Why do girls' t-shirts say "princess" and "pretty" while boys get "wild" or "adventure"? Katy Gosset looks at gender, how it's presented to our kids and how we can encourage them to think differently.
Why are girls' t-shirts emblazoned with words like "princess" and "pretty" while the boys get "wild" or "adventure"? Katy Gosset looks at gender, how it's presented to our kids and how we can encourage them to think differently.
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We talk about the baby blues.
But the baby "pinks" can be a subtle force, infiltrating clothes, toys and bedroom décor without us really registering it.
One mother, Elspeth* has noticed that when she goes shopping for her daughter - she's frustrated by the proliferation of pink.
"Colour is not assigned when we are born. If you are born a girl, you do not get assigned a colour."
She has nothing personal against pink. In fact, her young son is a fan. "He quite likes pink. He gets to wear pink because that's his choice."
It's the message that Elspeth objects to, steering girls towards particular colours and choices. "It's consumerism and society that's kind of telling us that."
Elspeth and her family operate a "gender neutral household". That means they don't distinguish between traditional girls' or boys' toys or clothing.
"They can be what they want. They can play with what they want. It might be that they choose the more traditional for that sex but everything is open and everything is an option.
Elspeth sews many of her children's clothes and her son and daughter can choose skirts or trousers.
Clinical psychologist Catherine Gallagher said offering children choice was an important part of developing their personalities.
"We want to pay attention to the child in front of them and expose them to experiences that help them grow."
She said culture "absolutely" influenced a child's development too.
"So there's truth in comments about gender being a social construct but only to a certain extent."
Ms Gallagher said biology still played a role, harking back to when we were still trying to keep the species going.
She said men were "more task orientated, physically stronger to protect their families, less talk, more doing."
Meanwhile, women "focussed on child rearing, were more socially and emotionally orientated and better at multi-tasking."
"Gender is both a biological and a social construct."…