Yesterday, Inigo chose his outfit (as he is wont to do), and it was a stunner. His tie dyed hippy rainbow shirt (which says “my dad reads to me”), and purple fleece pants with a butterfly on the hip. His hair was looking spectacularly curly, and I had a hair clip (black though!) to keep it out of his eyes.
In Medicare, the woman at the counter complimented my beautiful daughter on her lovely manners (he likes to hand over the medicare card), and I decided to let it slide. I mean, in that outfit, who would guess he was a boy? Often I do correct people, but they get very embarrassed, and I really didn’t have much extra emotional energy yesterday.
But Inigo did. “But I’m a boy”, he piped up with.
Classic. You could have cut the air with a knife. And I look like the strangest mother in the world.
“He likes to choose his own clothes”, I squeaked. It was the best I could do in the circumstances.
Disco Knitter 
Inigo is absolutely a treasure – he has given me a giggle, and I can just picture him looking so gorgeous. He has the most wonderful mama and dada too.
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What a gorgeous boy – and hed be a gorgeous girl, too! LOL
Maybe next time you could try: he likes to subvert the dominant paradigm. Its one of my favourite responses in the face of snark, inuendo or veiled criticism. Actually, in the face of anything.
Love you lots, and I hope Inigo chooses something wonderful to wear today. And hey – yay you on letting your son wear butterflies. Funny how many people think my daughters are boys when they wear navy, and my sons are girls when wearing tie dye.
Blue is for boys? No, penises are for boys. (The look on Mats grandmothers face when I said that 7 years ago? Priceless!)
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That is a great story!
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oh to be so gorgeous!
Thats a classic lol!
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What a great outfit.
From the other side, I was out running, and I saw a small child with mother. Small child fell down, and got back up without howling. I said “Brave girl” as I jogged past. (Child was very small, at the learning to walk stage.) The mother was highly offended that I got it wrong.
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But he is so cute. I liked your answer too and think that it really does not matter. Alex’s favorite colour is pink.
and check this out – this went viral, you may have already seen both of these items but I think that they are most relevant.
http://nerdyapplebottom.com/2010/11/02/my-son-is-gay/
and this one (not about clothes but Star Wars!)
http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/portrait_of_an_adoption/2010/11/anti-bullying-starts-in-first-grade.html
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Great links Sarah – I had seen the first, but not the second 🙂
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When I was a child, with curly dark hair and big eyes…I was mistaken for a boy quite a few times. (Probably had something to do with my aversion to pink and a preference to wear hand-me-downs from my big brother.)
It’s all good. The compliment still stands – to him and to you.
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Ugh unless my daughter is in pink, it’s about 80% “what a cute boy”. I have a friend whose 3yo boy loves orange and purple, which also confuses people. I really like “(s)he likes to subvert the dominant paradigm” and will have to remember that one.
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