The Gender Equality Checkpoint

[Sundae]

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

But is your gut reaction against the idea that the girls aren't being taught practicality (as you were with your jeans and trainers,) or that they're being spoiled (as you only wore jeans and trainers because they were less expensive and could be handed down from your brother?)

I never had hand me down clothes from boys, only girls. My brother, in fact, had some of my hand me downs, because clothes were more gender-neutral then. I did wear dresses of course (in fact probably all my family photos have me in a dress, because photos were taken on special occasions).

I've thought about this a bit now. And I have to admit I'm still not sure why I don't like it. Maybe I'm a bit of a dinosaur myself.

I think it may be something to do with the lack of choice. Although I only took a photo of one of each item of clothing, the whole aisle was similar. Boys' clothes had dinosaurs, cars and trucks - right down to pants and socks. Girls' had fluff and froth and polka dots and frills.

And the market is driven by parents, which means long before these children have a sense of their own identity, they are being dressed in a gender specific way. And in my mind an outdated idea of gender.

But what would I prefer? Parents having no choice and everyone dressing in Communist era boilersuits? No, not at all. And you weren't suggesting that either, Clod - this came as part of my self-questioning.

It just seems odd to me that in the West we live in a time and place where a woman can be a programmer, a pathologist, a lawyer, a doctor, a dentist. But she grew up wearing sparkly polka-dot frou-frou little tops and knickers with sparkles on them. Whereas her brother can be a stay at home Dad, a carer, a nurse or a teaching assistant and he grew up wearing dinosaurs, monsters and trucks on his socks.

Obviously I'm painting with a broad brush. It may simply have been the impact of seeing row after row of separate identity clothing which startled me.