AIBU to think crocodile pajamas are unisex and perfectly suitable for DD?

[CockyFox]

This morning I went to Tesco to get DS and DD some pajamas, DD didn't want any of the girls pajamas (cats, cakes, butterflies etc on them) so I said we would look the other side of the shelf for some for DS and go somewhere else for hers.

On the Boy side we selected some with monkeys on for DS and DD saw some with green and blue crocodiles on, and said she liked those. They had her size so I picked up the pack and asked her if she was sure those were the ones she wanted. She was sure so I popped them in the basket at which point an very friendly assistant who had been setting out shoes told me the Girls pajamas were around the other side of the display, I said thank you but we were fine. Then while i was selecting myself some knickers she appeared with a pack of pink pajamas and asked me if DD preferred those. DD bless looked at me and said 'I like crocodiles' so just said again no, we are fine and walked away.

I am sure IANBU, but do you think I am and if I am could somebody please explain what makes crocodiles unsuitable for girls? I am not bothered by the shop assistant she probably has really girly daughters and thought I was trying to make a point and was making sure the crocodiles weren't being forced on DD.

[HerRoyalNotness]

YANBU, you gave your DC a CHOICE in what to wear.

I'd point naysayers in the direction of Bindi Irwin Who can look girly, be tough, and love animals, all at the same time

[CockyFox]

ladybeagleeyes
I have said a few times I wasn't rude to her and that I genuinely think she was trying to help my DD get pretty Pjs.
So just in case she is reading this - if you are the assistant at Tesco Shirley who tried to help me, I'm sorry I wasn't getting at you on here, just ranting at 'they' who decided crocodiles are for boys.

[squeakytoy]

"It's not just girls - I get really jealous of the men's sections when I'm shopping"

so buy what you like then...

[WhatTheWhat]

My little girl (3) loves dinosaurs and I have a lovely pictures of her in her dinosaur pyjamas sitting next to her little brother (1) in his. She also has Hello Kitty ones, so we mix it up a little. I just let her chose without saying "these are the boys' ones, these are the girls' ones".

As an older girl with two younger brothers, I am extremely happy when she wants something that will become a hand-me-down.

Try as I might, I just would not be totally comfortable dressing the boys in anything obviously 'intended' for girls.

Not sure why not really.

I just ignore the shop-floor stuff, which I encounter quite a lot, or I just say quietly to her afterwards - crocodiles are for everyone. Brilliant crocodiles. Or some such.

[5madthings]

Men's clothes aren't designed to fit the shape of a woman tho do its not simply a case of just buying men's clothes if you want to.

With children's clothes you can, but as they get older is teen upwards you get the same problem. Boys/men's clothes aren't designed to fit boobs/hips etc.

[OxfordBags]

Agree woth everything MrsTP and 5madthings are saying. You don't teach your child to conform and potentially be ashamed of completely natural parts of themseles, you teach our kids not to be narrow-minded bullies and fuckwits. And yes, girls wearing male characters and playing with 'boy' toys being far more acceptable than boys wearing female characters, etc., is a hidden form of misogyny that starts the inequality system off practically from birth.

[StuntGirl]

"She has thick blonde hair down to her waist , so as yet , no one has mistaken her for a boy."

Plomino My brother has thick blonde hair down to his waist and he is always mistaken for a girl! The best ones are in busy pubs when some burly old bloke squeezes past, brushing his hand across my brother as he goes "Oo, 'scuse me love", only to have my brother's beardy blokey face peer round at him

[pigletmania]

Yanbu that sales assistant was absolutely ridiculous. When I was in primary school I used to love those shrt sleeved military shirts with badges that te boys used to wear and begged my mum for one. It was fab I loved my shirt

[RayABlokeIUsedToKnow]

When DS was about 2 months he was wearing this hat with navy blue dungarees.

www.littlesunflowers.com/merry-berries/navy-blue-knitted-hat-with-scottie-dogs-red-ribbon-p-12672.html

Navy blue with white Scottie dogs on. One of the dogs is wearing a red bow. The lady in Mothercare commented on what a beautiful girl he was. When I said he was a boy she said, "but there is a red bow on his hat!"

[5madthings]

Honestly ray didn't you k ow bows are for girls!!! It seems impossible to buy knickers without bows, I was buying myself new knickers the other day and without fail every pair had a bow on them, often just a tiny little one at the front but obviously women need bows on our underwear lest we forget we are female...


Those hats are cute!! I may order for next winter...

[hugoagogo]

Bindi Irwin should probably refrain from doing the fabmaccawackythumbsaloft thing though.

[RayABlokeIUsedToKnow]

Its lovely 5. He also has the Christmas pudding hat which actually is completely gender neutral I would say.

www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B005PMW3RG?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

My mum has an obsession with them!

[MsJupiterJones]

MrsTP I totally agree with you. I have a DS (6mo) and it annoys me that although I would happily buy boys' clothes for a girl (as I often do for friends' daughters), I find it difficult to do the same the other way round. The 'male' experience is the default in society and it is seen as shameful for men to imitate women, whether in they way they behave or dress. Except Iggy Pop of course.

Most girls' clothes are so extremely pink and sparkly that I can't quite bring myself to buy him those. I always look and have occasionally bought something purple/flowery but I am aware as he grows up that as squeaky says I can only challenge things within the boundary of not causing him any future humiliation.

Pretty much everything I have bought him is fairly neutral (white, brights, stripes) but as he gets older the options are looking more and more straitened. Acres of denim, sludge green and grey await... Joy.

[fuzzpig]

AAAAAARGH YASooooNBU!

Most of DD's PJs were boys' ones until quite recently - robots, monsters, aliens etc. And some Chelsea ones but that was daddy's fault :o

[fuzzpig]

Most of her bedding is blue too, when she got her first big bed I ordered 2 sets of covers - one stars, one robots :)

[stripeyjimjams]

Oh, I would have killed for crocodile pyjamas when I was wee! I was well into dinosaurs and reptiles, generally. I bet your DD looks adorable in them.

[OxfordBags]

Honestly, MrsJJ, the sludge colours are not inevitable. There are loads of brands that sell colourful and non-'mini thug' or non-'miniature blokey bloke' gear for boys. Next and Boden are particularly good, as well as ones you can find online like Boys & Girls (deliberately ironic name, cos they are mostly unisex), loveitloveitloveit, and so on. All a bit pricier, but if you sign up for email alerts, you can get great discounts and access to flash sales, etc. Oh, and Little Bird by Jools Oliver at Mothercare often has some colourful and gender-neutral stuff too.

I think so much girl's stuff is outrageously pink and spangly that I would refuse to dress a daughter in it, if I had one, so I do think that has some bearing on it being easier to put girls in boys' clothes than the other way round. I find the extreme princessification of girls' clothes an almost deliberate choice to ensure that they really are 'the other'. There can only be one limited identity for a child when wearing them. Fine, if it's one part of her wardrobe, sad when it's virtually all of it.

[MsJupiterJones]

Oxford yep there are definitely still good neutral options out there, I was exaggerating slightly. Picked up some nice red trousers today (boys dept). Just starting to negotiate the concept of 'outfits' after months of babygros and sleepsuits - so much simpler!

[MrsMangoBiscuit]

I'd have asked the shop assistant if there was some sort of special tailoring to make it only fit willies. Mind you, after being told that the "girls toys are on the next aisle" I once ask quite loudly if they were supposed to operate them with their genitals, and if so they weren't actually suitable for children! Apparently I have a real spine and no shame when pregnant.

[HairyWorm]

DD due in summer and nursery is painted sky blue. I have been asked if I'm going to paint it pink now I know it's a girl!?!? I said I wasn't keen on gender colours and was told magnolia was very nice. WTF is wrong with blue????

I'm actually not keen on pink myself which I think comes from my mum decorating my first bedroom in pink floral paper. I hated it and wanted a dark green room like my brother.
I am resigned to the fact that DD will probably like pink and I'll just have to get over it, but I have asked family to refrain from pink stuff for her. Ill still get some but should mean I avoid the pink overload. I'd love to see more unisex baby and kids clothes. if they're the same shape why are they split by gender?

It's the same shit with 'men's interests' and 'women's interests' magazine sections in some shops where all the science, computers, photography and interesting stuff is in the men's part. Who bloody said they were for men?

[Passmethecrisps]

What gets me about this whole discussion is how willing total strangers are to pass comment! I find that astonishing.

I did a full load of washing the other day where every single item was pink. We have bought almost nothing for her and none of it pink. All of the pink was given to us. Some of it is fab. Some of the clothes are unarguably cute and some shades of pink are brill. Some of it is just horrid though - putrid shades of blah.

Both sets of parents have been asked not to go down the 'toys like mummy has' route in buying toy irons and such like. If she wants to be like me she will need to get used to drinking red wine and swearing

All fine just now but what if she really wants a toy dyson?

[ConstantCraving]

My 3 year old DD is another fan of Thomas - she has trains on everything and lots of boy clothes as for some reason no one makes girl's clothes with Thomas on!

[IneedAsockamnesty]

I wouldn't have a problem if any of my girls wanted toy irons or kitchens or anything like that equally as such neither would I if any of my boys wanted them I also don't much care what colour they pick.