AARGH! What's with the prenatal gender-typing???

[Curlita]

It bugged me when I was pregnant with my son, and it's bugging me again... why do we have to hose our children down with pink and lace or blue and sports crap as soon as they emerge from the womb??? Can't they have at least a few years of gender neutrality before they start having society's pink-for-girls, blue-for-boys crap shoved down their throat?

How come I can't go to the toddler section and just buy a pair of freaking jeans for a kid, without having to get jeans with ruffles for a girl or tractor appliques for a boy?

Back in *my* day, you got some Garanimals off the rack and there was a darned good chance that you'd be wearing the same outfit as Robby or Brian when you went to school.

I'm on another, more conventional/conservative baby board where everyone is obsessing about whether or not their baby bedding is "too boyish" for a girl, or "too soft" for a boy. It makes me crazy. What, exactly, is going to happen if your girl has a crib set that has cows and tractors on it? Will she develop a multiple personality or something?

What happened to good old primary colors for everyone? Huh? Huh?

: soapbox

Okay, I'm done. Whew.

[Monkeybutt]

bahah I hear ya. But I am guilty of it too. :

[AKmomof2+1inNov]

And it's seems impossible to find anything to buy if your not finding out the sex of your baby. That bugs me! I think I'm to just dress this baby in striped woolies and white t-shirts for the first 3 months and not tell anyone the gender!

[De-lovely]

I hear ya! I have to say I am just maybe sick of mint and yellow too.....wish I could find some great orange stuff and like plums and avocado colors.....I have to say I am most bothered by sports on EVERYTHING for a boy! I mean geez what if he hates baseball and wants to paint?

[mittendrin]

THANKS for posting this. I almost had a nervous breakdown at a store the other day because I could not find any BABY outfits. It was either lace and pink or blueblueblue with sports stuff on it. I wish I would've stocked up on baby outfits while I was in Germany. They are more for GN colors and teddybears and duckies on outfits than turning a little guy into a miniature soldier or football player. Also vibrant colors, not that pastel that makes you throw up marshmallows. I do not like the outfits you can get here...:
Maybe I'll just sew a few myself...

[wholewheatmama]

Originally Posted by De-lovely

I hear ya! I have to say I am just maybe sick of mint and yellow too.....wish I could find some great orange stuff and like plums and avocado colors.....I have to say I am most bothered by sports on EVERYTHING for a boy! I mean geez what if he hates baseball and wants to paint?

Not in your DDC, but I'm not finding out the gender of my baby either. I found some adorable bright orange outfits at Baby Gap. I think they have the best gender-neutral-but-not-boring colors that I've seen. Cute lime greens, browns, and stripes of all colors. I think that's where I found a great olive green fleece snowsuit too.

[sorteep]

OHHHHH Garanimals !!!!!!! yay! I LOVED them.. you must be *almost* as ancient as me!!! remember the Toughskins Sears brand jeans?? you couldn't even BEND your knes in those puppies!! but, man, did the hold up (thru anything!) ahh you brought me back there!!

I ma also a bit frustrated on finding NO GN layette stuff, although, I must admit, I LOVE girly clothes..... and I will dress girl if I ma blessed with a girl.. but that's just me.. I tend to lke to put boys in the GN stuff more than girls and do favor the pale greens and yellows and naturals but I admit....... I love pink and lavender!! and pale blue on little boys.... OH dear, I can't deny it!

Zutano has some way cool (but $$ I tink) GN stuff, I agree baby gap is a good bet too...

[AimeeandBrian]

: I wanted a girl just so I could dress her in pink and lace

[brooklyn_warbler]

amen, sister.

this whole thing really drives me crazy and part of the reason we're not finding out is because we don't want a bunch of blue and pink gifts. i'm very sensitive about gender modeling and this all pisses me off so badly!! just walking around target drives me batty! i could talk about this for hours.

[JamesMama]

I'm in love with pink, but I do want some nice 'gender neutral-ish' jeans as well (not for a newborn...but for 6 months or something) and The Childrens Place jeans are GREAT...most of them are flare, but the boy jeans are more 'relaxed fit' so it's okay. They have some ruffles on them, but you can find some minus the ruffles...or just get boys jeans. LOL

: I want more dresses...I only have 2 or 3...need some for church. And I have tons of pink, but I'll sign her up for T-ball when she's old enough...and she'll be out helping James and Daddy and Grandpa on the farm...does that count...

[Isaac'sMa]

Yeah, I'm with you on this one. I went to the store the other day and tried to buy something cute (and GN) for this baby since we are not finding out boy/girl. THERE WAS NOTHING GN THERE!! It was all blue with sports/dogs/airplanes or pink and has flowers/lace. I was annoyed b/c I don't want this baby to wear ALL hand-me-downs; I thought one or two new outfits would be nice. But most of our NB stuff is GN, so it looks like I won't be buying anything for this baby till s/he arrives. And even then, I'll probably still dress him/her in woolies and cross-over Ts for a while!

[Momma Aimee]

i agree

i am TIRED and the struggle to find CUTE boy clothes without cars, tools, or sports.....and i am more accpting of cars and tools, but really soooooooooooooo tired of SPORTS.

I am actually more ok with girl stuff, it may be pick or purple (though there are other thing out there) but at least it doesn't all have like babies on it, or dishes or whatever would be a girl version of cars and sports......

actually i like a lot of the gril stuff with animals and so on ... and wish it wasn't PINK or light purple so i could use it on Theo

AS for bedding and so on -- there are a lot of optins (I fell in loe with a bumble bvee set) that are gender non-specfic ..... while i get annoyed with the boy sets, again more than the gril sests, at least there are a lot of options to avpoid them.... unlike in teh clothing.

I got SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO made at a slaes clerk when i was lookign for Theo baby book before he was born -- i found a book i LOOOVED but it was stocked in either blue or pink ..... i asked the salesclerk -- NICELY -- it is was avaible in green, yellow or something else and she said "why you only need pink or blue, blue for boys and pink for girls, tthoese are the only options" --- no i did NOT strngle her, but did come close -- I said "well as you can tell, since i am still FAT we don't know if it is a boy or girl." then i wrote a letter to the mananger compaining not only about the book slection, but THAT person by name and asked she be repermanded for her rude treatement and smart mouth iwth a pregant customer who now was NOT spending money.

there is life beyond blue and pink...............

Back when I was a kid, and mom was pregant with me, no one had US and no one knew till the baby was born..... ahhhhhhh the options then.

I too miss geranimals, jsut for cheap easy play clothes....

most of the GN stuff out there that is CUTE is also $$$$$$$ the afordable stuff at target and walmart is all so stero-typical...... I'd even be more ok with it being blue it if could be blue with out cars or spiorts......

I am just maybe sick of mint and yellow too.....wish I could find some great orange stuff and like plums and avocado colors.....

this is the only think keeping my shopping under control I am tired of yellow and mint and white and ducks............now if i could find other GN colors I'd be burning up the banking account...........................and why do babies have to wear washed out stuff -- why no red, why no dark or bright green, why not tan, why no bright and bold colors, why no pumpkin organe (save in a halloween thing) ans so on.................................

[gloobella]

I don't mind pink and ruffles, but when I was pregnant with DD everyone only gave me pink and ruffles. So I looked in her closet and went aah. I went shopping and bought her boy clothes. Things with monkeys and dogs.

Osh kosh had a nice line of bright circus clothes that either gender could wear (except for the pink flamingo I guess.) So she wore blue hippos, red with zebras.

I just hate all the pastel. I want bright bright bright.

My other pet peeve is that girls have to have cats and boys have to have dogs. I like dogs better than cats so why can't my daughter wear dogs?

[Momma Aimee]

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh i do have to admit i bought some really cute oneies at traget this week : they are GN but the same old yellow ... however one is white with tiny turtles all over it, and one is solid yellow with a big cute cow on it and so on .... i got 2 differnt packs one in 0 tio 3 and one in 3 to 6. THIS IS THE FIRST CLOTHING I HAVE BOUGHT....................i got them cuz the cow and turtles were differnt than the average zzzzz duck ..... but still, come on, there has to be better out there with out spending 30 an outfit for a new born, or 20 for a oneie ....................

[gloobella]

Ok so I have a usggestion for some non-sports stuff. I think Children's place has some onesies that say things like future doctor, future rock star, and stuff like that. At least it is not sports or cars.

I freaked out my MIL because I bought DD blue sheets. She walked into her room and said she is sleeping on blue sheets!! Well yes I like blue and wanted future children to be able to use the same sheets. I also wanted a water theme although the closest I got to that was buying blue sheets. She has no other decorations in her room. The horrors I didn't make her a color coordinating nursery with a theme. Oh what a horrible mother I am to make her sleep in a boring white room with no baby decorations or mobile or anything like that. Ha ha. I will wait til she is old enough to help pick out some decorations that she likes.

[Curlita]

Originally Posted by AimeeandBrian

: I wanted a girl just so I could dress her in pink and lace

Well, in the interest of full disclosure, I will admit that any daughter I had would have sported her share of pink. I think what bothers me is this idea that we *should* choose things based on their girlishness or boyishness. That as parents we are *worrying* (well, some people are) that our choices are "too boyish" or "too girlish" for a tiny being that doesn't have a preference yet. Clothing just seems to be the biggest arena for it, along with nursery decor.

My MIL was making conversation with my son, who was age two at the time, and she happened to ask him about his shoes. "Are those boy shoes or girl shoes?" Excuse me!?! Do shoes have genitals? Stop indoctrinating my child! I consider it a major success that my son wanted a pair of flowered socks last time we went shoe shopping.

Dolls for boys! Guns for girls! Er, maybe sticks for girls. Or trucks! Trucks for girls!

Okay, I'll shut up now.

[Join us next time on "Erica Flips Out" to ponder the question.... Why do some parents refer to their sons as "little men" but not their daughters as "little women"? What's up with that?]

[Momma Aimee]

I will wait til she is old enough to help pick out some decorations that she likes.

not me I figure i get at least ONE good room theme that i get to choose and think is cute before any kid is old enough to voice an annoying opinioon and want something i'll hate

DS is getting a cute cartoon contruction set when the baby comes (though he still sleeps with us)......he loves trucks and tracktors so it fits.

if i get a DD I want to do lady bugs and lace.....

there will be enough stuff i don't like later.

[Join us next time on "Erica Flips Out" to ponder the question.... Why do some parents refer to their sons as "little men" but not their daughters as "little women"? What's up with that?]

.................we will also cosider why men address their sos as "son" as a name ...and is "yes son what do yu need" ......when they do not address their daughters as "daughter"............

[yogamama74]

AMEN TO THIS THREAD!

Its like you have to buy white to be neutral!

[boogiemonster]

The lack of GN stuff made me crazy when I was PG with DD. Yes, you could find a green outfit, but with a blue truck on it. Or a yellow outfit with a pink poodle. Not really very GN when you get down to it.

I just didn't buy anything. It really curbed my spending!

I seem to gravitate to GN colours when I'm buying for her...red and bright yellow and apple green and (the girliest) purple. She also wears white and black. Lots of it is still definitely girl stuff, like a red dress, but I love putting her in something that's not pastel pink.

I could count on one hand the number of pink things I've bought for her. That doesn't mean that she doesn't have a dresser FULL of pink things handed down or bought for her by others. My SIL (who very generously gave us a ton of hand-me-downs) dressed her daughter in almost exclusively pale pink and pale purple. At least it all matches, I guess.

I try to buy big-ticket items (like bunting bags, cloth dipes and snowsuits) as GN as possible so I can be sure that the new Jellybean can wear them too.

[AimeeandBrian]

Well, I do hate gender stereotyping boys. My favorite color is pink, so it is more those are the clothes that I prefer in general more than I need to put my girl in them because she is a girl.
I hate boy clothes. I do not like baby jeans and football jerseys. Things for boys just never look as tailored. I would totally have gone gender neutral if this was a boy.