I saw this headline today:
http://fortune.com/2017/09/04/gender-neutral-clothing-john-lewis-labels-reaction/
Some retailer decided to remove gender labels from their clothing. Why is this news? Who cares? How does this impact my life? Hmmm…well…I know I post about idiots a lot…but, um….I don’t need anyone to tell me what clothes I should wear. Or that I should wear certain clothes because they are “for girls”?
My generation invented wearing their boyfriend’s soft cotton henley t-shirts or their super nice cotton gym shorts that were 20 years old and holey…but, the cotton was so thick and soft, I still think about it. Or…..the cable knit real fisherman’s sweater that hit a snag and has a hole in the armpit. Or the sweatshirt that was made of cotton an inch thick with the cut off hood that my husband hated every time I wore. And, don’t forget…..the naked woman, man’s work shirt cliche.
I didn’t just wear hand me downs or stolen memories. I shopped in the men’s section…..boxers were the college sweats of the warmer days. I wanted a sturdy leather belt….everything I bought for girls fell apart after a few months….I am still wearing the belt my X grew out of 20 years ago……and, I get compliments.
I am not necessarily advocating for menswear (although…many many articles have been written about comparisons between quality and price…and, guess who is getting screwed?…), I am just saying I don’t need anyone to tell me what to wear. Or what sex I need to be to wear it.
Now…to get to the idiots…..if you are offended because you need someone to tell you what clothes to wear…….I just can’t.
And another thing……this actually makes me happy…I was the kid (no surprise since I have been known to wear men’s clothes) who wanted (desperately) to play with her older brother’s Legos and hot wheels. Those cars seemed cool to me. I wasn’t allowed….in part because my brother was a little dick, and because they were “boys” toys. Yeah…so is a man’s penis…but everybody expects me to play with that and like it. But, I digress. I vowed my daughter would get Legos and trucks and not wear pink. Hahahaha. She wore pink everyday from the time she was 3 until she was 6 or 7 and decided pink was out….yes, I let her pick her own clothes. She also wore boys converse high tops, men’s flannel shirts. She stopped wearing dresses about 4th grade. She never cared much for dolls or Barbies, Legos or trucks…..but she loved to draw and stack things.
My son…..well…that poor boy….he went everywhere with me and the pink girl so….he frequently wore pink nail polish (he cried until I did it. X hated it….I offered to buy black…..) and one day after a particularly fun visit to Ulta…..he was covered in glitter and gloss. My daughter dressed him up in her Disney princess clothes and he walked around in plastic high heels saying, “I a keen (queen), Mommy. I a keen.”…….oh, yes you are……and, then one day he just stopped asking for the polish and he didn’t want to play dress up. A few years later, he announced, “I’m not a lesbian.”…..nope. You are sure not. After his sister and I changed our pants…..we explained what was what and he announced he wasn’t gay. I did not expect that he was….But, that kid. He insisted on wearing plaid shorts and old man loafers from age 5-10. He would pair them with his “muscle shirt”…..a white t-shirt with no sleeves. While he was still in his crib and barely talking..he would insist that I put his “shoos” (shoes) on as soon as he woke up. Little weirdo.
I am not sure what asshole decided that girls wear pink and boys wear blue and that was that. I am sure there is a rational reason for everything. Boys wore trousers/pants because of the work they did…… Then, some women started and…..the rest is history. I am sure that pink and blue came from some “fashion” magazine or a retailer had too much blue or pink something and came up with a crazy marketing plan that stuck. I don’t know and I don’t care. I know this. Wearing clothes in public should not be optional. The rest, shouldn’t matter. I prefer a guy in a pair of jeans and thick cotton, ¾ baseball shirt. I probably won’t go out with him if he wears sweater vests, tassel loafers or white pants…..but, that is preference, not requirement. Why, oh why, do we need to label things?