printsess
So I was on a road-trip of sorts with my kallis a few days back. When on a road-trip it is important to feed and rest yourself well, necessitating stop-offs for lunch, coffee and supplies in various kaubamajad along the high-ways and by-ways. And when you let women loose in department stories you lose them to the many clothes stores therein. As a broke student whose philosophy is to only look at clothes when 1) I have money, and 2) I have a particular item in mind and then to buy them somewhere cheap, I had plenty of time to pontificate and survey in these middle-of-the-market stores.
One thing that is very clear in clothes stores that cater the whole family is the divison between the sexes. Anyone that argues that societal gender roles are wholely a result of sexual differences at the biological level should take a look at how clothes (and toys) are marketed to our children.
In one section of the store you have the boys' clothes and in another the girls', and very rare should the two meet. In the boys' section we have pictures of boys looking mischievous and up to no good, as if they are about to hit you with a sling-shot. The girls are pictured looking innocent and pretty as if butter wouldn't melt in their mouths. And for some reason you find these stupid labels on some girls' and young women's clothes along the lines of: "Just for Girls!".
I can understand making a large distinction between mens' and womens' clothes. Simply men and women's bodies are different, not just in shape but also in proportion. However for children, often times the only way to know if the child running amuck in the park is a boy or a girl is by their clothes. And if the clothes are unisex the only clue is the hair. That girls have long hair and boys have short hair is a rule of thumb that has been institutionalised can be seen by the rule in force in many of Ireland's primary and secondary schools that specifies a maximum length of hair for boys and a minimum length for girls.
Turn back the clock two decades and it was common to wear hand-me-downs from older siblings or relatives. As a child my fiancée was often dressed the same to her younger brother. They were often taken for twins, her for a boy. Would it be so bad to blur the line between boy clothes and girl clothes? To sell more unisex clothes for children, even a unisex section in the store for children, perhaps for adults too?
It's not just clothes. Take footwear as well. Sure it's uncommon for men to want to wear heels and pumps but if you look at the way footwear such as trainers (runners) and hiking boots are marketed in sports and outdoor stores you find a clear distinction made between womens' and mens' shoes. I wasn't aware there was a difference between men and women's feet. I have often wandered around a sports store following the shoes and pick up a pair that looks cool and is my size. They turn out to be for girls' and for some reason I am made to feel weird.
Are the signs and boards up there above so someone can check if they are in the "right" section? Does it matter if a guy buys a pair of "womens'" runners? Does it make a girl less of one of she fancies a pair of "guys'" shoes? Surely the world would stop turning if people were able to walk into a store and not be guided by signs and pictures. It would instead be an interesting natural social experiment. What purchases would we make if we didn't know this item of clothing or footwear "belonged" to one sex/gender or the other?
Back to children. Ask yourself a question. As a parent would you buy your son a pink t-shirt or jumper? Would you buy it for him if it had sparkles on it? If it had the word "princess"? What about a dress or a skirt?
If your son wanted a doll for Christmas would you deny him it, even if it made him cry and upset for the whole day? Would you instead buy him a G.I. Joe (or other similar toy)? Would it depend on the age of the child, okay for a four year old to play with a Barbie, but not a ten year old?
Boys and girls are different. As are men and women. It is a distinction that is created in the womb, one that is inescapably biological. At the same time however I can't help feeling that alot of the tension and misunderstanding that exists between the genders in society is a result of an upbringing that exaggerates and emphasises differences that are not really there naturally. In a way boys and girls seem to grow up in different worlds and as a result of this cultural and societal conditioning this division continues into adult-hood.
What think you?
One thing that is very clear in clothes stores that cater the whole family is the divison between the sexes. Anyone that argues that societal gender roles are wholely a result of sexual differences at the biological level should take a look at how clothes (and toys) are marketed to our children.
In one section of the store you have the boys' clothes and in another the girls', and very rare should the two meet. In the boys' section we have pictures of boys looking mischievous and up to no good, as if they are about to hit you with a sling-shot. The girls are pictured looking innocent and pretty as if butter wouldn't melt in their mouths. And for some reason you find these stupid labels on some girls' and young women's clothes along the lines of: "Just for Girls!".
I can understand making a large distinction between mens' and womens' clothes. Simply men and women's bodies are different, not just in shape but also in proportion. However for children, often times the only way to know if the child running amuck in the park is a boy or a girl is by their clothes. And if the clothes are unisex the only clue is the hair. That girls have long hair and boys have short hair is a rule of thumb that has been institutionalised can be seen by the rule in force in many of Ireland's primary and secondary schools that specifies a maximum length of hair for boys and a minimum length for girls.
Turn back the clock two decades and it was common to wear hand-me-downs from older siblings or relatives. As a child my fiancée was often dressed the same to her younger brother. They were often taken for twins, her for a boy. Would it be so bad to blur the line between boy clothes and girl clothes? To sell more unisex clothes for children, even a unisex section in the store for children, perhaps for adults too?
It's not just clothes. Take footwear as well. Sure it's uncommon for men to want to wear heels and pumps but if you look at the way footwear such as trainers (runners) and hiking boots are marketed in sports and outdoor stores you find a clear distinction made between womens' and mens' shoes. I wasn't aware there was a difference between men and women's feet. I have often wandered around a sports store following the shoes and pick up a pair that looks cool and is my size. They turn out to be for girls' and for some reason I am made to feel weird.
Are the signs and boards up there above so someone can check if they are in the "right" section? Does it matter if a guy buys a pair of "womens'" runners? Does it make a girl less of one of she fancies a pair of "guys'" shoes? Surely the world would stop turning if people were able to walk into a store and not be guided by signs and pictures. It would instead be an interesting natural social experiment. What purchases would we make if we didn't know this item of clothing or footwear "belonged" to one sex/gender or the other?
Back to children. Ask yourself a question. As a parent would you buy your son a pink t-shirt or jumper? Would you buy it for him if it had sparkles on it? If it had the word "princess"? What about a dress or a skirt?
If your son wanted a doll for Christmas would you deny him it, even if it made him cry and upset for the whole day? Would you instead buy him a G.I. Joe (or other similar toy)? Would it depend on the age of the child, okay for a four year old to play with a Barbie, but not a ten year old?
Boys and girls are different. As are men and women. It is a distinction that is created in the womb, one that is inescapably biological. At the same time however I can't help feeling that alot of the tension and misunderstanding that exists between the genders in society is a result of an upbringing that exaggerates and emphasises differences that are not really there naturally. In a way boys and girls seem to grow up in different worlds and as a result of this cultural and societal conditioning this division continues into adult-hood.
What think you?
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3 replies:
Haha! my mind wanders on similar philosophical meanderings when i'm forced to spend time in clothes shops too.
I agree with you, unisex clothes would be very handy, whenever i go shopping im always afraid, ever since the time i bought a pair of womens trousers by mistake. some things look good on women, some things on men, but some things on both, they need a neutral section for these things.
and kids are the same damn shape, no reason for sparkly jumpers for her & pictures of motorbikes for him, whatever happened to just colours, or a non-gender specific picture of an elephant or something?
Recently a cousin of my fiancée bought a real nice coat. He gave it to my fiancée because he didn't know it was for women and he was too embaressed to bring it back to the store.
The question is if he liked it and it suited him, why does it matter?
Did you keep and wear the trousers? I heard it's pretty trendy at the moment in the States for guys to wear girl jeans.
when i got home i saw for the first time that each of the buttons had the word lady on them in tiny letters, back to the shop with them i'm afraid, on the plus side the didnt really fit or look good, so no real loss
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