To ask would you judge this?

[ShinyNewUsernameToday]

I'll start off by saying I don't.

Ds (4) likes all things pink/barbie/MLP etc. This doesn't bother me at all.
I've bought him a "trolls" school bag which is pink.
He has already had some comments about being too girly as it is & is sensitive so am I making it worse by letting him have this bag?
Some parents have made passing comments too which really piss me off

I don't mean to be rude but do you really need to ask 😂

You already know it all right so why are you asking. It's a choice you and your son need to make. It should be ok for him to have a pink bag but if he does then some kids may be rude to him. That's the situation and no matter how much you talk and agonise over it the facts won't change. Either let him have the bag and have to deal with a little teasing (report it etc) or don't take the bag to school. A hundred replies of support on MN isn't going to change anything IYSWIM

My two boys never ever liked pink or any toys that are traditionally for girls. I feel like a failed parent on MN. 😂 To be fair, my DDs didn't much like 'girls' toys either and would have never have had a pink bag.

Some of you sound really weird! Lots of girls like "boy stuff" around here and visa versa. None of the parents or child bat an eyelid. I guess it just depends what sort of people you hang about with, but we all encourage our children that there are no such thing as "boys things" or girls things". Seems to work well here for us. How very sad some of you are bringing your children up in this backwards way :( poor kids.

I wouldn't see it as an issue at all. I have three boys and they like whatever they like. My middle son is 4 and loves his dolls, flowers, hot wheels and fireman Sam in equal measure.

I do find it a little baffling that girls choosing 'boy' things is generally accepted but not the other way round. It has been that way for years, when I was at school there were plenty of 'tomboys' but no real male equivalent. I did know a few boys who done the nail polish and eyeliner thing in high school but that was accepted as they where part of the Goth/Metal crowd.

My DD had a Darth Vader schoolbag last year and no one batted an eyelid. I think she got a few comments from the boys that her bag was cool (it had a light up light saber thing). A boy with a pink school bag would get comments from the other children. I do think it's sad but not sure how to change the attitudes of society. I have taught my DD that people can like what they like and nothing is just for girls or boys, but I guess a lot of other parents don't. I'm hoping in a few generations things might get better but for now I think a boy with a pink bag in school will get a hard time from some of the other children.

One of DD's friend, who she met at nursery loved everything pink. He enjoyed girls company rather than boy and preferred girls activity.

People made comments all the time, but thankfully, his mum ignored them all. She always said that all she cared was that her son was happy and comfortable in his boots.

He is now 16 and as laddish as it gets! Has had a number of girlfriends and good male friends. He still prefers cooking than playing football, and will wear classy pink shirts like many do nowadays, but doesn't get call names for it any longer.

Some people are shallow, just ignore it all.

Mixed bag of responses. He is adamant he is having this bag at school so he will :) unfortunately my parents are some of these that would make comments

I would not judge the kid Forrest having a pink bag. Or green, yellow, purple or whatever.
I am trying to teach dd the same.
My first thought would be (and it would remain a private thought) "why waste money on a character bag? Surely a plain one will be better made and last longer. Probably more comfy to carry to?"
But that could be because I am on a low income and can't replace things like bags very often.

Forrest?
For. ..

Lots of girls like "boy stuff" around here and visa versa. None of the parents or child bat an eyelid.

Not always true. My dd loves "boy stuff" and it does get commented on. We've been to party's where all the girls are in pretty dresses and my dd is in jeans and t-shirts and all parents are desperately trying to find the words to ask politely "why hasn't she dressed up"? I know people think it's me that I just don't give a toss about her appearance.
Even her dad and gm can be a bit " are you sure you don't one princess one? instead of the TMNT one. Even her own sister who's usually very PC has called her weird for liking boys stuff. If that's what her own sister says then I can imagine what other people say.
As I said on a pp. She was only half way through reception she asked to change from jumpers and trousers to cardigans and skirts because jumpers and trousers are what boys wear.
She's also asked me. "Why can't I like Spider-Man?" But she won't tell who says she can't.
She hates being called a tom boy.
When she started to get conscious about the gender stereo types she would ask for clothes with TMNT/ Marvel toys and clothes but not boys ones. Ie a bright coloured turtles top or sparkly bat man jumper. I have managed to find a few in recent years but she's growing out of the superhero trend a little now. When I 1st started looking a few years ago I could only find one or two bits on line. They was really cheaply made and tatty.
Recently I've found a lovely lilac star wars t-shirt with gold sparkly lettering in Next, and a lovely bat man nightie in George. I really hope to see more stuff like that soon.

I'm always amazed to hear about people commenting on other people kids just because they like the wrong 'gender' stuff. It's not exactly unusual .

I get that boys actually wearing dresses out and about is unusual - I'm almost disappointed that I don't think I've ever witnessed it happen despite millions of MN'ers saying otherwise.

I've seen one boy in my life wearing pink, sparkly, light up trainers.
I've seen plenty of boys with barbie's, dolls and push chairs. It's like that's not even a think anymore.

Whether it's an unusual thing or not depends a lot if where you live IMO.

In the back of beyond where I live, I can safely say that boys NEVER wear pink. What the OP is proposing would be frown upon and her ds would get a great deal of comments.
If you are living simehwreva bit more enlightened, yu migt be able to get away with it.
I would still keep a very close eye on it though....

Yes, it must depend where you are. Honestly you see loads of little boys in princess dresses etc round here. Probs where I grew up you wouldn't. I think on this when I consider moving back.

I think it's sad that it's more socially acceptable for girls to like 'boy-ish' things, than it is for boys to like 'girl-ish' things.

I've taught many girls who loved Star Wars, superheroes, Dr Who etc. - they were all either a)regarded as having cool bags/jackets/clothes on non-uniform etc.; or b)it didn't register at all and nobody made a comment. These were all 6 and under.

I had one 3 year old boy who would come straight into nursery and put on a princess dress from the dressing up and wear for the rest of the session. The other children were absolutely fine with it - a couple commented initially that "he's got a dress on", but it was otherwise fine. His mum knew, but other parents would've commented, so he had an extremely boy-ish coat that he wore to come and go.

I took my 3 year old nephew to buy some pumps/plimsoles recently - he picked up the spakly ones (that were more like ballet shoes) and asked for his size. He tried them on, commented on how sparkly and pretty they were, but said, "I can't wear them at nursery, they're too sparkly". He chose red Velcro pumps instead. It seemed to be a practical choice rather than gender bias!

If my son wanted a pink bag, I'd let him have it as long as they understood some silly people might think it was silly for him to have it and he just had to say he liked it anyway.

I'd be having words with any parents I heard making comments (well probably standing v close and repeating the story about judgey parents to someone so they overheard)

And good on your son for being confident in what he likes

Rockhopper I think it's more socially acceptable for girls to like "boy" things thanks to feminists before us broadening the definition of what it means to be female.

There are men going against gender norms but it's much slower than the change that feminists achieved. Unfortunately some people are pushing a broader definition of sex into a trans message which is super unhelpful.

In my experience pink/blue culture is very entrenched in primary schools but in secondary kids are more meh. It takes a brave kid to go against the tide but somebody has to do it.