to ask so what if people think that?

[pinkbluegreenyellow]

Friend recently had a baby boy. Her DH goes on about how 'strong' he is, how big and tall, how much bigger than other baby boys he is. Fine. He is a big guy himself.

What irks is any suggestion that his son might, god forbid, appear 'girly' to others. For example, his son was gifted a t shirt that had a pink stripe in it. It's being given to charity as 'no son of mine wears pink. Don't want you being mistaken for a girl'. Friend's cousin allows her small ds to dress up in both cowboy and princess outfits and this is met with a sneer too.

Leaving aside the notion that pink is for girls, I want to shout so fucking what if people think he's a girl?? Like being a girl is weak and pathetic? I get that you might want people to assign the correct gender to your child but is there the same fear attached to people thinking your child might be a boy? As in , I can't dress her in blue, I don't want people to think she's a boy?

Yes we know that.

Even more recently, people smoked in pubs and other public places. Children sat in the boot of cars when travelling. I still have to gently correct my dad when he talks about 'coloured' people. Teachers could use corporal punishment to discipline students.

Times change.

My dd 9 months has lots of soft head bands. She looks adorable in them. Mil hates them but I can't stand the coat mil wears so swings and round abouts.

I don't think there is anything wrong with boys/ men wearing pink or salmon as dp calls it

It's only n MN where parents let their school ages ds ,apparently, rock up to school in a frock. I don't know anyone in RL do this.

I think on MN it's über trendy to be non gender specific. I once read a article of a lady who was refusing to tell anyone even the school what gender her child was. The child was seven, short cropped hair. Neutral name. Wore dresses and usual male based clothes. She didn't want her child to be put in a 'box' .

I think that child is going to be very confused about where he/ she fits in to society. Plus the shit that child is going to get at school is awful.

Haha mishmash - that reminds me of that Friends episode where Ross has the salmon shirt

I'm wearing trousers today. And they're blue. I must look a right tit.

What makes me snigger just a little bit is the three year old has the most mincing walk and run I've ever seen and likes to carry the teachers hand bag around the outside play area

Brilliant

Depends on the cut, zipper and button seff
Are they full blown man pants or lovely tailored ones?

I'm sure you look great seff.

Clothes are a strange thing and I suppose as with most things, 'appropriateness' is a concept I will try to teach DD early.

I don't personally think dressing young boys in clothing traditionally for girls looks appropriate and so choose not to do it myself. I worry about bullying as it is - and I'm sure someone will say 'well kids will always find something' - yes, sometimes they do but not always and why give them something on a plate?

If a DS of mine got to an age where he wanted to wear women's clothing I'd deal with it - but I certainly wouldn't permit a toddler or small child to charge around in frilly frocks!

When DD was tiny I dressed her in pink, blue, orange, purple, green, yellow and black. Sometimes people thought she was a boy, sometimes they thought she was a girl. Didn't really bother me. I did rebuff any stupid comments though.

Friend of mine has an 8 year old boy who until recently used to regularly wear his mum's high heels and a pink feather boa. Even to get to football practice. They're just clothes!!

This is where MN is a different universe - I have never encountered that in my life!

And if any 8 year old of mine was mincing around in high heels they'd be told very firmly to take them off.

Friend of mine has an 8 year old boy who until recently used to regularly wear his mum's high heels and a pink feather boa. Even to get to football practice. They're just clothes!!

That is sooooo wrong!!! Your friend shoud educate her son and stop letting him look like a prat!

if it suits the wearer bugger the starer - as my granny would say!

Cracking on eight wearing high heels and a feather boa to football is a bit much. I wonder how much ribbing he got!

blah - we are teaching DD that whilst it is usual for boys to not wear dresses, they can wear them if they like. A wee boy in her class turned up to the Christmas party in a pink princess dress - why should anyone tell him he can't? If a boy wants to push a doll along in a pram - why not? His dad probably does (you'd hope) so why can't he?

I'd go nuts if anyone suggested DD couldn't play with a digger, or wear whatever colour she (or I) damn well pleased.

A Christmas party?

Poor child.

Ds is 3 and has a "boys" haircut (no idea really what that means really, I've got a pixie crop so its longer than mine but not long enough to trail in his dinner). His winter coat is a khaki parka and he wears sturdy bown Clarks. He does however, have the most beautiful big bambi eyes so naturally everyone we encounter calls him a pretty little girl.

I take great pains not to correct people because there's nothing wrong with being called a girl. So ds doesn't care either what people want to think about his gender.

Dd is one, has a messy crop of dark hair and wears her brothers handmedowns. It doesn't bother me if people get her gender wrong either.

I don't think putting a pink shirt on a boy is quite the same as corporal punishment..

No it isn't, and I didn't say it was.

I said things changed. And what is viewed as socially acceptable is a part of that, in clothing as well as in other aspects of life.

And things can change again. It's getting worse and worse. Little boys and girls are not seen as children any more, but as 2 totally different species, whose clothes and toys should be kept clearly separate. I just don't see this as a good thing that we should try to encourage.

why 'poor child'? He chose to wear it (I think it might have been his big sister's). I was talking to his mum and she said he just wanted to wear it, so why not? He's 4 years old, FFS. He was wearing a Batman costume to the fancy-dress party I saw him at yesterday, you'll no doubt be pleased to hear - back firmly in his box, yes? Or, maybe, sometimes he likes wearing a princess dress and sometimes he fancies being a super-hero.

(I've never seen him wearing a regular dress, though - just jeans and the usual things.)

"And things can change again. It's getting worse and worse. Little boys and girls are not seen as children any more, but as 2 totally different species, whose clothes and toys should be kept clearly separate. I just don't see this as a good thing that we should try to encourage."

^This

Yes, exactly. He wanted to wear it.

I think allowing your child to be a laughing-stock like that is taking advantage of their innocence and actually is white an unpleasant thing to do.

dresses being for girls is one thing, colours should be for anyone and everyone who wishes to wear them. winterlace do you allow your dd to wear blue?

Yes. No issue with colour but with babies and toddlers buying pink things would mean buying girls' outfits. So I wouldn't do it. :)

So you would not buy something pink just because a shop as labelled it as "girls"? You would buy it, if it was labelled "boys" or "unisex"?

What is wrong with dressing and treating little girls and boys differently. It has always been the case in society and is important to maintain a sense of differentiation between sexes because THEY ARE DIFFERENT!