Stereotyping?

Originally written October 1, 2014

So many men think my daughter's a girl. Why just men and why in general? She looks like a girl to me.

 

I thought wearing a headband might help, but even then, an older man kept asking if she was a boy.

 

Since it's always men who make this faux pas, I wonder if society is still expecting a man's world.  That makes me think of Mad Men and chauvinistic males. 

 

Side note: Today I learned that women are not allowed to be Navy SEALs because of certain organs.  Discriminatory?  Or safety precaution?

 

Point being, why are girls always thought to wear bows, pink, and ruffles?  Did you know that in the history of baby colors, boys used to wear pink?  The trend moved from that to all babies wearing white, and to today's thinking boys are in blue and girls are in pink. 

 

I'm definitely NOT a gender neutral extreme parent, and I do love cute girly outfits for my babe, but I also don't feel that just because I don't put a bow on her head every day that it should be assumed she's a boy.  My sister-in-law has the same problem but even more so with my niece.  She puts a headband on her all the time and she still gets questioned for being a boy!  It's crazy.  Why do men expect babies to be boys?  Women never get it wrong in grocery stores, doctor's office waiting rooms, the library, etc.  Every single woman seems to automatically know my daughter's a girl. 

 

Anyone have a good explanation?  Does your son ever get mistaken for a girl?  What do you do when that happens?