Gender Roles in Clothing/Accessories

[failstoexist]

OK, so I was reading this post and it got me thinking. For those who don't want to click the link, it's a woman whose 2 year old broke his arm and pointed to pink as the color he wanted for his cast. the woman said no because "that would've gone over real good with daddy!" and he got his second choice, neon green

Comments

[bajingo]

would you restrict your kid's choice of cast color or anything else like that because of their gender?

Nope. I have a 3 year old daughter with a Spider-Man bedroom.. I don't really believe in things being only for one gender or the other.

Would the reaction of your husband/partner or your family be a deciding factor in that, regardless of your own feeling?

Nope. I think that's really up to the kid, not the parents. Screw the parents. If someone is so opposed, they really should look deep inside themselves to figure out why.

Does the kid's age matter? How about gender--would you be more likely to restrict the choices of a boy or a girl?

No age doesn't matter. While I wouldn't buy a son a brand new princess dress every time he got the thought into his head (just like I don't for my 5 year old daughter.. one is really enough!), hey, as long as he's doing it at home, I don't care. I would only worry in public, because people can go from mean to violent on a whim and that scares me.

Does it matter where the kid is going? camp, school, daycare, play group, family events, etc.?

See above answer

[failstoexist]

what if the kid were a little older and insisted on it in public too? is there a level you would consider, such as pink shirts OK but not a dress? also i guess i should ask where you live...since i'm near NYC and I can't imagine anything that terrible happening, but I know in other areas there is a real danger...and while i myself couldn't stand living like that, I'm sure for some people it's not generally a problem.

[bajingo]

Well, we live in Jersey, but I grew up in Northern Nevada, which is not very tolerant of stuff like that. If they're older (teens) they can wear what they want, my only rule is no piercings other than ears & nose until 18. I'd hope I could get them to understand that I'm just trying to protect them from the scorn and or abuse of others.. I don't know how well that would work, but I'd try.

[g0ldenr0ad]

I always thought boys didn't wear dresses because they have dangling things and it would be really awkward to have to wear a dress while having to deal with a boner or something.

[birdlawyer]

Well, I think *certain* dresses would pose little problem at all in that regard:

[failstoexist]

boys wear kilts, so....not sure about that.

[g0ldenr0ad]

This is true, but a full on dress? I'd imagine it'd be a bloody hassle to have to piss if you're a man wearing a dress.

[closertome]

Lift skirt high. Grasp penis with one hand. Aim downward.

Alternately, lift skirt high enough to be out of piss stream.

I'm a female and I can grasp this. It really isn't that hard. I suppose I just have too many tranny friends who do need to piss while wearing a dress.

[g0ldenr0ad]

I have tranny friends too, and I get told all the time how hard it is to piss standing up while wearing a full on dress. Come on now, it's not that easy to lift a frilly dress up and holding all the fabric so it can avoid all piss stream.

[closertome]

There is also sitting down.

If my friends can do it, so can everyone else. If I can figure out how, as a female, to successfully piss standing up with my pants well above my knees, surely a male wearing an article of clothing not holding his crotch in can figure out a successful way to eliminate waste without complaining.

[tarrbaby]

My daughters first blanket was spiderman. When she was about 4 and a half she gave it to her brother, but up until then she wouldn't sleep without it.