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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To ask the school... WTF

458 replies

bookeatingboy · 01/12/2016 22:55

DS came home yesterday with a payment card for his first residential trip next year. The cards were blue and apparently all the girls got pink cards!

Some of the girls asked for blue cards and were told that blue is for the boys and pink for the girls Confused

OP posts:
Lorelei76 · 02/12/2016 16:43

Living of course you haven't questioned it
But recently the Science Museum allocated me a male brain for those things
Just wondered if you were aware of what's happening in "gender" atm.

Lorelei76 · 02/12/2016 16:44

Where's op, I'm still confused why they "need" different coloured cards anyway.

yellowpostitnote · 02/12/2016 17:00

rolling that would be an outstanding lesson!

MsJamieFraser · 02/12/2016 17:04

I couldn't be chewed to even worry about this.

BertrandRussell · 02/12/2016 17:11

I do wonder a bit why people seem to be sort of..I don't know......proud of not being bothered by things like this. If I wasn't bothered about something, I couldn't be bothered to comment on it.

BiscuitMillionaire · 02/12/2016 17:12

Perhaps they should also have given out black, brown and peach-coloured cards for Black, Asian and White children, following their logic.

BiscuitMillionaire · 02/12/2016 17:12

But that seems shocking, doesn't it?

PacificDogwod · 02/12/2016 17:13

Yes, excellent idea, Biscuit Grin

I am genuinely curious as to why there had to be different coloured cards for boys and girls too now. Op?

FurryLittleTwerp · 02/12/2016 17:19

Last year DS's Chemistry teacher gave all the students flash-cards with chemical formulae on, as an aide-memoire.

All cards were pink - quite a pale "girly" pink too Shock - no-one batted an eyelid, but DS commented that that particular shade of pink was disgusting - it was.

bookeatingboy · 02/12/2016 17:19

OP here Grin

Crikey didn't expect a big debate but very glad to see that most feel as strongly as I do about this type of lazy stereotyping crap. And yes it's the drip drip that perpetuates this thinking too.

Sadly didn't do the school run today but will be asking what the colour coding is all about on Monday Wink and post an update.

OP posts:
Sparklingbrook · 02/12/2016 17:21

I am now wondering if out of all the payment cards I saw in the 8 years of First School any were the wrong colour. And also glad that online ParentPay is the choice at High School. Grin

yellowpostitnote · 02/12/2016 17:25

bertrand because it's cool to rile against too much political correctness don cha know.

ChrissyHynde · 02/12/2016 17:28

It's a payment card! Has absolutely nothing to do with the sex of the child, they just want you to pay at the allotted times. As for dorms, surely they have a generic list (easily split into boy/girl on excel) where a good indicator of who shares dorms with who would be by year groups not forgetting gender!

BertrandRussell · 02/12/2016 17:28

Can I just check- do people really not see the slightest issue with this? It's obviously not a big deal- but donpeople not think it's even. Fraction of a deal? Are they happy with all girl's stuff being pink? Really? Or are they, for some reason that escapes me, choosing to ignore it?

LivingOnTheDancefloor · 02/12/2016 17:38

Bertrand
I personally don't mind.

Making differences in choice of career, earning, household chores, hobbys, etc I am completely against it.
Using pink/blue as a colour code for girl/boy, I don't see an issue. This is because I don't attach a judgment to it, blue is not better than pink.

cathf · 02/12/2016 17:48

I agree MrsJamieFraser.
I think sometimes people are projecting their own prejudices onto things like this.
We are indeed very fortunate today if this is all we have to worry about.

SpeakNoWords · 02/12/2016 18:02

"This is because I don't attach a judgement to it, blue is not better than pink."

You might not, but many other people do. Plus the issue that's been described upthread where children can feel intense discomfort when going against this gender "code", and wanting something that's the "wrong" colour.

MsJamieFraser · 02/12/2016 18:06

No honestly Bert I dont have an issue with this, do you have a issue with the sun being described as yellow? because to our eyes its white, however reality is, its a host of colours. The sky is blue the grass is green etc...

Santa is a big fat man in red, Christmas colours are red and green traditionally, for me its just a description, it does not define those objects people, its just a description, like a baby shower reveal... you cut into a cake and its blue or pink, it describes the child being born, but does not define them, can you say in the world we live in now, you would get the same reaction if it was green and orange.... every day in life we use descriptions, how its got to this for me is just silly, we will always use descriptions to identify, however those descriptions don;t define those individuals.

My boy loves pink, he wears pink, my nieces favourite colour is navy blue and emerald green shes 11, my younger niece favourite colour is pink and purple.

To me as its simply nothing I would be chewed about, let alone give it a second thought.

But we all different, that's whats defines us.

NotYoda · 02/12/2016 18:10

This really really doesn't bother me at all.

It's a known shorthand

It won't harm anyone

I do hate gendered toys and clothes though

NotYoda · 02/12/2016 18:12

Are you sure the teacher didn't say "The blue cards are for the boys and the pink cards are for the girls" to assist in admin in some way

NotYoda · 02/12/2016 18:13

... which is NOT the sam as some of you are saying - that blue is for boys and pink is for girls

MsJamieFraser · 02/12/2016 18:15

No Yellow its not cool to rile....

The OP asked my opinion, I answered it honestly, I dont perceive this to be a issue.

I have far more important things to worry in life than this, but this goes with anything on MN you will always have the FOR and AGAINST division, its a discussion board, we discuss..its is after all AIBU. it would be boring if we all agree.

BertrandRussell · 02/12/2016 18:20

So. The fact that pink is perceived as a girl's color and therefore many boys refuse to have anything to do with it and many men would have a problem with their boys wearing pink or being put in a pink push chair? Perfectly happy with that? The post earlier when're a man objected to his son being given pink marshmallows?All fine?

BertrandRussell · 02/12/2016 18:21

And yes, we all have more important things to worry about. That is not a reason for not worrying about the small things as well.

NotYoda · 02/12/2016 18:22

Bertrand

No

But this is not the same issue

If the school needs a quick easy way of identifying which are boys and girls payment cards (not sure why they would but maybe they do) then I'm fine with that. Otherwise you'd be assigning random colours to boys and girls and then having to remember which is which.