How Posh Peanut Clothing Changes Gender Norms: Boys can Wear Color Too!

Even in 2019, it’s clear that gender norms cause permanent damage to young boys and girls, which is why Posh Peanut clothing changes gender norms by challenging the use of color and bold patterns for all babies, children and mothers.

Boys wear blue. Girls wear pink. These are the traditional gender norms that we all grew up understanding, and despite a growingly accepting society, we still closely follow traditional gender norms around color and clothing. Here at Posh Peanut, clothing changes gender norms for babies and children through bold colors and patterns for every baby, regardless of their biological gender.

Gender norms about color, clothing choices, behavior and more can be damaging to people of all ages, but it all starts at the beginning. The right clothing changes gender norms by challenging the traditional uses of blue for boys and pink for girls as well as gender-specific patterns like flowers or dinosaurs. Well, it has to start somewhere - gender marketing through color is highly ingrained in all of us, which is why women are drawn to pale pink perfume bottles and men are drawn to dark colored body wash containers. As awful as women have been treated due to traditional gender norms, they can actually be more harmful to men, who are often seen as “weak” for simply showing emotion because it is instilled in us that men should not be emotional or talk about their feelings.

Adding Color to Boys’ Wardrobes 

For men, something as innocent as wearing the color pink - a perfectly fine color thought to reflect creativity and imagination - emasculates them simply because of how that color is construed as a “woman’s color” or even a sign of weakness. A simple color can even go so far as to convince people that he is gay based on appearance alone. On the other hand, the color blue is known for strength and dependability, yet women are not criticized for wearing the color blue (though they are criticized for plenty else).

Because we believe in redefining what is “normal,” we’ve incorporated bold colors and patterns into our collections to ensure that Posh Peanut clothing changes gender norms and celebrates individuality. Who says boys can’t wear color? There is more to boys’ baby clothing than shades of blue, green and grey.

Here are a few examples of gender neutral or boys’ baby clothing that we love:

• Retro Triangle Collection
• Rust Solid Collection
• Vintage Dino Collection
• Teal Raindrops Collection
• Marigold Solid Collection
• Cactus & Llama Collection
• Dark Mauve Solid Collection
• Olive Green Solid Collection

How to Redefine Gender Norms with Clothing

As children grow into adults, they can begin to make their own wardrobe decisions as well as other life decisions that make them happy, but babies do not need to be defined before they are even born. Color is available for all, and parents should not feel limited to a select few colors for their baby’s clothing.

Don’t be afraid to dress your child in nontraditional colors or patterns! There are many men of all identities who wear florals, and there are many women of all identities who wear pant suits. As we become a society that is more accepting of gender fluidity, we need to consider babies as well and allow them to change their style as they grow old enough to make their own decisions.

Here are more simple ways to avoid stereotyping gender for babies:

• Swap the traditional blue/pink gender reveal party for something more neutral, like a zodiac announcement party or a name reveal party
• Decorate the nursery with gender neutral decor or a combination of pink and blue or other colors
• Keep the sex of the baby a surprise until delivery
• Make a point to request gender neutral gifts, even if you already know the baby’s gender
• Give your children a variety of types of toys to play with, and let them pick what they enjoy, even if they aren’t “traditional”

This is not about abolishing gender identity. This is about abolishing stereotypes and allowing children to grow into who they want to be rather than who they are forced to be according to gender norms and societal pressure. They’ll get plenty of that in the world - at home, just focus on letting them be who they are.

What other ways can you redefine gender norms for babies?

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