be outraged by the sexism in girls swimwear and underwear

[ZippyPeer]

At the outdoor pool in my town today, it's one for younger kids. All the girl children wearing close fitting costumes that show the shape of their bums all the boys wearing baggy swim shorts. There's a lot of climbing onto inflatables and on a number of occasions have to look away as I'm seeing much more of a girl than I want to.

Then doing laundry, realised that the girl pants are all thin cotton and the boy pants much thicker and with a broader gusset. If my girl kid is sitting cross-legged in the girl pants there is a risk of getting an eye full, whereas the boy pants do a better job of keeping what's in the pants private.

Why is this and what can be done to make clothing manufacturers stop being so sexist?

It’s definitely the norm, every single girl in my DD’s nursery class wears shorts under dresses.
I don’t know any mum of a young girl who will be climbing, tumbling etc who doesn’t put cycling shorts under dresses. Beyond anything else it’s just comfy.

Yep, it’s so noticeable - and appalling

Short pants for under shirks I’d say

And board shorts, or cycling type swim shorts with a Tankini top for swimming

And this really cheeses me off. In weather like this, girls not being able to just wear what they like but to have hot, sweaty, black cycling shorts under skirts and dresses. I can't understand why noone has yet just produced a short-legged cotton version of a cycling short that is much cooler and more comfortable under a summer dress.

You must not have really looked. Plenty of floral, fairy, girly boxer short style pants for girls at next. I’ve bought them since my DD was 3.
A quick google shows literally loads of girly styles.

This might be news to you but you don’t have to buy too small black cycling shorts.
My DD has a range of comfy pastel shorts she matches to her dresses.

No. A gusset that’s too skimpy to safely cover your vulva when you are playing in a pool is also revealing.

They do these days

Definitely the norm around here, too.
My girls have always worn cycling shirts under school skirts/dresses and for mufti.

Not the norm at our school, some do and some don’t. It’s too hot for extra layers at the moment!

Fortunately my DD had common sense and requested the grey school shorts instead of the gingham dresses this summer which is pretty but completely impractical. She looks seriously cute in the “boy style” school shorts although they were actually from the girls section in H&M.

I’ve got a dinosaur and Spiderman loving almost 6 year old that hates pink and unicorns so we are often in the boys section. She has girls pants but I am picky about the style. Next has some better coverage ones which have washed very well.

I do agree with you OP - most of what is marketed to girls is very restrictive (as in you will be worrying about having bits of you on show!)

And obviously girls want to wear what’s marketed to them.

In swimming club, though, boys do wear “jammers” which are longer tight fitting shorts, and girls wear suits that are like a pair of tight shorts on the bottom (or can be long length like the jammers - edited typo) with a top like a sensible swimsuit top. So slightly more parity is possible!

I have a dgd 7 since she was small we have bought her cycling shorts to wear under dresses so she can move around,climb and tumble around without being conscious about showing her underwear. This isn’t an answer to OP but a practical solution, also when at the beach or pool apart from lessons she wears a sun suit that also solves the suncream problem.

OK it may be the norm in your experience but not in mine.

You’ve clearly never been at a leisure centre when a swim club is training.

Ds club the girls wear swimsuits that of up their arses (they chose the style) and the boys wear trunks or granny knickers (swim briefs)

Well it’s not just me as it, several other poster have said it’s incredibly normal and common for them too.

I can’t speak as to what’s available in the UK, but I’ve never had this problem with any of the swimsuits I’ve bought for my two daughters, and they’re so used to wearing shorts under dresses that they were practically shocked to learn that I don’t wear shorts under dresses. 😂

Girls have lots of different options when it comes to swimsuits, whereas boys have more limited choices, IMO.

Buy from Amazon? That’s where i get women’s swim shorts….

The problem is more to do with shops having limited selection (to most popular options i doubt it’s down to sexism ) and buyers being socially trained to only go to the girls section if buying for a girl.. you don’t get that when buying online, you just buy what you like.

It’s quite hard to get colourful clothes for boys, but can if look hard enough

In the competitive/cub swimming world it is absolutely atrocious. The main brand the girls like is Amanzi, the young girls at our club look at the older girls and start wearing these - very fashionable- training costumes around 12yo. Thing is there’s no way you can wear them if you’ve gone through puberty, without full on hair removal. At 12.

I had this same conversation just yesterday when buying my daughter shorts. Why are they so short! I did find some longer leg ones and also bought some from the boy section!

Suggesting girls just wear clothes marketed for boys is such a cop out. We should demand better for our daughters. Fair enough if they choose to wear them but just accepting lower quality in the targeted stuff is unacceptable. YANBU OP.

Agree generally about flimsy girls pants except Boden ones - they are hilariously enormous and a really thick material, like pants made out of a jumper or something. Very odd things.

Yes it’s generally amanzi out girls wear.

Boys wear Speedo or funky trunks and occasionally Speedo briefs as ds had about 15 pairs of BS ones that he’s no longer allowed to wear so they are all using them to stop the waste!

I buy my daughter the girls boxer shorts from next. She loves them. They are full coverage

My son has always worn the tight fitting trunks. He swims at a club and the boys there all do.

My daughter wears boxer short pants to school - widely available

This.

All women’s clothes and the expectations to shave (so much pressure on teenagers to do this) strappy sandals with a little heel, make up, look like a girl long hair etc

Women at work : shirt, tailored trousers or skirt and heels. Smart and nice statement necklace etc

Men: shirt, tie and trousers, comfortable shoes.

Drives me bonkers.

Hair Cut for a woman £40 that’s just a cheap trim, man £15

At my daughter's swim club almost everyone is wearing Speedo.

One of the worst things about the general way girls clothes are made is that it's just really fucking tedious having to jump through hoops to get something suitable. It's just needless. I've done the years of also checking the boys section, she's worn boys clothes for most of her life (as have I) but she's a girl and she wants to be fashionable and wear clothes marketed towards her and her friends sometimes. It's not some big failing that she's not going to endlessly shop in the boys section for clothes that don't really fit her body any better than the girls clothes do. How hard can it be to just have basic jeans and t shirts that don't have half the material missing and are comfortably made for female body shapes?!