this post was submitted on 01 Sep 2025
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Witches VS Patriarchy

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[–] stray@pawb.social 8 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Predators:

  • robots/vehicles
  • triceratops/stegosaurus
  • cityscapes
  • Adidas stripes
  • Minecraft/Amogus
  • Marvel/DC

Prey:

  • unicorns
  • lions/tigers/leopards
  • owls and foxes
  • Adidas stripes
  • Minecraft/Amogus
  • Marvel/DC

It's definitely fair to say things marketed to boys tend to have a more badass feel while things marketed to girls have a more cute/sexy feel, but predators and prey aren't really a pattern, and it's very much not the case that you're boxed into those genres.

Edit #73638295: How the fuck do you format a bullet list on Lemmy?

This is not how I wanted it to be formatted, but it will have to fucking do. How hard is it to just not ignore line breaks?

Edit again: Is Pikachu a predator or prey animal? Maybe an opportunistic scavenger? Do you think it eats poop like other rodents?

[–] volvoxvsmarla@sopuli.xyz 5 points 1 day ago* (last edited 13 hours ago)

Pikachu is a predator. Dude only pretends to be cute and nice but he can attack if he wants to

The animals for kids thing is more like... There are a lot of animals that are weirdly gendered. You will have a hard time finding boy clothes with cats, horses, bunnies. You will have a hard time finding girl clothes with sharks, lions, eagles.

Now, what do I mean with "boy clothes" even, isn't everything kid's clothes? And that's where I got amazed when the same pyjama set sold at size 74/80 - that is a baby size - had vastly different cuts for the girl design (a narwal argonaut) and the boy design (a dino astronaut). My girl never even fit into the girl set because it was so narrow. Not even when she was actually wearing 68. She fit into the boy set until she was actually wearing 98.

The sad truth is that clothes are awkwardly gendered from early on. Few brands make truly unisex designs. There is nothing wrong with girls wearing a wide tshirt with sharks or boys wearing a pink leggings. But to most people this will be an "X in Y clothes". Few brands design unisex clothing and few brands will create a dino dress for girls or a bunny shirt for boys. They exist, but among the common brands it is rather rare.

Edit to add: apparently watermelons are unisex. I've seen them on a lot of swim wear this season. Just in case you wondered about the genderedness of fruit. Because that's also a thing.

[–] pixeltree@lemmy.blahaj.zone 30 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I challenge the notion that kittens can't be savage predators

[–] sem@lemmy.blahaj.zone 11 points 1 day ago

They absolutely are baby predators.

[–] rautapekoni@sopuli.xyz 26 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (3 children)

Parents choose what clothes to give their children. Once you realize this, you can't even!

[–] some_kind_of_guy@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago

We tend to go with the absolute minimum of unnecessarily gendered clothing for our little one. People assume she's a boy all the time. Like, with zero other info besides seeing the clothes/toys/stroller etc.

I find it to be a bit creepy tbh, so when it happens I try to avoid giving a correction and just make an exit.

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[–] SlartyBartFast@sh.itjust.works 68 points 1 day ago (2 children)
[–] SlartyBartFast@sh.itjust.works 49 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] SlartyBartFast@sh.itjust.works 21 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] SlartyBartFast@sh.itjust.works 11 points 1 day ago (2 children)

And bunnies, if you're a carrot

[–] Notyou@sopuli.xyz 6 points 1 day ago

"These are the cries of the carrots. The cries of the carrots. You see, Reverend Maynard, tomorrow is harvest day and to them it is the holocaust". And I sprang from my slumber drenched in sweat like the tears of one million terrified brothers and roared, "Hear me now, I have seen the light! They have a consciousness, they have a life, they have a soul! Damn you! Let the rabbits wear glasses! Save our brothers!" Can I get an amen? Can I get a hallelujah? Thank you, Jesus

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[–] dandelion@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

though commonly portrayed as prey to dogs, not sure this undermines the OOP

[–] jsomae@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

fwiw, OOP also says dogs are prey

[–] dandelion@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 1 day ago

puppies are prey, silly 😋 🍽

[–] DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 12 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I had bunny pajamas and my favorite dinosaurs were herbivores

The vibe is right but the examples are suspect

[–] resipsaloquitur@lemmy.world 15 points 1 day ago* (last edited 7 hours ago) (1 children)

Dinosaurs are predators? She’s never heard of an ~~herbaceous~~ herbivorous dinosaur?

[–] some_kind_of_guy@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

I didn't know dinos smoked weed

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 11 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (3 children)

I notice kids' clothes only because I am pissed that they dont make the same kind of stuff for adults. Why can't my 6'6'' tall ass be dressed head to toe in Spongebob Squarepants clothes?

[–] BunScientist@lemmy.zip 9 points 1 day ago (1 children)

You have to go the other way around it, white shirt, brown pants, red tie, you can BE spongebob

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

My name might be Robert but I am not a sponge. Just kinda spongey... Spongey Robert Normal Pants. 😩

Fix it. And square your edges.

[–] Witchfire@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Have you been to Hot Topic recently? You absolutely can

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 6 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

I would never have dreamed there would be a day you could walk out of a Hot Topic in bright yellow.

But also: Do they still cater to just anorexic high school kids? They never had anything larger than a medium back in the day.

[–] Witchfire@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Modern Hot Topic is nothing like classic Hot Topic. I guess the relative target demographic hasn't changed, and you can still get Miyazaki and somehow Invader Zim (do the kids know who that is?) but it's otherwise straight up cringe.

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Which Miyazaki, tho? I'd hit up HT for some Dark Souls/Elden Ring shirts. Or... Well, I guess I'd also get Ghibli shit, too... 🤔

Really in for miyazaki/miyazaki crossover, but i guess the best we'll ever get is that miyazaki world war 2 movie with werner herzog

[–] stray@pawb.social 1 points 1 day ago

Are you kidding? My Hot Topic always had plus sizes and plenty of obese kids shopping there. It was like the only place in the mall with size diversity that wasn't also "I'm a stereotypical American housewife over 40."

Find the fabric. Find a tailor. Live your dreams.

[–] protist@mander.xyz 151 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (27 children)

Cats and dogs are pretty serious predators. And butterflies are formidable prey, because many are poisonous. And saying "dinosaurs" is like saying "mammals." My son loves his clothes with stegasauruses and triceratops on them, which are both herbivores and prey. Almost all dinosaurs were prey, in fact.

Ah yes, cats. The prey animal that kills billions of animals every year.

[–] outhouseperilous@lemmy.dbzer0.com 21 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I was gonna say, 'have you ever lived with a cat?'

When they like you they show love the same way silver screen mafiosos threaten to kill you if you dont do what they want.

Cats are monsters. I wish i had one right now.

[–] CarbonIceDragon@pawb.social 47 points 2 days ago (2 children)

And for that matter, a pretty big fraction of even the popular dinosaurs were prey.

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[–] ICastFist@programming.dev 30 points 1 day ago (3 children)

The more important thing is how it is presented, since styles are a thing. Just search anything typically considered badass, like "grim reaper", then the same thing with "kawaii" added.

The "message" behind the clothes tends to be girl = cute and docile; boys = strong and dangerous

[–] GraniteM@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

Well, I for one am glad I went looking for this.

[–] dandelion@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 points 1 day ago

love boy baby clothes that cute-ify t-rexes and so on 😊

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[–] socsa@piefed.social 21 points 1 day ago

Ngl, I assume things about you if you have 5 kids.

[–] Soulg@ani.social 12 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Maybe I'm just naive but this feels like a huge stretch of trying to say it means something

[–] DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 9 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Nah there's definitely something there, it's simply not accurate to pretend gender programming doesn't start in childhood, but her specific examples aren't great

[–] atomicpoet@piefed.social 36 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Aren’t kittens and puppies technically predators? What would be the difference between a baby lion and a baby kitten?

[–] LadyButterfly@piefed.blahaj.zone 23 points 2 days ago (1 children)

It's how people perceive them. People are far less likely to quake when they see a cat than a lion

[–] atomicpoet@piefed.social 22 points 2 days ago (3 children)

Okay, but then there’s teddy bears.

Everyone perceives them as cute and cuddly. But I wouldn’t want to cuddle with a bear in real life. Bears are much more dangerous than sharks just on account you’re more likely to encounter one.

I guess what I’m wondering is: why are things clearly predatory not perceived that way?

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Seems like a stretch. 5 boys though. This lady has seen some shit

[–] selkiesidhe@sh.itjust.works 19 points 2 days ago

Cats are pretty and soft, and also malicious murderers who will maim things just so they can watch them die, so....

Your daughter's shirt with the lil kitten "playing" with a butterfly? Metal af!

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