Pink sport shoes for girls

[TeddyBare]

I know this is not a major feminist issue but I am unreasonably annoyed about it.

I was looking at this site to replace my running shoes, and noticed that since I got my last pair they have introduced children's sizes. They offer red and blue as "boys" and lilac/pink and pink/white as "girls". The shoes are designed to be ideal for white water sports, wild swimming, climbing and caving and running. I think the reason that I'm so annoyed about the lask of non-pink girls shoes is because I feel like they're saying that girls doing these sports need something pink in order to protect their identity as females, because otherwise doing sport somehow undermines their femaleness.

These are the shoes: www.vibramfivefingers.it/eng/KIDSKSO.aspx?gender=W

As you can see, they're clearly not designed to be pretty or fashionable. Please come and tell me if I would be being unreasonable to write them an angry email, and help me think of how to phrase it.

here is the link: www.vibramfivefingers.it/eng/KIDSKSO.aspx?gender=W

It's not just specialist sports shoes - it's just about every dratted trainer you come across!

I don't think it's as deliberate as the message you take from it. I don't think sport shoe manufacturers actually think that deeply. What they do see is the industry norm for colours, that translates into successful sales and then replicate it on everything.

I see the tide of pink as a ploy to encourage more consumption - items like trainers are possibly less likely to be handed on as they get so manky, but in general if you can "require" parents to buy two sets of something in different colours for the different sexes, then you're increasing sales.

It took a bit of looking to get the DCs plain white trainers, but I've managed it. And I hope that every tiny boost to the non-gendered items will help.

It's market driven though, isn't it? No manufacturer would bother if it didn't make money!!

[they are bastards though]

Try having a daughter who hates pink (she once loved it, now she doesn't and she's only 7), I have terrible trouble finding clothes and shoes, nighties, even socks, all the bloody time. Non pink roller blades? I had to buy uber posh ones from the competitive skating shop. (There were blue roller blades, but she doesn't like blue much either).

This is why she wears boy's shoes a lot, I asked the sales assistant whether girls and boy's shoes were actually fitted on male and female lasts, and she didn't know, and I suspect they aren't.

And don't get me started on the difference between track suits labelled "girl" and "boy". Girls are worse made, thinner and more expensive than the boy equivalent.

I make a lot of DD's clothes.

It's not just girls, Next have lots of pink and violet for grown women!

I was assured by the assistant that boys shoe sizes were different from girls shoe sizes (and men/women too) I suspect it is bullshit. Both my ds and my dd had mens plain basketball shoes last season and they seemed perfectly comfortable. Sadly their feet are the same size so it doesn't help on the hand me downs. My dd isn't keen on pink either - purple is the pre-teens pink now it seems.
Those 'glam' five fingers are bizarre I thought they were for rock climbing?

I wouldn't write an angry email, I would just buy the boy version if that's what I wanted.

The pink culture is everywhere and the sort of company you linked to is just following the industry. It's the industry that needs to change.

i just bought DD (21 months) boys pale brown leather shoes with black soles that come up across the toes, we live near woodlands and have large garden so though she mostly wears wellies in garden, most girls shoes are flimiser and pink and would not last a minute, I know the shoe lady thought i was awful, but i do not care. you can't climb trees in ballet pumps

I do not ban DD from wearing pink she has some pink stuff i wear the odd pink top myslef but can not abide wall to wall pink, why can't see get nice black brown or navy shoes which match most things, you buy pink shoes and she wears orange or green and it looks yuk!and if she does wear pink it looks just fine with black or brown shoes too

The fact that they are gendered at all annoys me, not the fact that they are pink.

Actually they do sort of annoy me because they are like FAKE FEET and creep me out