My baby girl is not "handsome." She is not a "cute little guy" and she is certainly not "a smart looking fellow". She is wearing a goddamn purple hat with a daisy on it. Short of raiding Suri's walk-in closet for a pair of shiny gold heels, how much more gender specific can a piece of clothing be?
I know I'm not supposed to care about such things and in certain outfits I find the faux pas perfectly understandable. But when I make the effort to dress my baby girl in a pink halter with a ruffle around the neck or a lavender eyelet shirt with a cap sleeve, please passing stranger, refrain from asking me, "What's his name?"
The only thing to which I can attribute this boy/girl confusion is her hair. It's short. But DUH- she's a baby! Show me a newborn that pops out of the womb fully coifed with a head of silky long locks like Kim Kardashian— not even Kim Kardashian has hair like Kim Kardashian- that shit is all extensions!
Update: I stand corrected– some babies do pop out of the womb with Kim Kardashian quality locks.
Truth be told, when I was little, my mom dressed me like a boy. I had a short bowl cut and wore blue and orange shirts with sailboats on them. I'd show you the pictures to prove it but I think I burned them. When confronted, my mom said that unisex was in back then. But I've since gotten her to admit that she dressed me like a boy so she wouldn't have to waste money buying all new clothes for her next child. She figured girls could easily dress like boys but it wouldn't work the other way around.
Why the hell not? If I can wear navy blue pants with an embroidered tool belt around the waist, then why can't a boy wear floral pantaloons?
Once I hit kindergarden, rebellion set in. I refused to wear anything but dresses. This dress code has stuck with me until present day.
So, if history repeats itself, and I continue dressing Mazzy in ruffles and daisy prints, she will probably start dressing like Shiloh as soon as she can make her own decisions. But in the meantime, I am going to walk up to any baby with a picture of a truck on his onesie and say…
"She's so pretty!"
Do not resort to the headband. Please.
Awww… you’re paying attention. I’m touched.
Crack me up !!!! But definitely, one of a mother’s greatest frustrations.
Story of my life: “she’s lovely!” And “she” is wearing the butchest of tractor onesies and riding a navy blue pram full of manly dinosaurs.
I know we should be trying not to perpetuate gender stereotypes, but WHY ARE PEOPLE SO BLOODY STUPID!?!?
*sigh*
Oh I feel so much better, thanks for that!
Someday I shall write a post about how my mother convinced me that short hair was “chic” when I was in sixth grade. Every day, coming home in my Catholic-schoolgirl uniform (complete with skirt! and knee socks! sometimes frilly ones!), the same neighbor would greet me with “Hey, sonny!” So. Yeah.
There is no way anyone in their right mind could mistake Mazzy for a boy. She’s 100% gorgeous girl, alltheway.
What Rooney said. Also, don’t pierce her ears.
Do you know I thought “chic” was pronounced “chick” until I was about 25? But that’s besides the point- sorry about your haircut but skirt and kneesocks sound like Girl 101. Stupid neighbor.
Sometimes I think people do it on purpose just to piss you off. They can’t be that DUMB, right? Maybe they can…
NEVER! It looks so weird I think!
You think That’s bad?? We were at a picnic a few weeks ago and someone looked at my daughter and said “wow, he’s gonna be a big dude”. She had blue on but apparently the flowers weren’t big enough. I welled with tears a little haha.
When my oldest was a baby and we went to Applebee’ s. She decked out in pink with a pink carseat cover. However the waitress kept saying “what a cute boy” . After being corrected she said then asked “why does she have a blue bottle?”
Oye. Editing. *She was decked out*
This happens to me quite off…the most memorable was when I was holding my daughter with a bright pink jacket, bright pink shoes and a shirt that said daddys princess on it…and airport security said Ma’am you’re going to have to take off your sons shoes.
My son is 19 months and I have yet to cut his hair.. it has little ringlets in the back, he also has long eyelashes, but he looks like a boy. Not tomention like you I dress him for the part, blues, skulls, sailboats (LOL) etc.. boy shoes.. I get asked all the time if he is a girl, or whats her name, she is adorable. I correct them of course, its pretty damn obvious its a BOY.. this cracked me up.. I understand completly.. not to mention my mom did the same to me, cut my hair with a damn mullet when I was six, by my preteens I was rebellious and to this day, i guess I feel I need to dress girly or dress up (and I HAVE A OBSESSION with doing my hair LOL)
I so relate to this big time.
My little one was big headed and somehow that translates into boy? Everyone thought she was a boy and constantly asked for HIS name. Grrrrr. Even when dressed in pink with a bow on top. Grrrrr.
Just the other day in the grocery store a lady walked up to my 4 month old daugher who had two little piggie tails with flower clips on them AND she was wearing a Minnie Mouse onsie and asked if “He” was a boy. I just said yes,
“his” name is Winona…lol.
Mazzy looks so much like Harlow in this picture!
My son has really LONG hair as a baby. By 6 months his hair came down to his NOSE! I kid you not! He got his first haircut at 8 months…. I just couldn’t wait until his first birthday.. EVERYWHERE we went people would ARGUE with me telling me I had such a cute little girl even though he was in a blue outfit that said im the little BROTHER or some other boyish picture or wording on it. I know the pain well!
This actually just happened to me today with my son at the grocery store. Elderly cashier lady: What a gorgeous little girl- what’s her name? Mind you, my son is wearing a blue striped shirt and blue plain shorts (ok sue me for clashing but it’s laundry day). I reply, his name is Nicholas. Elderly cashier lady: But his hair is so curly and his lashes are so long… I had to leave because I guess her mind was about to explode
plaid, not plain… argh
LOL I get soo annoyed when this happens!! SHE is 99% of the time wearing sparkle items, pink or purple and I have been asked “What’s his name?” “How old is he?”… I dont know what more to do. Aylah’s working on growing her hair, unfortunately right now all she has to show for is some little tufts in the back and one major long piece in the front that curls periodically… darn was hoping for baby curls for her first birthday but at 10 months doesn’t seem like its gonna happen.
My daughter was bald until 2 – my sister got her a tshirt that read “I am not a boy” and even when she wore it, I still got an “awww, how old is the little fellow?”
I know this is late… but I just have to comment on this one because I def. know what you mean. Even though I dressed my son in ALL BOY clothing with trucks spiderman all that crap… he still got called a little girl everytime we met a stranger simply because “he was just too pretty to be a boy” <--- that was said everytime I corrected someone!! Once we had to carry him to the er ( was a parental freak out kind of thing) and the nurse kept calling him a she he had spiderman pjs on... finally I was like SHE is a HE and she was like well mommy shouldn't dress you up like a girl... since when did SPIDERMAN become a girl thing???!!! Thankfully I have had no problems with people calling my daughter a boy.. 🙂
How old is your little boy? My son is three months and he’s really cute.
Gwen, my now 2 year old, had an ilness (not cancer!) at nine months delayed her hair growth. She’s fine now, but people constantly asked “How old is he” or “When did he get cancer?”
My baby has bright red hair, and didn’t have cancer!
It’s just like the time I went to the photographer and he said “Your baby has a flat head” and I stormed out.