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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Girls and boys shorts? Why are girls short short?

104 replies

sweetkitty · 10/04/2020 19:42

I have 3 DDs, one almost 16, one 14 and one almost 12. Every year when I go to buy shorts the girls ones are always short or thigh length and the boys knee length.

The older one is happy to wear shorts up her bum lol but the other two won’t. It’s easier now DD2 is woman sized she can wear longer shorts for women. The 12yo is skinny and tiny so even a size 6 would drown her. She hates the really short shorts and the shortie PJs. So the only option is boys ones, denim might be ok.

So AIBU that young girls shorts are up their thighs/bums yet boys are knee length? Smacks of sexism to me?

OP posts:

BetaCarotene · 10/04/2020 20:50

As a teen, I always had to buy jeans, cut the legs off and fold them over to make denim shorts. Total waste of fabric but it was the only way I could have shorts of a reasonable length

MrsTerryPratchett · 10/04/2020 20:52

So girls are supposed to be cold as well as sexy. Grim

As well as sunburned and inactive.

I remember being livid that board shorts, for surfing and therefore had to cover your thighs, barely existed in a longer form for women. The conclusion I came to was men were surfing, women were watching. I bought men's.

Pegase · 10/04/2020 20:53

Completely agree OP. We have bought some nice knee length shorts from boys' section of H and M this season that look unisex. Nothing appropriate in girls' section

Catrescue1971 · 10/04/2020 20:54

Yes, dd aged 15 fortunately has 2 older brothers and uses their cast offs constantly. Even practical warm tops like fleeces are thin, short and trying to be revealing in some way. I find ds's clothes are better but often get her things from outdoor pursuits shops like Regatta or Millets. Not the height of fashion but far more practical.

OoohTheStatsDontLie · 10/04/2020 21:03

This drives me mad as well. My daughter is quite skinny and we often have to go down a size or two and they become indecent. They're also often very wide at the bottom so you can see their underwear. We buy boys shorts but they're often quite thick eg denim and she doesnt like jeans type material as it's not as comfy.

We did find some cycling shorts last year though that were longer and comfy

preponderings · 10/04/2020 21:07

Yes, this annoys Dd (7) too. Hiking trousers which have zip off legs. So hardly trying to be fashionable! Boys zip off to long shorts and the girls ones zip off to short shorts. Same as women's vs men's hiking trousers. Why???

ChesterDraw · 10/04/2020 21:10

The shorts options are awful for my active DD nearly 4. Bum skimming hot pants, in thin fabric, in daft pastel shades that will get ruined the second she plays on the grass or climbs. The cycling shorts mentioned above are our go to. She unfortunately doesn't do well in boys as she's so slight on the waist and lads' seem to be bigger and then go bulky when I cinch them in. I'd love some comfy denim cargo type shorts for her that fit nicely but can withstand an active day and aren't bloody hot pants!

Amymayapple · 10/04/2020 21:11

It is the same for adults. I was in the park earlier today and all the men had lovely big hoodies and wide tracksuits or wide jeans. You couldn't see a line of their body.

All the women were wearing skin tight leggings and thin tshirts. You could see every line of their ass cheek and boobs.

I know they are wearing these things because there is nothing else to buy! I have gone in looking for a hoodie, and it will be a tiny thin lne. I have often gone in looking for wide trousers (trousers not clinging to my ass cheeks) and I couldn't find any. I have often resorted to buying leggings myself.

The whole fashion industry is sexist. Women's clothes are currently designed for men's pleasure. Not for comfort or practicality of women

Rosebel · 10/04/2020 21:18

A couple of years ago my daughter needed shorts for a school holiday. It was horrendous. Managed to get 2 pairs but thigh length so not as long as she wanted. It's even worse now.
My girls are quite girly and don't want boys shorts. Got a couple of pairs in M&S but it is hard. I hate seeing our children being sexualized at such a young age.

Corneliusmurphy · 10/04/2020 21:19

This has driven me mad for years and as pp said it’s not just shorts, boys t-shirts are wider and longer, so are hoodies, sometimes dd is happy to have the boys version but mostly she prefers the girl colours so it’s annoying. She also gets pissed off with the lack of pockets even in practical clothes like tracksuit bottoms or fewer pockets in girls coats.

Last summer we found the cycle short length in Matalan and primark did a longer length denim short too (in the ladies range)

Abbccc · 10/04/2020 21:23

Swimwear is the same. Sets of UV swimwear for boys consists of knee lenght shorts and tops. For girls it's tops with bikini bottoms!

Piixxiiee · 10/04/2020 21:27

I agree! My dd 6 and ds 4 look so different in shorts- we have a slide in garden, ds happily sliding down dd has to go put leggings on as the shorts so short! I hate it!

Bluebooby · 10/04/2020 21:30

I wonder who voted yabu as all the replies seem to agree. I'd love to know why they think yabu. When my DD was 4 she was given shorts from next and Primark from family and they're all basically hotpants. I think it's absolutely ridiculous. There's clearly a market for "girls" clothes that aren't sexualised so I don't understand why the shops don't cater for it. It's fine to buy from the boys section when they're young, but when they get older some kids get very self conscious over it. And not all parents are happy for their child to be wearing clothes from the "wrong" section either.

fruitpastille · 10/04/2020 21:34

Mountain warehouse is good for mid length shorts. Or make jeans into cut offs? My DD wears boys shorts quite often and I think they quite suit her.

user1635896324685367 · 10/04/2020 21:37

This is why half my clothes are from the men's section. Shorts are longer and have useful pockets I can actually fit things in. Hoodies and t-shirts are a sensible length and made from decent fabric that is not see-through.

scottishlass123 · 10/04/2020 21:42

Totally agree, I really don't want my daughter's wearing such short shorts. I buy them the boys shorts from h&m, h&m also have one or two denim girls shorts which are a bit longer but most of them are too short. I think short shorts are really inappropriate, I agree with the poster that it is sexist to mainly make short shorts for girls.

strawberry2017 · 10/04/2020 21:43

This is why I buy men's short Pyjamas as women's ones are hot pants only and in men's style I can get knee length ones that are a looser comfier fit!

Cremebrule · 10/04/2020 21:47

It starts really young too. Last year, I was trying to find my 3 year old shorts and lots were bum skimming. Granted she is tall but I found it hard to buy appropriate ones for nursery from the supermarkets. I got some good ones from H&M but by the end of the season they were pretty short. I ended up spending lots on some from Jojo.

Original poster

sweetkitty · 10/04/2020 21:47

This is my daughter’s asking for them so their must be other girls who don’t want their butt-cheeks in show but want to wear shorts. When they are younger they can v wear boys shorts and pedal pushers type leggings but they want something pretty but bum covering.

I tend to spend less on shorts as were in Scotland so don’t get to wear them often and want them just for holidays. Primark are one of the worst offenders.

OP posts:

Wishforsnow · 10/04/2020 21:49

I hate this too so does my dd 11. We buy her shorts from the boys section. Normally buy from boden boys, no idea why they think girls shorts should be half the bloody size

Ariela · 10/04/2020 21:57

My DD wore boys shorts then branched out into jodhpurs and won't bare a leg, so basically has same uniform all year: polo shirt or unisex tshirt or polo shirt and jodhs, makes life easy.

Ionacat · 10/04/2020 21:59

It drives me mad every year trying to find shorts that are long enough for the girls. I also find that if there are any longer shorts in the ladies section they tend to disappear very quickly. Wish the manufacturers and designers would read this and start designing and making more practical clothes for girls in a range of colours.

HoneysuckIejasmine · 10/04/2020 22:02

Yep. It drives me mental. Just before reading this I was picking the cuffs off an old pair of trousers, to turn them in to shorts. (DD is 4, and her waist fits trousers age 18-24 months, so when her 2yo brother grows out of them in the leg, the cuff come off and I hem them as shorts for DD. This works because the particular trousers are very roomy in the bum - almost hareem style but with wide legs)

If I can't adjust clothes, I buy boys stuff.

I also have to trawl shops for shorts for myself too, though recent years there have been more longer shorts for women available.

BogRollBOGOF · 10/04/2020 22:02

I have a DS that only wears shorts. I have often had to buy "girl's" shorts at the end of season to allow for growing room over the winter when it's near impossible to buy shorts and the selection is already restricted.

In an outdoors shop I bought two navy blue pairs of the same size, one "boy", one "girl". OK the girl pair had a bit of pink trim, mainly internal, but it did turn out that on a pair of age 5 shorts, they were a good inch shorter than the "boy" pair.

It doesn't help that he has a tiny waist, but muscular thighs so I have to downsize so that they can stay up on his waist. Shorts are retired when they get too holey, too tight on the thigh or fitting like hotpants. Meanwhile most boys have their shorts several inches lower half covering their knees.

worriedmama16 · 10/04/2020 22:09

No idea where you lot are shopping but I've never experienced this! My daughter (just 4) has always worn next,Sainsbury's, Asda, etc and all clothes have been practical and wearable?? What am I missing??

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