to think MNHQ should know better than to feature photos of babies in headbands (preumably to denote female) on this site?

[bibbitybobbityyhat]

Of all places!

Come on HQ. Pull your finger out!

[BadKnee]

I think they are all female; that's what I thought when I saw it. Us, (mostly women), when we were babies!! (Or the future MNers depending how you look at it)

It never occurred to me that two might be boys. It's a photo so positioning and "dressing" the photo with props, space, lighting etc is part of what the photographer will do. The photo is simple so adding a little detail adds interest and texture. That's all.

All the ridiculous stuff about two being boys and the one who is at the keyboard must be a boy - because "he" is at the keyboard - is bollocks.

Two belong to mothers who love headbands and two belong to mothers who hate them. If none had had headbands what would you have said??? This says more about you OP than MN or us.

I hate headbands myself - but I had my little girl in dresses and dungarees. She is an adult now and her hair is to hr waste. I should make her cut it shouldn't I?? In case she gets gender stereotyped!

My son is a cross dresser - I'm fine with that. (He is nearly an adult so it isn't case of nto gender stereotyping.)

I am so sick of people making a load of assumptions and then basing another load of accusations on them.

[amispartacus]

All the ridiculous stuff about two being boys and the one who is at the keyboard must be a boy - because "he" is at the keyboard - is bollocks

That was 'jokey' stuff - building on the assumptions the OP made.

I'm one of the first to get annoyed about stereotyping and especially blue and pink. But this picture doesn't annoy me. I just say four babies. No subconscious message.

[WankersHacksandThieves]

I don't think I've ever seen a toy kitchen in pink or a workbench in blue My sons had both a kitchen and a workbench and both were in grey/brown tones with primary coloured accessories.

I think it's an exaggeration to say all toys are blue or pink. And so what if a girl wants a pink kitchen or sparkly hair bows or a microscope or a football? Surely it's the fact that they can make a choice and have sparkly hair bows and a microscope is the message we should be encouraging? That liking something doesn't mean that you are now in a box you can't get out of and that it is okay to look feminine and still be serious.

But then I have sons so what d I know...

[amispartacus]

I don't think I've ever seen a toy kitchen in pink or a workbench in blue

Go to the Toys R Us website and have a look.

And so what if a girl wants a pink kitchen or sparkly hair bows or a microscope or a football? Surely it's the fact that they can make a choice and have sparkly hair bows and a microscope is the message we should be encouraging

I think it's an exaggeration to say all toys are blue or pink

That's not been said.
So what? Why pink? Why not red or green? Why associate colours with toys

There was a recent attempt to get girls into Stem subjects. I will look for the link but basically it was all about make up, lipstick, hair products and pink, sparkly stuff. Why?

[amispartacus]

Science - it's a girl thing

[WankersHacksandThieves]

Go to the Toys R Us website and have a look.

My toy buying days are past - I was talking about real life.

"I think it's an exaggeration to say all toys are blue or pink"

That's not been said.
So what? Why pink? Why not red or green?

Well, they do make them in other colours as both myself and a pp have said. Are you trying to tell me that there is no choice beyond buying pink or blue or are you suggesting that they shouldn't use pink or blue at all?

Surely it's all about choice and if people didn't want pink or blue then they wouldn't buy them?

[MiscellaneousAssortment]

Being female isn't a crime, and signs of being female aren't vile and derogatory. It shouldn't be about mandating that girl babies must always look like boy babies and any variation is awful. Variation is a not something to be stamped out. Variety and diversity is something to be desired. Constraining choice purely for the sake it stamping out difference isn't my idea of feminism or equality. Equality doesn't have to mean identical.

[WankersHacksandThieves]

Okay, I've just looked at ToyrUs kitchens - there are some pink kitchens but there are many many more that aren't. There are plenty of pictures of boys and girls playing with them, there is a blue washing machine, there is a boy playing with a girl at a pink and blue kitchen. I'm really not getting your issue.

[amispartacus]

www.toysrus.co.uk/toys/browse/toys/role-play/kitchen-play//N-103208


Kitchen play

72 items.

Yes, there are some boy but it's mainly girls. Yes, there are some blue things but there's a lot more pink things. I don't see many other colours. Do you?

www.toysrus.co.uk/toys/browse/toys/role-play/house-play//N-103209?Nrpp=72

House play - well, there's 6 boys with the tool kits and power drills.Some nice pink tea sets which you can use your pink cleaning set to clean up afterwards.Or maybe use the pink mop and bucket. Don't forget the pink ironing board. Once finished, you can use the pink vacuum and then serve some more tea with the pink tea trolley set.

[amispartacus]

Stock photos are quite interesting.

Have you ever noticed how the picture of a customer service representative is always a young woman looking very attractive and is smiling and waiting for your call?

www.shutterstock.com/search?searchterm=call+center+operator&search_source=base_search_form&language=en&page=1&sort=popular&image_type=all&safe=true

[SantaPleaseBringMeEwanMcGregor]

YANBU, OP. I hate that people feel they must "brand" their daughters as girls, lestgasp!someone mistake the infant for a boy! Shock and horror!

I was mistaken for a boy until I was 12, and I'm relatively okay.

[amispartacus]

Found the picture

www.shutterstock.com/search?searchterm=babies+computer&search_source=base_search_form&language=en&page=1&sort=popular&image_type=all&safe=true

So many to choose from

[WankersHacksandThieves]

www.toysrus.co.uk/toys/browse/toys/role-play/kitchen-play/_/N-103208?Dy=1&No=0&Nrpp=24

7 pink or partly pink kitchens.

22 kitchens of other colours including 2 blue.

You are seeing what you want to see.

[amispartacus]

You are seeing what you want to see

So you don't think there's a problem with stereotyping and associating pink with activities normally seen as 'girls' things and blue with things for 'boys' things?

Why then is pink seen by many as a girl's colour? And blue is seen as a boy's colour? Go to a toy shop, a clothes shop, a gift shop or a card shop? Look at how blue and pink are used - and what they are associated with.

Take the red pill and open your eyes. Once you notice, it's astonishing.

[WankersHacksandThieves]

ami - don't be so patronising.

I do open my eyes and I've just provided you with the actual facts about the pink kitchen issue that you seem to have - there are pink kitchens but there are nearly 4 times as many of other colours that you claim don't exist.

I couldn't care less if a girl is dressed in pink and sparkles, it doesn't make her any less of a person, you are barking up the wrong tree. Equality is when it doesn't matter what you wear, you are still given the same opportunities regardless. Its the fact that people judge domestic chores as lesser jobs that needs addressed, not the colour of the toys.

My DH was a stay at home dad, I've always been the higher wage earner, I have long hair, I wear make up, I don't look like a man. My DH works in a female dominated role, he has short hair, wears trousers and also manages to cook, hoover, iron etc.

So quite frankly, you can take your red pill and shove it where the sun don't shine and maybe open your eyes to actual issues rather than bleating on and on and on about children's toys. Toys that people do have a choice to buy or not and for which there seems to be plenty of choice in gender neutral colours.

[Ethylred]

Excellent wind-up OP, thank you.

[ProudBadMum]

So quite frankly, you can take your red pill and shove it where the sun don't shine

[amispartacus]

My DH was a stay at home dad, I've always been the higher wage earner, I have long hair, I wear make up, I don't look like a man. My DH works in a female dominated role, he has short hair, wears trousers and also manages to cook, hoover, iron etc

Great. And it's great that society is changing. Slowly. But it's taken a long time to change and there's still marketing aimed at girls and boys in very different ways.

It's interesting how defensive people get about this.

[WankersHacksandThieves]

Maybe if people didn't just open their mouths and spout shite some information as if it was factually true and treat other woman as if they are inferior to them then people wouldn't get annoyed?

I've had more sexist comments and patronising behaviour from other women than I've ever experienced from men though I don't deny it happens. Maybe if people could just stop being so horrible to other people rather that it being a male/female issue it would be a start.

[SoggyDays]

Op yabu.

As a lapsed Marxist I see this as predominantly a class issue..😉

[CottonSock]

I don't really give two hoots about gender issues, but is a headband really safe for a baby... last one I saw wearing had it over her eyes, mother didn't notice. What if it was around the neck

[0hCrepe]

Ds had a pink pushchair which he loved pushing his doll around in which he would also pretend to breastfeed when I fed his little sister. He didn't realise it had been marketed towards girls. Should he have had a blue one then?

[MistressMerryWeather]

No, no Crepe boys liking pink is fine. Your DS could push that pink pram around wearing fairy wings, a princess dress and nail varnish and MN would say bravo.

It only appears to be a problem when 'girlie-girls' enjoy those things.

[growapear]

I bet it was a woman who started this thread.. :)