John Lewis removing gendered sections in kids clothing

[moutonfou]

John Lewis has announced they are no longer having 'boys' and 'girls' clothing sections. Just kids clothing. Which to me sounds fair enough. I had to buy several football shirts from the boys section as a kid and always felt like they weren't 'for me' and that someone was going to notice and call me out on it.

On some of the news outlets' Facebook posts about this, there are the most OTT comments from people who seem to have interpreted this as an attempt to make all kids be 100% gender fluid, stop calling them boys and girls at all, make all boys wear dresses, etc etc.

AIBU to be frustrated that people can't see the value of just letting kids like what they like, and that it's not all some sinister agenda??

Don't be pedantic. You know EXACTLY what I mean when I say let boys be boys, and let girls be girls

Just humor us then. What does letting boys be boys and girls be girls mean.

What's different about that then say "let people just be who they are"

Apologies, just learning about how MN works. I was obviously in the wrong.

I don't know what you mean!

And I'm not being the thread police. I just think it bizarre. Conversations don't normally start all over again because someone turns up an hour later - is it any different on a forum? But obviously now you have spoken we are all enlightened!

Well, given the context, "let boys be boys and girls be girls" appears to mean "enforce strict divides in behaviour and appearance between girls and boys and make sure that any child who wishes steps outside their assigned limits is made aware that they are transgressing their approved norms".

Another one not sure user

I mean, i think you dont like the idea of children being able to chose their own clothes based on the colours and themes they like rather than what some marketing bod reckons they should like

But actually maybe you do like the idea

Well, given the context, "let boys be boys and girls be girls" appears to mean "enforce strict divides in behaviour and appearance between girls and boys and make sure that any child who wishes steps outside their assigned limits is made aware that they are transgressing their approved norms".

So not so much of the "let" and more of the "make".

What does letting boys be boys and girls be girls mean

Surly it means let children express their natural instincts. If a child wants to run to the dinosaur section let them, if they want to run to the doll section let them. I think it would make more sense to group categories of similar items. Like I remember the ELC had when I was young.

What about men's and women's departments, how is that any different???

Well

Men and women

Boys and girls

Thats the difference

I cant see the problem up to about 10/12

Men and women are different shapes. A lot of The clothes aren't that different other than to compensate for that.

Pre pubescent children are not different shapes because they are a boy or a girl and so there is no reason to separate.

I have never seen boob tubes, skin tight dresses or hot pants in men's sections so how can you say that the only difference in men's and women's clothing is down to the different shapes and sizes?

Just choose the clothes you want from either section and stop making an issue out of everything

mum11970 it would be great if it was't an issue, but it is. Lots of posters on this thread have experience of children really wanting something, but being told they couldn't have it because it was in the "wrong" section (or of already having it and then being teased by other children because it was bought in the "wrong" section.

Having just one space for clothes to be made available for all, whether they are pink or blue or neither, frilly or not, trucks or butterflies, will make it less of an issue than it currently is, not more.

I have never seen boob tubes, skin tight dresses or hot pants in men's sections so how can you say that the only difference in men's and women's clothing is down to the different shapes and sizes?

Thing is, ConfusedPoppet, although I am a woman I do not buy, nor will ever buy, hotpants, boob tubes and skintight dresses. I might want big comfy jumpers, stupid Batman dressing gowns, and so on, which at the moment I can only get from the men's dept. And despite the fact I buy them from the men's dept, I am wearing them so they become "women's clothing".

There is an argument for women's and men's clothing to be separated out as the cut is usually different to account for boobs and hips and so on, though there is also a great deal of potential for overlap, but boys and girls are not differentiated by shape until they hit puberty.

My dh had LBC on this morning and the number of outraged callers there were saying they were going to boycott the store.

Jeez get a life people, there are lots more important things to be outraged about. You would think they actually had children making the darn clothes.

All JL are doing is to taking the "girls" and "boys" labels off, and no longer having two separate sections for clothing. How on earth does that offend or dictate to anyone how they shop? I can still find skirts and dresses if I want to, or is that too difficult for some people?

So what do we do when they reach 9-10? Go back to separating them again! Just leave things as they are and buy what you want, from which ever section they happen to be in, it's hardly a great hardship to go to both sections.

Well done, JL.

My 4week old DD will only wear pink. And you should see her face when she puts on her Princess outfits. She won't leave the house without a bow three times the size of her head either. I think it's because she embarrassed at being bald sad. I just let her choose.

I have never seen boob tubes, skin tight dresses or hot pants in men's sections

Men are definitely due their own clothes revolution.

Just leave things as they are and buy what you want, from which ever section they happen to be in, it's hardly a great hardship to go to both sections.

But many people don't do this, mum11970, and actively disallow their children from doing this. You might be happy to buy from either section, regardless of whether your child is a boy or a girl, but social pressure is incredibly strong, and the current situation limits choice for both boys and girls.

The change means children get a much freer choice.

Perhaps for dresses and hot pants not so much, but for boob tubes - I think the clue may be in the name...

Those parents that won't allow their children to choose from either section are very unlikely to allow their child to pick clothing that is traditionally worn by a child of a differing sex whether they are labelled neutrally or not. If someone won't allow their son to wear a dress or their daughter to wear a superman t-shirt no amount of labelling will change their opinion.

If someone won't allow their son to wear a dress or their daughter to wear a superman t-shirt no amount of labelling will change their opinion.

That is not a good reason not to get rid of labelling.

Other parents will welcome it, as it can be hard to convince a child to even look around the section if it's labelled wrongly.