Despite some advances in the fashion industry, gender stereotypes are still alive and kicking. While adults these days have an increasing number of options for unisex – or neutral – collections, children continue to face the same clichés. A new study conducted in Germany reveals that children’s fashion has not stopped promoting gender stereotypes. We take a look. Anyone who walks into a high street store or the clothing section of a supermarket can easily see that children’s clothes are not sold in just one section. There is a clear division between the boys and girls sections. The advantage, if there is one, is that it is difficult to mix these two sections, with the girls’ area generally distinguished by a burst of pink and the boys’ by a wave of blue. This applies to the clothing department as well as the toy department. Despite the many advances in recent years towards gender neutrality, gender segmentation, on which gender marketing is based, is far from having its last word.
Pink and blue, the colors of discord
A study conducted by data journalist Marie-Louise Timcke and published in the German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung looked into the matter to find out. Together with her colleagues, the expert analyzed no less than 20,000 shirts and shorts sold at retailers such as H&M, Zalando and About You, aimed at children under the age of ten. Prints, colors, lengths, cuts… all were put under scrutiny and the verdict seems clear: “Current children’s fashion cements gender images,” concludes Marie-Louise Timcke on her Twitter account.
Looking at the colors of children’s clothing, it is clear that blue dominates boys’ clothing, including all brands, while pink dominates girls’ clothing. Therefore, we can check the “authenticated” box for this old cliché that we hoped was out of date. The survey’s conclusions go even further: “almost every second shirt for girls is pink. This look is more extreme in the H&M collection,” says the data analyst.
Predestined to be dreamers or adventurers
While girls and boys have long – if not always – shared passions, prints that are supposed to bring a touch of fun to children’s clothes prove that the line between the sexes is stronger than it seems – and that the clichés about each gender’s preferences. and characteristics are hard to break. For girls, the most used terms are “love”, “girl”, “sun”, “smile”, “dream” and “dreamer”. On the boys’ side, we find words related to adventure or sports, with an emphasis on surfing, such as “aloha”, “wave”, “explore”, “fast”, “shore” and “crew”. Two completely different atmospheres. Not content with the clear distinction between the sexes, children’s fashion really promotes some stereotypes that have no reason to exist.
Prints also show different lifestyles. Here are the most characteristic terms found on shirts for girls and boys under ten. Boys should 🏄surf, girls should dream. pic.twitter.com/qknWeV3lg1
— Marie-Louise Timcke (@datentaeterin) August 22, 2022
Last but not least is the length of the clothes. If it seems obvious that boys and girls under 10 should have access to the same cuts and shapes of shirts and shorts, this is not the case in practice. Far from it actually! “We collected and compared thousands of children’s shorts from H&M, Zalando and About You. The difference in length is clear: on average, a pair of 30 cm wide shorts for girls is six cm shorter than boys’ shorts. And this despite the fact that children’s bodies hardly change at this age. Boys are slightly taller and heavier, but can simply choose the next size up. The fact that girls’ pants are tighter and shorter is simply a result of fashion and socialization,” the specialist emphasizes.
The study also finds that it’s basically impossible to find certain clothes with any specific print, such as dinosaur nightgowns, football skirts or unicorn-covered shorts.
“In the logic of these markets, girls are first and foremost little women; for them, clothing is meant to please. And boys are supposed to be anything but “girls”.’ concludes Marie-Louise Timcke.
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