Sophia Pearson
Ever since I could remember I have always been insecure about how I dress and how people may view me based on my fashion choices. It must have begun in elementary school when I entered what is commonly known as a “tomboy” phase. I was a girl who liked to wear shorts and graphic tees with my favorite movie character or superhero on it.
I can remember kids teasing me and telling me that I was wearing boys clothes and eventually when I got a little older kids started asking me things like “Are you a lesbian?”
At the time I remember being confused because I didn’t really view clothes as a way to define my gender let alone my sexuality. After all, I was still in elementary school.
It wasn’t until much later that I realized there were not many options for girls like me because when you go shopping for clothes the two options are monster trucks or princesses. So what would happen is that I would pick what was considered to be more boyish clothing simply because I either liked the color blue more than pink or I liked a Batman shirt over a Minnie Mouse one.
When I look back and think about how my classmates would tease me I realize that it is not their fault.
The gendering in children’s clothes perpetuates all the stereotypes about both genders and when the rules of these norms are violated it disrupts what people may think is true.
Oftentimes when we as consumers walk into department stores and cruise through the aisles we tend to overlook the obvious gendered clothing of children in particular.
It’s in children’s clothing aisles where this gendered representation is really obvious. Boys clothes are usually blue or green or other primary colors that are seen as masculine. While girls clothes contain more pink, purples and sparkles which are viewed as feminine.
These colors are reinforcements of pre-existing stereotypes of what it means to be either a boy and a girl in our society.
Along with the specific colors assigned to each gender there are also themes and messages that the clothing has on it that can perpetuate harmful stereotypes that children are especially vulnerable to.
Toxic Masculinity Within Boy’s Clothing
These messages sometimes go as far as saying things like “I flexed so hard my sleeves fell off,” which is meant to be worn by a young boy. This shirt is suggesting that men have muscles and should flaunt them to increase their masculinity. Since a young boy most likely hasn’t developed muscles yet it may be demonstrating the type of masculinity that could be considered toxic.
The idea that all boys and men should have muscles and should be interested in showing them off is a prime example of toxic masculinity that has oozed into the children’s clothing industry.
Pink, Pink and More Pink
The same goes for girls. There is girls clothing out there that says things insinuating that the little girl is “daddy’s little princess” or something along those lines.
Whether or not you view these things as harmful in our society I think we can all agree that at the very least they do in fact reinforce negative stereotypes about each gender.
After looking through Target’s online baby and toddler clothing section it was clear that there are still gendered clothing out there but what surprised me was that there is a unisex clothing section.
While looking through the unisex baby clothing section it became very clear that unisex just means plain colored onesies.
To some this may not seem like a problem or may be under the impression that “It’s just baby clothes,” but it goes beyond the clothes. There is a deeper message that we are sending when we buy clothing for ourselves or our children.
But when consumers purchase clothes with gendered quotes or those you purchase clothes for the specific “gender appropriate” color are enabling damaging stereotypes about each gender. These stereotypes are what assign a meaning to gender that if strayed from could be considered bad or wrong.
Take Action
If what I have said in this blog has gotten you thinking about the gender divide that is present in children’s clothes there are several things you can do to deal with it.
One option is to obviously not participate in the purchasing of the brands that sell clothing with gendered messages on them to prevent them from reaching your children.
Another option is to explain to your child when they are old enough that the messages that some of these clothes may have, are not always true and representative of each boy and girl.
Luckily, things are changing for the better and the divide between young boys and girls clothing is slowly dissolving. Hopefully one day these potentially harmful messages will be gone forever.