Strawberries for her, a car for him
This is why yes we do get to discuss gender:
On the right: a blouse with pink flowers and frills and lettering and the words “Berry cute like Mummy”
On the left: a sweatshirt with blue spots and collar and the words “Wheelie cool just like Daddy”
In contrast, see here for clothes that are girly and nerdy at the same time.
“Being girly and nerdy at the same time”, still sounds like being forced into “the girly” box into which some female people do not wish to go, so it too is a reason to discuss gender.
Perhaps it’s just the way my browser is rendering things, but the blue-spot sweatshirt is on the right and the pink flower blouse is on the left. (I’m using Chrome on a Mac.)
Cass, yes it does. However, it’s also a point of choice on a spectrum, rather than representing the two dipoles as per the examples in the op. I often look at period dramas and the variety of colour and pattern that it was acceptable for men to wear in business settings and wish things were different….
@cazz #2:
To be fair, in this case it looks like the girl was already obsessed with dresses, and the intent was to show that a love of dresses can happily co-exist with a love of STEM, trucks, and pirates.
And on a related note, here’s a (surprising) story that came across my FB feed today http://daddycopinginstyle.com/2016/02/16/dear-other-dude-at-the-playground/
This article from a few months ago I thought might be of interest here:
Everybody in dresses: Why does gender neutral clothing always mean ‘boy’ clothes for girls?
IMO the more choices the better. A boy wants to twirl around in a skirt? A girl wants pants that are comfortable for climbing trees? all OK. All should come in a variety of colors and patterns, for all tastes.
Re: the little girl who would wear only dresses.
People on autism spectrum tend to love STEM subjects and be extremely sensitive to fabric textures. I love dresses because they are usually loose at the waist and often are in very soft fabrics. I’m not saying that the girl *is* an Aspie, but the clothing choice might have less to do with a sense of style as much as comfort.
And it’s another reason why gender neutral should include dresses for boys as an option. Everyone deserves to be able to be physically as well as emotionally comfortable.
Funny, comfort is why I can’t stand dresses – they always seem to bunch and twist and require me to pay too much attention to how I move and how I sit (not to mention the cold legs at this time of year). But I would not presume to dictate what other people should wear, and agree that dresses should be an option for boys (and frills and sparkles and pink and whatever strikes their fancy). Interesting to note that clothing is one area where girls and women often have more freedom of choice than boys and men.