Hating on the Hair Bow
I have a certain pet peeve when it comes to the monstrosities that people voluntarily place on their baby’s head. Yes, you heard right, I HATE infant hair bows for girls. You know, the kind that is attached to a headband.
I mean, don’t infants already suffer enough indignities already, what with all the drooling and burping and pooping in public? Do we really have to subject them to insecure parents placing huge fake flowers on their heads?
And I say insecure because I don’t understand why it is so important that it be broadcast to everyone that your hairless infant is A GIRL THANK YOU VERY MUCH, CAN’T YOU TELL BY THE OBNOXIOUS BOW I’VE PLACED ON HER HEAD? Would it be that much harder to correct someone if they thought she was a boy? With all the pink clothes, baby carrier, and blankets, I’m thinking it wouldn’t be hard to figure out anyway.
I also wonder exactly how long it takes for said infant to rip said bow off, as they don’t exactly look like the most comfortable things in the world. Heck, headbands tend to bug even me after a while, much less a young child who would probably prefer being totally naked all the time in the first place. And usually, my headbands don’t have embellishments that are bigger than my entire head, which is the case for many of the infant bows.
So I’m going to swear to you all right now, I will never place one of those, those, things on my daughter’s head, no matter how many I may happen to get at my shower.
And now that Lady GaGa has adopted the hair bow look, can we please officially proclaim the trend dead in the water?
I never did put bows on my kids heads. A hat every now and then, but never a bow. Of course, they were boys, but that wouldn’t have stopped me
I’m with you… why on earth does it matter what gender people think your infant is? I have two girls, and both have been called “he” many times. It doesn’t bother me in the slightest. People will ask for “his” name, and when I tell them they often apologize for their mistake. I just say “don’t worry, by the time it matters, you’ll be able to tell!”
The monstrosities that some people stick to a hairband and plop on their babies’ heads never cease to amaze, appall, and amuse me. The brightly crocheted hipster ones look more like tumerous excrescences or matted yeti pubes than posies.
Presenting exhibit A.
Also, and I know I’m ranting: as someone who lived through cancer, bald baby heads with those pathetic little bows do NOT bring pleasant, healthy associations. They look way too much like the bald ladies on my ward who tried to brazen out the Sinead O’Connor look with accessories. I know it’s not the babies’ fault, nor the parents, but it is indeed an unpleasant association. I feel like walking up and asking, “Leukemia? Congratulations, her colour is great!”
It’s easier and more esthetically pleasing just to pierce the ears of a little girl. Problem with that, though, is you lose negotiating power — “You can get your ears pierced when you’re 16, missy, and not one day before.”
I don’t like the hair-bow look, and I would never do that to my baby. Besides that fact that if I tried it would last about five seconds before she ripped it off. You can’t imagine what we have to go through to get her to wear a sunhat.
Also, who cares if anyone thinks she’s a boy? I don’t–I do correct people when they say “him,” just because it’s incorrect, but I’m not insulted by it. People often do think she’s a boy because I chose a neutrally colored infant car seat/carrier–no one told me that baby girls are required to ride in pink car seats. (That’s not to say that I’m not going to buy a girly convertible carseat now that she’s outgrown her infant seat, but the other options are ugly.) And I’m not a big fan of pierced ears on babies, if only because my ears were constantly infected for a long time after I got mine pierced in my twenties, and I took careful care of them. I’d hate to do that to a baby who thinks it’s fun to rub dinner in her ears and hair.