A new Waitrose bag featuring the word ‘tart’ across its front has caused controversy, with some people branding it ‘sexually aggressive’.
The British supermarket recently unveiled their ‘Waitrose Strawberry Tart Juco Bag’ which carries a picture of a giant strawberry with the word TART written in black on it.
The reusable shopping bag, which costs £5, is also decorated with a thick red stripe which partly covers the image of the strawberry, while a Waitrose & Partners logo is stamped beneath it.
While some customers appear to have taken to the bag, other people are less impressed and instead have claimed it ‘normalises misogyny’.
According to Collins dictionary, a tart is ‘an insulting word for a woman who dresses or behaves in a way that suggests she wants to have sex with a lot of different people’.
A new Waitrose bag featuring the word ‘tart’ across its front has caused controversy, with some people branding it ‘sexually aggressive’
Despite this, some people love the bag and are boldly rocking it for their daily errands.
One happy customer who reviewed the bag on on waitrose.com said she’d even bought some for her friends: She wrote: ‘Wow!! Just totally love this bag, such fun and light hearted.
‘I’ve bought one for my four friends when we go away on our girls’ weekend! Well done Waitrose!”
Additionally, one X user posted a picture showing a man carrying the bag, saying ‘Bro is wandering the streets with the tart bag’.
Another wrote: ‘Finally! A @waitrose bag I can resonate with’.
Unfortunately the bag didn’t strike the same chord with others, as some have described it as ‘old common or garden misogyny’,
Dr Shonagh Dillon, CEO of Aurora New Dawn, which works against violence towards women, said: ‘It doesn’t matter if you wrap it up with a cute kitsch strawberry and stick a Waitrose badge on it. It’s still the same old common or garden misogyny isn’t it?’
While some customers appear to have taken to the bag, other people are less impressed and instead have claimed it ‘normalises misogyny’
Waitrose said anyone viewing their shopping bag as a sexual insult would be misguided.
A spokesperson said: ‘Our customers are food lovers and this series of bags for life show a favourite ingredient with a well known recipe, including pie, pancake and toast.
‘We’d never set out to cause offence and any interpretation other than a culinary one would be wrong’.
As well as the strawberry tart bag, there are other similar reusable bags available at Waitrose, including one with a picture of apples and the word ‘Crumble’.
The Waitrose Strawberry Tart Juco Bag is sold instore and on the Waitrose website for £5.