I had a major feminist fail last week on an airplane. I had dressed my daughter in a lovely blue and gray long-sleeved one-piece outfit by
Babysoy. Unlike most of Miss Matty's clothes, which are hand-me-downs or gifts, this was something I picked out to buy back when I was a few months pregnant. It is one of the softest pieces of clothing she owns. Anyway, on the flight, Miss Matty was a huge hit with the flight attendants, one of whom came over to give her a commemorative airline wings pin. This kind lady then said, "What a cute baby boy!" and I (probably shouldn't have) corrected her, "she's a girl." Then flight attendant lady scolded, "But you've got her wearing blue!" And then, much to my dismay, I totally chickened out: I shrugged, said the outfit was a hand-me-down, and pointed out that she was wearing pink socks. Flight attendant said, in relieved tone, "Oh, I thought maybe you were making some kind of feminist statement." Ugh. I actually
lied to a flight attendant, rather than moxie-up and make some kind of feminist statement!
Can I have a do-over?
While you mull over whether I deserve one, here's
a post that I found fascinating on this topic. It makes me wonder, if I had a baby boy, would I dress him in pink? If my next baby is a boy, he certainly is going to have a lot of pink and purple hand-me-downs! And here is Miss Matty in all her boy-clothes glory...
