[Ammi]

An advert for a pair of school trousers has been deleted by Argos after social media users complained the name of the product was linked to a slur used by racists.

The two-pack of “grey reinforced knee grow hem woven trousers” for seven-year-olds has connotations to a slur frequently used by racists, according to X user Esheru Kwaku.

In his post, directed at Argos and Sainsbury’s, which acquired the company in 2016, Kwaku wrote: “Hi @sainsburys @Argos_Online I know you’re the same company, are you aware that the item name below is freely used by racists to by pass n-word filters?

“May I suggest renaming the item. Also maybe a few black faces in the decision making process, to avoid this in the future.”


A spokesperson for Tu, the own-brand clothing label from Sainsbury’s, apologised and confirmed to Yahoo News UK that the product will be renamed following the criticism.

They said: “We’re truly sorry for the upset this has caused. We have listened to the concerns which have been shared and are urgently updating the product labelling."

A parent who discovered the product emailed Sainsbury’s about the product on Wednesday. The parent, who wants to be anonymous, in fear of racist backlash, shared the email she sent to Sainsbury's. She told Yahoo News it was “triggering” to see the slur while shopping.

She said: “I'm just there on the website looking for school trousers for my child and having a perfectly normal day, a perfectly normal time for school trousers, and it's just like a slap in the face, quite frankly.”

She added: "As soon as I see that sort of thing, it reminds me of the brutality of my ancestors that have brought me here today. That sounds a bit OTT, but it's not."


Kwaku, a political commentator, told Yahoo News: "The first thing I thought was, my God, how could they have missed this?"

He said that some people would need a second or third look to notice the phonetic spelling of the n-word in that title, especially if they're not on social media. "You see all the small intricacies, the code words people use to describe black people. For example, this knee grow, or DEI hire, is another word for the n-word, so they use these euphemisms to bypass filters on X."

The term “knee grow” has been used as a slur against black people previously. In 2018 an Ohio youth basketball team was removed from their league after wearing jerseys with the term written on them. The coach of the team later apologised.

The phonetic term has, over time, became a slur that has been condemned. But the use of “knee grow” represents a deliberate effort to avoid accusations of racism.

There is no suggestion that Sainsbury’s deliberately chose this term out of malice. But social media platforms, online forums and comment sections are just some of the places where the term is used in an attempt to bypass any rules about hateful speech.

https://uk.yahoo.com/news/sainsburys...115921367.html

[bots]

I had to look at it about 3 times before i spotted it, but once seen, you can't un-see it

[GoldHeart]

It figures trolls& racists would find a way a sneaky way , imagine an innocent word for children's trousers being abused.

[Ammi]

Originally Posted by bitontheslide

I had to look at it about 3 times before i spotted it, but once seen, you can't un-see it

…no, you can’t unsee it when you realise…tbh, I hadn’t realised that it was something used to bypass some filters but I did Google and saw that it was…

[Cherie]

I dont know what a knee grow hem is, like do your knees grow, its very odd wording to have on a pair of trousers

[GoldHeart]

Originally Posted by Cherie

I dont know what a knee grow hem is, like do your knees grow, its very odd wording to have on a pair of trousers

Just a terminology for smaller clothing I guess, like ' baby grow' . But now it's clear how trolls etc would bypass the filter. I wonder what new word they'll come up with to avoid the slur appearing.

[user104658]

Originally Posted by Cherie

I dont know what a knee grow hem is, like do your knees grow, its very odd wording to have on a pair of trousers

Pretty sure it's two separate terms that unfortunately look like one because of how the online listing name is formatted. It's;

Reinforced knee
(obvious what this is)

Grow hem
(I did have to look up, but it basically means there's an upturned but of fabric at the bottom that can be unpicked and restitched to make them longer. A "Hem that can grow as the child gets taller", if you will).

Poor layout as much as anything. They could change it to "grow hem reinforced knee" and it would all have been fine.

[Cherie]

Originally Posted by Soldier Boy

Pretty sure it's two separate terms that unfortunately look like one because of how the online listing name is formatted. It's;

Reinforced knee
(obvious what this is)

Grow hem
(I did have to look up, but it basically means there's an upturned but of fabric at the bottom that can be unpicked and restitched to make them longer. A "Hem that can grow as the child gets taller", if you will).

Poor layout as much as anything. They could change it to "grow hem reinforced knee" and it would all have been fine.

ah that make more sense, so no racial connectations at all just badly laid out, perhaps AI involved

[Ammi]

Originally Posted by Soldier Boy

Pretty sure it's two separate terms that unfortunately look like one because of how the online listing name is formatted. It's;

Reinforced knee
(obvious what this is)

Grow hem
(I did have to look up, but it basically means there's an upturned but of fabric at the bottom that can be unpicked and restitched to make them longer. A "Hem that can grow as the child gets taller", if you will).

Poor layout as much as anything. They could change it to "grow hem reinforced knee" and it would all have been fine.

…I wasn’t familiar with the term ‘grow hem’ but when the boys were at school and I was buying school trousers…?…I always would look for one that had a larger hem to be able to lengthen them if needed…

[Mystic Mock]

Originally Posted by bitontheslide

I had to look at it about 3 times before i spotted it, but once seen, you can't un-see it

Same here.

Some people are seeing racism in everything, it's crazy.

Racists will find a way to turn anything into a racial slur, I bet even the rename will probably give some of the most hardcore racists some ammunition to work with, it's just the way those people are unfortunately.

Imo it's clear as day that I don't believe that Sainsbury's were intending to be racist with the name.

[bots]

Originally Posted by Mystic Mock

Same here.

Some people are seeing racism in everything, it's crazy.

Racists will find a way to turn anything into a racial slur, I bet even the rename will probably give some of the most hardcore racists some ammunition to work with, it's just the way those people are unfortunately.

Imo it's clear as day that I don't believe that Sainsbury's were intending to be racist with the name.

i think its very intentional by some junior staff member. It's a collection of words you just wouldnt put together otherwise

[GoldHeart]

Originally Posted by bitontheslide

i think its very intentional by some junior staff member. It's a collection of words you just wouldnt put together otherwise

This isn't a new name for children's clothing though....so not sure about bad intentions .... like I said they probably got the idea from ' baby grow' , that term has been around before.

But it figures trolls & racists would now use it as an insult.

[Mystic Mock]

Originally Posted by bitontheslide

i think its very intentional by some junior staff member. It's a collection of words you just wouldnt put together otherwise

Hasn't that item of clothing had that name for decades at this point?

I think it's just a harmless mishap at worse.

[Crimson Dynamo]

Originally Posted by Mystic Mock

Hasn't that item of clothing had that name for decades at this point?

I think it's just a harmless mishap at worse.

Yep and the "I drive an Audi" execs at Sainsburys shat it in case they get flamed on social media

spineless drones

[GoldHeart]

Originally Posted by Mystic Mock

Hasn't that item of clothing had that name for decades at this point?

I think it's just a harmless mishap at worse.

Exactly....I think it's innocent.

But racists & trolls are taking advantage of it by looks of it .

[Crimson Dynamo]

ridiculous, Sainsburys should have told that chancer to do one

[Crimson Dynamo]

What kind of social media is that guy looking at where people are using knee grow to insult black people?

I have never heard of such a thing

I mean is he in some 4chan KKK dark web stuff?

[GoldHeart]

Originally Posted by LeatherTrumpet

What kind of social media is that guy looking at where people are using knee grow to insult black people?

I have never heard of such a thing

I mean is he in some 4chan KKK dark web stuff?

It's obviously a filter bypass, trust me people will do all sorts of sneaky tricks to say offensive stuff .

Even sites that ban general swear words , people will find ways around it ...as they can't help themselves.

[Ninastar]

I genuinely am so confused

I mean I always am but I do not know what I’m supposed to see?

[Crimson Dynamo]

Originally Posted by Ninastar

I genuinely am so confused

I mean I always am but I do not know what I’m supposed to see?

some chancer trying to shoehorn racism into kids clothes for likes on social media and make himself feel important

[Ninastar]

Someone please I need spoilers

[GoldHeart]

Originally Posted by Ninastar

I genuinely am so confused

I mean I always am but I do not know what I’m supposed to see?

Originally Posted by Ninastar

Someone please I need spoilers

' Knee grow '

Say it and you'll realise how that innocent word....can be twisted for trolls & racism.

[bots]

Originally Posted by Ninastar

Someone please I need spoilers

you need to say it out loud to yourself

[Crimson Dynamo]

Originally Posted by bitontheslide

you need to say it out loud to yourself

Not in the street tho

[Oliver_W]

As much of a cringe-inducing specimen the complainant appears to be from a cursory glance at his Twitter, he does have a point tbh.