"Mummy can I have these?", a tiny voice reached my ears just as we were figuring out what style of crocs to buy our 3 year old boy (let's call him V). We'd been in that store for about 15 minutes, trying to find his favourite crocs. There's too much choice! Amidst all the chaos, V came running to me with a pair of slippers in his hands. "I want these mummy!", he said. I looked at them. "Are you sure?", I asked him. "Yes mummy!", he nodded confidently. My husband and I smiled at each other, looking at the bright pink slippers that he had selected from the 'girls' section (obviously). "Of course you can have them, but you must promise to wear them!" I said. He looked really happy, and my heart melted a little!

V's favourite colour is pink, and he has been very clear and vocal about it. His favourite clothes are pink, his birthday cake was pink, and now his favourite slippers are also pink. I see nothing wrong in it. Pink is a lovely colour, and it also happens to be my favourite. :) It makes me sad that we're living in a world where we have things like - blue for boys and pink for girls. Just take a look at the kids section in a clothes store and you'll know what I'm talking about. Are we still doing that?? C'mon, seriously??

I've always wondered why we have this silly gender stereotyping. And I know it goes much beyond PINK. It really bothers me sometimes. I know this is basically a huge marketing ploy but the reality is that most of us have fallen for it, one way or the other! It may seem really cute when they are little, but as they grow older, these things stay in their impressionable young minds. Something needs to change..

Just a few weeks ago, I was planning V's 3rd birthday party. The venue was providing balloons and some decoration and I couldn't be happier! One thing less to do, I thought. So I was discussing all of this with the co-ordinator and she asked me if the party was for a boy or a girl. When I told her that it's for a boy, I got 2 colour choices for the balloons - baby blue, and blue. OK then, deep breaths. I tried to keep that smile on my face, and politely asked her if I could have a mix of all colours, including pink! She looked at me, a bit surprised. I told her it's his favourite colour and then we carried on with the rest of our discussion.

Now I don't want this post to become a rantfest, but it really annoys me that I am constantly faced with these type of situations. Am I the only one? Or am I being too sensitive to this? Now, V is still very young and he couldn't care less about the fact that he likes a so called 'girly' colour (I cringed a little while I typed that). But I'm aware that once he grows a bit older and is more aware of his gender, goes to school, has friends etc. he's going to come home one day and ask me about this. Well, I have my answer ready, but I worry about the bullying and the name calling. I hope he's not pressurised into letting go of his favourite colour. Even worse would be if he were to develop this kind of thinking. The fact is, we can't really stop others from saying stuff (although sometimes I wish I could!).

But as parents or carers of little ones, I really think we have the responsibility of changing this mindset, one little mind at a time. And before that, some of us grown ups have to change our mindset as well. Pink is a colour, like any other colour. It's a beautiful colour. Let your boys like whichever colour they like. When you go shopping, pick a pink T-shirt for them (trust me, it's quite a task to find one in the boy's section!) Encourage them to use the pink crayon from time to time. When you restrict their palette, you restrict their mind.

At the end of the day, I know it shouldn't really matter to me what people think or say. If my boy is known as the boy with the pink slippers, so be it. My job is to make sure he is perfectly comfortable being who he is - happy, free, unrestricted..

xx

A mother..

The Boy with the Pink Slippers