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[november_girl]

This morning ephraim and I have been looking at things for children's rooms. I have found the gender stereotypes to be shocking - why on earth do things need to be labelled as "for girls" or "for boys"? Why does it seem that there's almost always only a choice between something pale pink with princesses on or an identical thing in blue with tractors on?

Comments

[westernind]

No offence (truly!) but I'm kind of gobsmacked that you hadn't been aware of the extent of the gender stereotyping before now. (One odd thing is that the colours have reversed some time in the last hundred years. Round the time of the first world war, blue was the feminine colour, and pink - as a paler shade of red - was masculine.)

How about a deep-sea mural? ...and paint the other walls in a toning colour.

[november_girl]

I knew about the colour reversal thing, which makes the current situation even more ridiculous! However the gender stereotyping wasn't around when I was a kid, and I haven't really had anything much to do with children between then and now - it's not like I go into children's shops (or even adult shops, mostly) at all,* and have only recently had an incentive to look at kid's stuff on the web

*e.g. my niece's Christmas present was something I stumbled across by the till in PC World when I popped in for an ink cartridge.

[caddyman]

I think the stereotype probably was around when you were a kid, it's just that mass-marketing wasn't quite as all-pervasive or the media quite so omni-present.

[november_girl]

Maybe, not not in any knid of active way. e.g. I only recall one girl at school who was all pink and bows, and she was teased to high heaven about being girly and sissy.

As for me, I can only recall ever having had three pink items of clothing in my life: a pink skirt when I was about seven, a cerise shorts jumpsuit thing when I was about ten and a dusky pink cocktail dress that I bought in my late twenties. As a kid, most of my stuff was blue or orange or brown or cream. I don't recall there being much pink around when I went shopping - I certainly wasn't opposed to it as I loved pastel colours as a child, but there just didn't seem to be anything like that around. I know I was a tomboy, but the other girls weren't dressed so differently - they just wore skirts and Disney branded reversible sweaters more.

And furniture certainly wasn't labelled as gender specific!

[november_girl]

Oh yes, and whilst I like the mural, hubby has vetoed it.

Turns out that we couldn't buy any paper today as none of the damn shops were open - I'm sure I've been to DIY stores on Easter Sunday before, but apparently I am either misremembering or they were being very naughty indeed.