1) When people refer to a baby's gender when they obviously mean sex.
Sex = male/female...this is chromosome based. When you encounter someone with a baby bump, and you want to know what kind of genitals their baby has, you are wondering about the baby's sex. When someone of the gestational persuasion heads to a 20 week sonogram in hopes of finding out what colors to paint the nursery...the sonogram shows sex.
Gender = the cultural expression of femininity/masculinity. Pink bows, cupcake onesies, princess shit...these are typical symbols of feminine gendering. Baseball onesies, army men, blue dinosaur decor...these are typical symbols of masculine gendering. Parents impose gender on their infants, and slowly, over the course of the next few years, kids start to drive their own gender expression. It has nothing to do with their in-womb status.
2) Inaccurate animal groupings.
Recently, I was perusing the bedding section at a baby store. There was a crib set with matching mobile that was all woodland creatures (owls, deer, hedgehogs, etc.)...plus a FUCKING GIRAFFE.
I get that Sophie the Giraffe is a big deal, but that doesn't mean it's ok to stick an animal that predominantly lives in grasslands--ONLY on the African continent--into any ol' mix. I was so outraged, I had to tell the sales associate how terrible this was. She was, understandably, not sure what to do with me.
It would have been fine if they were animals all from different environments...let's say a dolphin, a python, a penguin, and a horse. But to have a group that is cohesive except for ONE. Totally not ok.
One of these things is not like the others...and it makes my skin crawl!
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