The world is convinced that Lucy is a boy. Everyday I receive compliments about "what a handsome little boy" I have. I am not offended by this. It's hard to distinguish whether babies are boys or girls. I am just really baffled. I have never had a stranger tell me that Lucy is a pretty little girl. Yesterday I engaged in a conversation for a few minutes with two women gawking over how "handsome and adorable he is!" I was surprised by the error because Lucy was dressed in a onesie with small purple hearts printing on it, with detailing on the collar (The Gap knows how to jazz up a simple onesie with elegant collar detailing). I was barely able to concentrate on the conversation with the gals because I was trying so hard to figure out what it is about Lucy that make everyone think she is a boy. I never correct incorrect pronoun choice because I figure there is no point and I am not really sure how to correct something like that without making things awkward. Well, in this scenario I probably should have corrected the gawking gals because it go real awkward real fast when I was asked what his name was. I should have said, "Her name is Lucy." Instead I just simply said, "Lucy." The gawking gals froze. I could tell they were trying to process what I had said. I watched the thoughts fly through their mind. Did she really name her son Lucy? Then things because to click for one of the gals and she hesitantly asked, "Oh, is this a girl?" My reply was the simple reply I give everyone after they realize that Lucy is not a boy, "Yes, she is a girl." The immediate response to learning that Lucy is in fact a girl is oddly always the same, "Oh, I just didn't see any pink."
 |
| For a while I thought the brown cardigan was throwing folks off, but the cardigan is brown - that is not a "boy color" in my mind - and the cardigan has puffy sleeves. |
 |
| So many times folks compliment Grayson on having a "cute little brother." |
i don't clothes have anything to do with it! i think it's baldness and cluelessness. people always called meredith a boy, even still sometimes, and she'd most often be in pink. it really is baffling. if you have a 50/50 chance, how are people almost always wrong?
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you don't deck Lucy out in head-to-toe pink (or bedazzle her little head with one of those giant flower headbands...). When I babysit little girls who are obsessed with pink I always wonder if they even know they have the choice to like anything else.
ReplyDeleteExcuse the delay in posting, I just read this one and think it's great. I've had the same thing happen with Isla. I generally don't correct them either until they ask what his name is and then I say, "Her name is Isla". I think babies are generally gender neutral so if I'm commenting on a stranger's baby I'll use adorable or cute to describe him/her. I would think that the stranger in your story could have spotted the purple and assumed girl(not many male babies wear that color). However, I have had people ask if Isla is a girl even when she is wearing a headband-this seriously perplexes me. I'm not going to cross dress my child. I'll wait until she's old enough to decide for herself if she wants to be a cross dresser;) Also, my sister-in-law, Amber, makes some really cute headbands/bows I'm sure I could special order a brown one for Lucy to really confuse people.
ReplyDelete