US since 2020, according to the latest data by the leading online fashion trend-analysis company WGSN.

Still, some of these choices are hidden behind a ‘pay-wall’ that not all families can afford — the culprit that inspired Meredith Alston, the Indianapolis-based mother of two little daughters, to create the viral TikTok. Speaking about it, she told Bored Panda she became aware of this issue many years before gender-neutral clothing made headlines. “I noticed it when I was pregnant in 2013, making my baby registry,” Alston told us. “As my children get older, it has just become an increasingly consequential issue for us because the consequences become more severe.”

One of these consequences, she tells us, became apparent when children, “mostly girls,” were being removed from classrooms due to schools’ dress code policies. “It isn’t just an inconvenience for parents — there are real-life implications. Until now, I just haven’t had to platform to really bring this issue to light.”

What started as an accidental viral video with over 2 million views quickly became a three-part series

@naptown_thrifts Don’t even get me started on the text that’s on little girl’s clothes vs the boy’s clothing 🙃 #targetstyle #target #thrifttok #targetfinds #targettok ♬ Monkeys Spinning Monkeys – Kevin MacLeod & Kevin The Monkey

@naptown_thrifts Reply to @kristabrewer this is not unique to @target as we all well know. #targethaul #kidsclothes #targetfinds #targetrun #targetstore #shopwithme ♬ Crazy – Patsy Cline

@naptown_thrifts Reply to @victoria_loves_lotr to be fair, no one likes dinosaurs. #targetfinds #shopwithme #targetrun #kidsclothes #target #genderneutralclothing ♬ Roxanne – Instrumental – Califa Azul

Other parents noticed this as well and shared their own experiences with this large-scale problem

Many will know Meredith from her passionate thrift shopping videos — a past-time activity that was ingrained in her since the early days. “My dad used to take me thrifting with him all the time,” she explained. “I was so embarrassed that we could only afford to shop secondhand, especially because my other friends didn’t have to.”

Today, Meredith and her dad are “thrifting best buddies” and this activity largely remains Meredith’s main content on TikTok.

“When this one took off,” Alston said, “I was actually quite nervous because I did get a lot of negative pushback. What really surprised me though was that the pushback seems to be coming from mothers who don’t have daughters who are upset about the lack of variety they encounter when shopping for their sons.”

The solution, she believes, is to start making clothing for children that are “equally functional, durable, and practical.” “For small children, especially kids who must adhere to a dress code, it only makes sense to separate their clothing by size, function, and season,” Alston told. “But it isn’t a radical idea that girls are just as active as boys. It’s time that their clothing reflects that reality.”

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