Tesco change ‘mother only’ trolleys after F4J brand them sexist

Back to Latest News

February 12th, 2018

Tesco has said it is bringing out a new, gender-neutral design of shopping trolley after F4J accused the retailer of sexism.

Safety instructions on the handles of the carts only depict mothers and children, using a silhouette of a figure in a dress. F4J told the Daily Mail it was the latest example of retailer discrimination against fathers.

Said F4J Founder Matt O’Connor, “This might seem a trivial issue, but it’s part of a wider, subtler, narrative where men and fathers are excluded, or deemed unimportant to retailers.”

“That’s the same narrative that has led to 3 million children ending up living in fatherless homes. It’s sexist, prehistoric thinking that further adds to the gender-apartheid men face.”

“Imagine if the instructions on the carts were changed to show a father and child, and excluded mothers. It would be unthinkable. There would be outrage from feminists.”

Said dads campaigner Garry Clarkson, “Like ‘no coloureds’ signs in Mississippi, or ‘no black or Irish’ signs when men were trying to get places to rent in the 1960s, this is part of the drip feed demonisation and exclusion of men in all spheres of life.”

“Most men didn’t notice all the ‘Mac Dads’ until it happened to them. It’s about looking.”

In 2017 F4J highlighted sexist labels at retailer Marks & Spencer.

The group also called on Mothercare to change their name after complaints from dads.

F4J say that contrary to the view that women do most of the shopping, new research has found that 80 per cent of millennial dads claim primary or shared grocery shopping responsibility.