I have a 7 month old son. The other day I put him in a pink outfit and shared a couple of photos. It's not a massively 'girly' outfit really - not a dress or frilly - it's just pink. It has other colours on it too but pink is the main colour.
It's not a handmedown from a girl relative - I bought it new for him because I like it and it suits him.
The photos weren't specifically to show off the outfit, they were just pics I shared because he was doing something cute.
My son's grandad (who is in his 60's) has reacted strangely to this. Not argumentative but just a sort of 'hmm, that's a bit unusual isn't it?' raised eyebrow reaction. Kind of quietly making it clear that he doesn't approve without outwardly saying it.
There's a lot of toxic masculinity in my family and tbh I do get sick of it and I don't want my son caught up in it. For example, when male members of my family see one another they do this weird macho handshake where they squeeze each other's hands really hard. I hate it. They have done it to every boyfriend I've brought home and they do it to my husband too - I can't stop them.
AIBU to just quietly assert that my son can have a softer side?
I don't want it to cause arguments or impact my son's standing in our family. But the truth is pink suits him and I like the outfit. He also has plenty of clothes in blue, green, red, neutrals etc - in fact this is his only pink outfit. Honestly I think it's all silly but AIBU?