Michigan mom Meghan Mayer was shopping at Target when she saw an outfit in the girls' clothing section that gave her pause.
At first glance the dress appeared modest: It’s a smock-style patterned dress with balloon sleeves. But when Mayer took a closer look, she noticed there were side cutouts at the waist.
“I’m like, ‘Wait a minute, what in the world is going on here?’” Mayer tells TODAY.com. “I don’t like filming myself in public, but I was curious to see if other people thought the slits were weird."
In Mayer's now-viral TikTok video, she noted that her daughters, who are ages 10 and 7, are not allowed to wear bikinis.
“I am a little bit more conservative when it comes to my kids’ clothing, so maybe I’m overreacting, but let me know what you think of these dresses,” Mayer, a seventh grade teacher, said.
TikTok was divided:
- “You’re not overreacting. You’re parenting properly.”
- “I think retailers are trying to mature our kids too fast. I agree with mom!”
- "I bought this for my 6-year-old. I think it’s super cute."
- "Not an overreaction at all!! Why would you want to put your kids in something that I would wear for a girls night out to drink??”
- “I grew up in conservative house, and we had cutout & backless dresses for warm weather. I think for church, no, but a daytime dress, it’s cute!”
- "I disagree. I think the cutouts are so cute and I would buy that for my 8 yr old. It doesn’t look that big once you put it on."
- "I'm feminist and progressive. However, this is not appropriate for a young girl. It’s completely sexualizing them."
Mayer tells TODAY.com that a handful of TikTokers pointed out that the dress can be worn with a layer underneath.
"No, I'm not going to buy it and have them wear a tank top with it, because then that's showing Target that it's OK," she says. "And over time, the cutout will get bigger and bigger."
Target did not immediately respond to a request from TODAY.com for comment.