Comments | booju_newju: Gender Roles in Clothing/Accessories

failstoexist in booju_newju

Gender Roles in Clothing/Accessories

Jul 04, 2007 20:14

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 ( Read more... )

gender roles

Comments 200

birdlawyer July 5 2007, 00:54:43 UTC

People freak out about this shit because they think it might mean the kid's gay, but with a young child, I think it's often just a matter of curiosity. An unbrainwashed little boy who sees that his sister gets to paint her nails metallic purple will rightly want to join in on the fun, and I'd certainly let him. With older kids, frequent preference for the other sex's designated colors/clothes/whatever may or may not indicate something deeper, in which case that would be all the more reason I'd let them express themselves as they so desired-- I want to be my kid's biggest supporter in terms of their expressing their identity, as the rest of the world sure as hell won't be.

amazonvera July 5 2007, 20:41:31 UTC

People freak out about this shit because they think it might mean the kid's gay

Please.

birdlawyer July 6 2007, 03:18:56 UTC

Um. Okay?

(The comment has been removed)

merlyn4401 July 5 2007, 00:59:44 UTC

Yeah, the harrassment factor is my big concern, too. As you said, it's not like he could go change it like he could a shirt.

birdlawyer July 5 2007, 01:02:12 UTC

Oh yes, because forcing your kid to conform to societal gender norms since someone might tease them is really the best way to make this world the more tolerant world we all (hopefully) want it to be.

merlyn4401 July 5 2007, 01:05:20 UTC

*rollseyes* Yeah. Exactly. Or it's because I don't want my 4 year old son to have to deal with the endless comments from strangers about his color choice. Oh noez! It'd be a different story if he were 13 or so and had the capability of answering back to adults.

Thread 58

iworshipsatin July 5 2007, 00:57:37 UTC

Go thing she didn't let him get the hot pink because that obviously would have sent him on a track straight to Homoland.
It's like my friend's ex freaking out when their son hugged his friend Kyle at two or my best friend's brother freaking out because our boys hold hands and kiss all the time.

abattoir_blue July 5 2007, 01:06:27 UTC

See I might have thought you were making that up before someone on my birth board had a boy after expecting a girl. The father would not allow the child to be swaddled in the pink blanket and had to repaint the room (its was painted pink) before his new son was allowed to sleep in it. Amazing that people that stupid exist.

iworshipsatin July 5 2007, 01:14:36 UTC

Men with small penises and that are sexually insecure often react like that. ;)

failstoexist July 5 2007, 01:18:48 UTC

well OBVIOUSLY. what if he caught...well...you know. ;)

I cringed when my cousins painted their daughter's bedroom pink and their son's blue. i mean i almost threw up. i am so lucky my mom never let me paint my walls pink...i had a pink bed, pink drawer knobs, shades with pink flowers on the windows, a flowered lampshade with pink base, pink sheets, and a pink blanket...but ALL of that went away (except the bed) the second I was done with pink, and the bed went away shortly afterwards when I got my "big kid" furniture. now i have white furniture that's even a little too girly for me in my room at home, but it's far better than pink...if the walls had been pink too, it would never have gone away.

Thread 6

babyslime July 5 2007, 01:04:10 UTC

I myself hate hate hate pink and frills, but my daughter is going through a pink stage and that's okay.
She says she wants a pink motorcycle for her birthday.

Other than the pink, she's a huge tomboy and I'm cool with that. While I hate pink and hate to see it I know that while she's "into" it I'm not going to let my own prejudices get in the way of her enjoyment. It's a freaking colour.
My son wore his sister's dresses and pink dresses for his first few weeks because we were expecting a girl and didn't have boy clothes. My in-laws were horrified but I thought it was cute. My daughter insists that as she outgrows dresses in her closet that we save them for her brother so that he can wear them. So we do.

The only thing I'd restrict is stuff that's way 'too old', but I seriously think that's only going to be an issue with girls, not boys. Boys just don't have the same issues with this "prostitots" thing.

pernwebgoddess July 5 2007, 03:51:52 UTC

I hate pink too, but not because it's girly... it's because I'm a redhead and everyone things "OMG put her in PINK it'll be SO CUTE."

Problem is, pink does NOT agree with my complexion, and I look like a huge strawberry.

babyslime July 5 2007, 05:46:25 UTC

That's exactly why my mom loves pink now... as a redheaded kid her mother forbade her from wearing pink.

owlsarentaholes July 5 2007, 01:06:50 UTC

I wouldn't restrict at all . . . my son has worn "girls" clothes, my daughter has worn "boys." When they're little, I pick what I like . . . Ronin probably wore more pink than Rylie did as a baby, simply because there was more pink stuff out with animals that I liked on it. He's getting a pink owl outfit for fall the next time I go back to Carters. And he plays dress up in my old ballet costumes . . . his choice, he brings them to me to put on him. I would be happy if he asked to buy a dress someday. I don't want my kids to internalize all that gendered crap.

As Rylie's gotten older, she picks out her own stuff . . . most of the time, I really like it. Sometimes I don't. Like you said, I control what stores we shop in, and I know, for instance, that I like most of the stuff at Old Navy so we shop there often.