Kmart in hot water over child bride costume

Parents are engaged in a tug of war over a contentious Kmart bridal costume marketed to little girls, with alternative calls to remove and reinstate the white gown jostling for dominance.

The controversy kicked off with a change.org petition calling on Kmart to pull the costume, arguing the existence of real-life child brides made the costume deeply offensive.

The petition, started by a woman known as Shannon B, garnered almost 400 signatures from similarly concerned shoppers and resulted in Kmart pulling the costume from shelves.

“A child bride costume currently exists on Kmart shelves in children’s sizes,” the call to action reads. “Tell Kmart this is beyond inappropriate and offensive and that they have a social responsibility to pull this item off their shelves immediately.”

Counter-petition outstrips original

Now, however, backlash to the original backlash has been unleashed with a rival petition calling on the costume to be reinstated, and embarrassingly outstripping the original petition with over 3000 signatures.

The rival petition is called ‘let kids be kids, bring back the dress Kmart’.

In the reactive call out, organiser Sally Lord dismissed concerns over the costume and demanded the retailer consider other options, like changing the costume’s name.

“A lot of parents disagree (with the original petition) and want it put back on the shelves as they believe there is nothing wrong with it,” she wrote.

“It helps kids with their imagination, I have children of my own and if they want to dress up and play make-believe marriage then I’m not stopping them, by taking this off the shelves you have taken away that dream to children like my own who wish to dress up as a bride or wear it/ hack it for Halloween.”

Parents roll their eyes

Comments shared both on the new petition and the original, suggest most parents thought the removal was highly reactionary.

Parents flooded social media with exasperation at the news the costume was being considered problematic.

“There are real problems in this world... And this is what we are mad about?” one man asked.

The instant pushback to the petition didn’t stop Kmart taking swift and decisive action, however.

The retailer pulled the product from shelves as of Tuesday, releasing an apologetic statement.

"Kmart Australia regrets the decision to range the bride costume," a Kmart spokesperson said.

"It was not intended to cause offence and we sincerely apologise. We have made the decision to withdraw this product."

Given the counter-petition has around six times the amount of signatures as its predecessor, it’s safe to say Kmart may have to do a 180 on this one.

The retailer still has a zombie bride and ghost bride option, in a move that seems to prove definitively that when it comes to bridal costumes, the truth is scarier than fiction.

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