Since apparently the only thing not three years old about my daughter is her actual age, we had to make a quick trip to Old Navy today for some new 3T jammies. All of her 2T stuff is basically too short, and buying a size up is just a mid-year thing for us.
I love ON for children's clothes (and my own, a lot of the time). Their patterns are cute, it's well made, the sales are usually pretty good, and the sizing is generous. However, like all other clothing stores, they tend to do very gender-based marketing. The girl's section is filled with purples, pinks, and pale yellows, with the usual mermaids and butterflies and ballet dancers. And believe me, we got a few sets of those. Violet herself picked out her favorite pair - a white shirt and shorts set with a gold star smack in the middle. This girl knows her star appeal.
After lingering a while trying to choose between an aqua green mermaid set and a light blue princess set, my eyes wandered over to the boys section. It had the usual too - dinosaurs, bears, and minions. I saw a really cute pair of long sleeved pj's with bright red firetrucks on them. Side note: since my house is in unincorporated tax territory, I have to make a trip to our local fire station every month to pay our fire dues. They are right down the road, and always very nice to me and V. Last month they were kind enough to let her sit in the fire truck and pretend to drive.
I made the mistake of saying over and over "What a cute fireman you make!" And I was actually corrected - by one of the veterans- "We say firefighter around here, because women can fight fires now too." I remembered that as I looked at that those firetruck pajamas and heard Violet saying over and over "Look at da fighter-fighter, mama! Look it's da fire truck!" I added them to our basket and we headed towards the front.
I would say I'm a feminist. The word has gained so much more meaning as the years have gone by, because it's no longer about superiority as it is about the strive for equality. Men are important, and we love our men, and we call them out to be good friends, husbands and fathers. But more and more we're seeing things balance out on what used to be considered specific gender roles, like stay at home dads and bread winning moms. Women are gaining more attention in sports (hello, WORLD CUP CHAMPS!), and men are gaining more praise for being hands-on dads and sideline husbands.
So when my two year old, who knows nothing yet of this world, gets super excited about a pair of firetruck pajamas, I'll never be the one to tell her "No! Those are for boys!"
And no, I don't think letting her wear what I consider to be more "gender-neutral" clothing is going to change the world, or even change her. She loves butterflies, and the color purple. And she tells me things are "soooo cute!" and seems to be a (troubling) huge flirt. It's not about trying to mold her into something I want her to be, but rather giving her the option to be who she wants to be. I want to open her eyes to the possibility of all things this ever changing world is presenting to her.
Maybe one day she will be a firefighter, and she'll remember her pair of firetruck pajamas. And I'll never sleep again, because good Lord, a firefighter. Or maybe she'll complain when she's 13 and looking at pictures that I dressed her like a boy. For now, I'm just going to enjoy her face lighting up when she chooses them from her pj drawer.
Have a great afternoon!
Love,
Dominique
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