The strange case of the bluish-green hat
My "blog ideas" page currently contains a complaint about overly gendered towels and a public confession of intention to make two cakes (fire truck and princess ballerina) for my kids' upcoming birthday, and more or less always has. People's weirdness (my own included) around children's sex and gender was a big part of what got me blogging here in the first place. So, rummaging around for something to post quickity-quick this morning (the morning after a long distracting no-time weekend), I found this, the second post I ever wrote and never got around to slapping up here:
"I used to think that stories about strangers giving you a hard time about clothing choices were urban myths until now, " wrote an online friend a few years back. "And then
I went to the library book sale with my mom and I had Hayley in the Bjorn with a blue-ish green hat on. It’s been cold here so she’s been wearing some of her brother’s warm clothes instead of all the pink summer stuff I bought for her. A little old lady came up and told me she was a cute little boy. I said she's a little girl, but thanks. She said doubtfully, "But the hat is blue!" and I replied "Still a girl!." Her friend came up and said, "What a cute little boy" and the first woman said to the second woman, still doubtfully, "She says it's a girl" and her friend replied "But the hat is blue.”
I just love the way the old ladies were “doubtful.” I can so see them.
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Last week a man at church came up to me and Mary and said "This must be Will!" I replied that it was Mary, and the man argued, "But he's wearing blue!" I pointed out that although the outfit was blue, it was in fact a blue dress (worn with tights and maryjanes), but I'm not sure he was convinced.
Posted by: Cardinal | May 26, 2009 at 06:53 PM
Many of them were wonderful to me when I had the cutie fattie bumbalatti baby Goblin, but old people are the reason why you need the color-coding stupid filter. And people feel so free to say the most astounding things to pregnant women and mothers of infants...well, maybe it was just me but sheesh, keep away with the crazy, geezers!
Posted by: onna monopia | August 19, 2009 at 11:06 AM