Isn’t the whole “pink for girls; blue for boys” thing over?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s sweet and old fashioned. It’s over by age 12 months for most.

This. I love the pink and blue options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's the cheap clothes. If you get them OR get gifts and hand me downs from Target, Walmart, Carter's, etc, the girls' clothes are pink and purple with sparkles and "prey animals," the boys' clothes are navy and gray and camo with trucks and predators, and the only neutral options are white and gray. It drives me crazy but I don't have the money to drop on an entire wardrobe of brightly colored gender-neutral clothes that are going to be worn for 3-6 months. My kids wear a lot of gifts and hand me downs so they don't exactly reflect my taste.

Same here. Cheers to hand-me-downs even if they are ugly

[Anonymous]

I have 2 girls and now that I got a boy I need to show off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have you ever stepped inside a baby store? No idea why you would think that color assigned clothing for boys and girls is “over”. Wishful thinking maybe? I love blue and have boys so it’s worked great but if I have a girl I’m not going to dress her pink because I don’t like the color, but if someone gifts me something pink I’ll be gracious and appreciative because nearly everything newborn is blue or pink. You should tell people to stop gifting you anything if you get offended so easily.

I was born in the 60s and my mother always dressed me in blue--she said it was because blue matched my eyes, unlike pink. Age old complaint apparently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So in this vein, I asked my 10 yr old, 5th grade son if he would wear a pink shirt (Not totally pink but with a pink hue) and he said absolutely no way. I also asked him to wear some pink soccer socks. Again, absolutely no way.

Sorry, guys. But the pink = girl, blue = boy is not quite over yet. You cannot force little kids to wear things that they do not want no matter how PC you want to make them

All the men I know wear pink shirts. I don't know where your son got these bizarre ideas.

10 year old boys are at a point where they are beginning that stage of desperation to fit in and intense self exploration. As kids move into adolescence they become hyper focused on what they convey with their choices and if a boy has not figured themselves out or, more importantly, doesn't want to draw attention to themselves, then they will blend into their stereotypes with fervent enthusiasm.

A boy wearing a pink shirt SAYS something, it says he's confident or he supports LGBTQ people or that he likes pink, it says that a lot of adults will probably engage with him to tell him he's brave or breaking the mold or whatever. Most boys just want to be in the middle of the pack from age 10-18. Forcing them to make themselves into an object of interest does not help them find their way any more easily.

Your experience is different from mine. All the boys at my boarding school also wore pink. It's unremarkable in many areas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So in this vein, I asked my 10 yr old, 5th grade son if he would wear a pink shirt (Not totally pink but with a pink hue) and he said absolutely no way. I also asked him to wear some pink soccer socks. Again, absolutely no way.

Sorry, guys. But the pink = girl, blue = boy is not quite over yet. You cannot force little kids to wear things that they do not want no matter how PC you want to make them

All the men I know wear pink shirts. I don't know where your son got these bizarre ideas.

10 year old boys are at a point where they are beginning that stage of desperation to fit in and intense self exploration. As kids move into adolescence they become hyper focused on what they convey with their choices and if a boy has not figured themselves out or, more importantly, doesn't want to draw attention to themselves, then they will blend into their stereotypes with fervent enthusiasm.

A boy wearing a pink shirt SAYS something, it says he's confident or he supports LGBTQ people or that he likes pink, it says that a lot of adults will probably engage with him to tell him he's brave or breaking the mold or whatever. Most boys just want to be in the middle of the pack from age 10-18. Forcing them to make themselves into an object of interest does not help them find their way any more easily.

Your experience is different from mine. All the boys at my boarding school also wore pink. It's unremarkable in many areas.

In areas where its unremarkable than PP's son wouldn't have responded that way. I have nothing against boy's wearing pink. I just don't like when parents try to convey their political positions via their children's personalities/clothes/etc

[Anonymous]

Yeah, I had to put out the word that I hate pink and planned to dress my baby girl in purple, aqua, green and yellow. Probably still got half a dozen articles of pink clothing because "I know you don't like pink but this was just SOOOOO CUTE!"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So in this vein, I asked my 10 yr old, 5th grade son if he would wear a pink shirt (Not totally pink but with a pink hue) and he said absolutely no way. I also asked him to wear some pink soccer socks. Again, absolutely no way.

Sorry, guys. But the pink = girl, blue = boy is not quite over yet. You cannot force little kids to wear things that they do not want no matter how PC you want to make them

All the men I know wear pink shirts. I don't know where your son got these bizarre ideas.

10 year old boys are at a point where they are beginning that stage of desperation to fit in and intense self exploration. As kids move into adolescence they become hyper focused on what they convey with their choices and if a boy has not figured themselves out or, more importantly, doesn't want to draw attention to themselves, then they will blend into their stereotypes with fervent enthusiasm.

A boy wearing a pink shirt SAYS something, it says he's confident or he supports LGBTQ people or that he likes pink, it says that a lot of adults will probably engage with him to tell him he's brave or breaking the mold or whatever. Most boys just want to be in the middle of the pack from age 10-18. Forcing them to make themselves into an object of interest does not help them find their way any more easily.

Your experience is different from mine. All the boys at my boarding school also wore pink. It's unremarkable in many areas.

In areas where its unremarkable than PP's son wouldn't have responded that way. I have nothing against boy's wearing pink. I just don't like when parents try to convey their political positions via their children's personalities/clothes/etc

+1000. It may be unremarkable to some ADULTS but for young kids it is precisely as PP stated above. These kids - particularly ES and MS - try to fit in, avoid being bullied, and stay under the radar as much as possible. If your kids wants to wear pink, great for them. If your kid does not, PLEASE do not make him because you are trying to score political points or push a particular agenda. You do not have to walk in his shoes at school. Kids with all the political t-shirts that are way over their heads forced on them by their parents look sad to me. They're not your walking bumper sticker, parents. No one thinks you are parenting better because you sent them out into the world with your agenda penciled across their chest.
And to the PP who says "all the mean I know wear pink.." Great. Those are grown men who have fully developed into their own persons. They don't have to walk through the crap that is school at present.