I have two kids. One boy and one girl. With both of them, I have tried not to reinforce gender stereotypes when it comes to how I dress them (I don't put my son in a dress, I'm not that progressive) and what toys they play with. My son has a couple of dolls, and my daughter likes to play with her brother's cars.
But one day, my son told me he "HATES" (in capital letters) Dora the Explorer, because she's a girl and she likes pink. I have no idea where it came from, but it goes to show you the power of socialisation. After much counselling, he's softened his stance on his hatred of pink. (I pointed out that daddy has a couple of pink shirts).
I dress my daughter (who is an infant and is wispily bald) in a reasonably neutral way, despite the mass of sickly candy pink clothes that spill from her (blue) cupboard. Yesterday she was in denim overalls and a blue and white striped t-shirt (with a pinky/purple cardigan with a rosette on it), and still a slightly older lady at my gym thought she was a boy. Older people do it to me all the time. If she's in blue, as far as they're concerned, she's a boy.
But even with me, when I am shopping for my little girl, I unconsciously reach for the pink toothbrush.
I don't know what the point of this blog is really, other than to point out why we have such social conventions and why they're so important to people. Is it because they provide order and predictability?
BTW I don't like Dora either, but mostly because of her oversized head, not coz she wears pink.
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