Anybody Can Like Anything

Stitched by: David W

Pattern designed by: David W

I’ve always hated walking through shops and seeing toys separated into boys and girls. Gender does not impact interests so much as parents do. When I was a kid I played with and read every toy and book available to me. Lego, Barbies, Goosebumps, Babysitters Club. I was a kid, why should I care? I liked anything that I liked.

But it’s not just kids this gets applied to. My dad was getting ribbed from guys at his gym when he said he and my mum were going to see Billy Elliot, cos apparently that’s a chick thing. Even as an adult you can’t escape these silly conventions. Ironically Billy Elliot is about a kid that wanted to buck trends and do ballet instead of the usual manly things. I don’t think explaining the irony to them would have helped, though.