Why do we associate color with gender? Why do boys have to wear blue and girls have to wear pink. Ok ok. So maybe when most babies pop out you cant tell what gender they are and parents use it to dress their babies so other people know. I work at a baby store, trust me I am thankful for the pinks and blues that customers dress their babies in, cuz if not for that, the question I'd be thinking to myself most is, "what is it?" Sometimes they do throw a curve ball at me and a baby is wearing greens, greys and yellows...I'll just keep my mouth shut.
But then there are parents that completely catch me off guard.Story time.
Specific style bottle from a brand comes in a purple tint. It does not come in blue or clear. The lady's reaction to this dilemma was unexpected...
"I would never let my son drink from a purple bottle"
OK what??
It's a fuckin baby, it's a fuckin bottle. She said it with such disgust at the thought of her son drinking from a purple bottle. A color, that in her mind apparently ONLY identifies with the female gender.
My reaction was just "oookkkaaayyy, it's just the color of the bottle" and I politely left her to her decision on what ever bottle color she felt was appropriate to give to her kid. When kids get old, clothes is a different story. Styles and the cuts for boys are different yet they still make pink boy polos and pink plaid shorts for boys. They still give that option, and yeah, its up to the parents to buy it.
I really don't know why It bothered me so much, it's just fuckin colors of the products. I don't have kids so no, I don't know what it's like to actually give my kid something to use or wear.
This next encounter didn't bother me so much. A Lady and her mother was looking for bottles.
The blue tinted bottles were on clearance and more then half off the price of the pink bottles (exact same, just different packaging). I pointed out the clearanced ones, the ladie's mom kindly said "oh I like the pink ones, It's my first grandchild and she's gonna be a spoiled princess with everything pink. Grandma is buying it.". That made me laugh, and like I said, it didn't bother me. It was in a different color choosing circumstance I guess.
I've heard on several occasions people would tell me that I would be an awesome mom. Why? I wonder. Is it because I'd let my kids express every weird aspect of their personality. I'd let my kids go out in clothes that doesn't even match. My little girl wants to wear a pirate hat and a tutu... well shit, you go right ahead.
However seeing what things cost nowdays, and being better at my spendings. I work retail, I know things on clearance are there for manufacturer cycle reasons and not because the product is second class. I would never be opposed to shop on the clearance. My son won't grow up damaged if he drinks out of a pink bottle that I bought on clearance because the manufacturer simply changes the packaging. My daughter won't grow up scarred because mommy bought her a pacifier with blue trucks on it. You might think, but you can't talk any of this crap, you don't have kids. This is true, but if I did I wouldn't be a color gender identifying bigot neither.
