After never being dressed in skirts, dresses, bows or other frills, our daughter Emma finally got old enough to request to wear the traditional female gear. I recall she was four when she asked her mom, “Can I wear one of those things that you wear that is open on the bottom?”

Our daughter’s mom and I are hardcore feminists, and we were both very passionate that a person should not be stereotyped based on their gender. The practical applications of this principle, when it came to our kids (male and female), was that we were not going to dress them in any gender-typed clothing. The basic rule of thumb we adopted was that the clothing, to be acceptable, had to be both good for the goose and good for the gander. Continue reading →