Pink or Blue?
I got to thinkin’ the other day about how much gender roles have changed since I was a little girl. I don’t think any little boy would have been given a doll, nor even much in the way of stuffed animals back in the 40’s. (Yeah, I’m giving way too much information about my age LOL.)
In this day and time, little boys can imagine being nurses, and little girls dream of being doctors – certainly not the case when I was young.
So, how ’bout a test of how far you’ve really come in changing your attitudes toward the sexes?
Would you buy a pink teddy bear for a little boy? Would you pick out the blue one for a girl? Or do you avoid the appearance of sexual bias and get a green or yellow one, or even the bright red, black, and white ones made by companies like Lamaze and KidsII?
Would you buy a doll for a little boy?
Coming from a family with traditional “gender” roles, it was hard for me to break out of the “girls wear pink” thing. I remember hearing things like “why don’t you put on a little make up” or “you would look so much prettier if you made an effort”. I’m all about the baggy camo pants and shaving my head… at 32 years of age.
My partner, the psychobiogist, teaches childhood development… the gender that the child identifies with is usually realized by the age of three.. if a three year old wanted a pink teddy bear, yup, I’d buy one.. regarless of the sex of the child (by the way.. sex is your biology, gender is your psychology)
Shaved head? Ok, the camos and no makeup I can handle, but nope, this gray headed lady will keep her hair, thank you very much. 😉
It will be interesting to see if others are as liberated from gender stereotypes as you evidently are.
Thanks for the comment, jen.
Well.. I do have to say that I do have SOME hair… It’s really about 1/2 inch long… I shaved it once and found that I have a REALLY round head.
I have to say that I’m just as guilty of assuming pink for girls and blue for boys.. it’s a hard habit to break… but I try not to limit anyone’s experience.
when friends give us hand me down clothes, the ones that look remotely feminine, get donated to my cousin (who has a baby girl). My son wears blue jean coveralls, with basketball team shirts. he wears red old navy sweatshirts and blue jeans! his shorts are blue or black. those pale blue with pink lettering shirts my friend gave me, my cousin is enjoying. Sure, we have stuffed animals. sharks, an alligator, spongebob. boy stuff. He has a prayer doll. i keep it because it came from his grandmother. its in the closet. no dolls. footballs.
My eldest boy (10) loves anything girly; glitzy hair clips etc. So, I would buy something like that for him if he asked for it. It wouldn’t be a problem for me. The problem it would be for would be my ex who is a homophobe and he’s convinced that’s where my boy is heading for: Gaydom. I say, who cares? I’d love him for who ever he was or is.
Well, I’d guess that dak-ind and inky represent the two extremes of opinions on this one.
I can’t imagine giving our grandson something pink to wear.
But dolls? Toy manufacturers wised up and created a demand for “acceptable” boy dolls, such as G. I. Joe and Star Wars figures, a long time ago.
Woody and Buzz Light Year were our grandson’s favorites for a long time, and I remember giving him a large Buzz doll for Christmas one year.
When I was younger I had an ET stuffed toy. I loved it until my big brother said it would come alive every night. I’d buy a girl a blue one, but not a boy a pink one.
Dr. Fil
https://dr.fil.ph
I think you’ve voiced a general perception, Dr. Fil, that pink is much more a “feminine” color than blue is a “masculine” color in our society.
Here’s a walk down memory lane, for sure. Does anybody remember when the fashion color for MEN was pink and gray or black? Was that in the 50’s??
I would buy a doll for my own little boy, but not for someone else’s.
Makes sense, cosmogrrl! There are plenty of situations where I would do something with, for, and to my own children that I would not dream of doing concerning someone else’s child.
We try to take the views of our daughter and son-in-law into account before giving any gift to our grandchildren.
Well – an interesting question(s) and topic…I can say as a gal, I love both pink and blue on me! My youngest (11) is a skater, and many skaters now wear pink shoes, pink laces and pink hats/shirts/wrist bands.
I would buy a blue bear/plushie for a girl in a heartbeat – I’m stumbling over buying pink plushies for a boy though – how strange is that? Hummm….
I would buy a blue bear/plushie for a girl in a heartbeat – I’m stumbling over buying pink plushies for a boy though – how strange is that? Hummm….
You’re certainly not alone in that!
I know that when we sell a blue Puffalump pony, I call it a “he” in the description, but the pink ones are referred to as a “she”.
In this day and age, more and more stuff have become UNISEX. Gender is becoming less and less of an issue.
But then again, I’m gay! So a pink teddy bear is not bad! LOLz.
BA~~68
I personally wouldn’t although I don’t think that there’s anything wrong with little boys who play with dolls. The boys at the mom’s day out program play with the dolls as much as the girls do. But of course they play alot rougher than the girls do. Like they’ll have Barbie fighting with Ken or something.
I’m raising four boys and Nope – wouldn’t buy em a doll. Though I did let them play a little with a baby doll when I was expecting. (They were very young and it was good for practicing not smacking the baby!) Action Figures, on the other hand are fine. But the bow and arrow set, and the breastplate and sword set that I picked up this weekend – are way better! 🙂
Thanks, material boy and lisa, for expressing your views.
Hi, blestwithsons. I enjoyed reading your blog, so I’m pleased to have you here. Strange how we tend to view action figures as not being dolls, isn’t it.
Makes you wonder what it is that makes a doll a doll. Have you ever looked at the stuffed creations of Veruka Salt? Her link is on our sidebar, and they’re really quite unique.
Oh I know action figures are dolls. I should have put italics on it. I was trying to be funny.
My boys do have a few stuffed animals… a Blue, an Elmo, a Buzz Lightyear – a bear, a bunny… Sometimes they cuddle them – and they make good ammo.
Some of the best wars I had with my brother were with a stuffed menagerie arsenal. 🙂
Just goes to show that a well crafted toy plus a child’s fertile imagination makes for creative play LOL!
Whew What a Conversatation! Nice to see some activity, huh?
Funny story.. I have two puppies.. one has a pink leash and one has a blue leash.. mostly because those were the colors they wanted… they are both girls…
My Mum, who knows they are both girls, insists on calling the puppy with the blue leash “he”… She just keeps forgetting!
Funny how we are programmed.
Programmed … yep. Wonder what colors other cultures attribute to each sex, assuming they even do have gender colors? Does anybody know?
Well, I think I’m pretty 1950’s on the subject. Kind of. I’m of the opinion that boys should play with monsters and tanks and Tonka trucks and things that smash and destroy, and girls should play with dolls and colorul toys and My Little Ponies.
But then again, I don’t see anything wrong with buying a doll for a boy, or a racecar or a monster for a girl. I never had a problem making G.I. Joe ride on the backs of the My Little Ponies that my aunt loved to buy me for some odd reason. And She-Ra was awesome, because it made playing He-Man with girls much easier. 😀
BA~~274
Tickles_tapeworm, your mention of She-Ra brings up the whole segment of toys that evolved after the feminist movement blossomed, where suddenly girls could be the action heroes (heroines??)!
My nephew Callum had a baby doll ‘Paprika’ and loved playing with it until he was about three and a half. Then he got into dinosaurs and Vikings and what have you. No one tried to make him interested in those things, he just decided for himself.
I personally suspect that things like sexuality are genetically determined and don’t think that you can do much to influence a child to be something they’re not already pre-disposed to be.
Thanks for stopping by, Dad to be. I would think that most families, who left it up to the child, would find them choosing more gender specific toys all on their own, given enough time.
Great work!
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