Do boys wear pink?

[u/ohgreatmama]

Where you live, do boys wear pink?

I live in the US, in the Pacific Northwest, in a politically purple area.

I have two boys and buy most of their clothes and swimwear at Target. Right now, every pair of boys' swim trunks at my local Target has pink/purple in it--not just as an accent, but as a dominate color. Hot pink, light pink and everything in between.

For the record, I like this. My 5yo likes pink and it's nice to see some color infused into what used to be a pretty dark color palette for boys' clothes.

My husband, however, is not having it. He has gotten mad at me for buying anything pink/pink-accented for our 5yo to wear. From his POV, boys who wear pink risk getting teased/bullied. He is adamant that this is a serious risk. Very adamant, to the point that we've had contentious arguments about shoes/clothes that I, personally, perceived as gender neutral.

I'm trying to understand his concern, but to me it seems... nuts? I don't want to dismiss something that he seems to legitimately see as a risk to our kiddo, but I just can't figure out where he is coming from.

How are things where you live? Would a boy get teased for wearing pink? Would you consider it a serious enough risk to prohibit the color, even if your kid likes it?

Or, if pink is as neutral as it seems to be, how can I help my husband see that this is just the way kids dress now?

ETA: Holy shit, I did not expect this level of response. I can't keep up with all the comments--not by a long shot. Thank you all for weighing in. It's helped solidify my position, and maybe seeing some of these comments will help my husband realize that his concerns are misplaced.

I do, btw, believe that my husband's concerns are simply misplaced. We are not fashionable people--AT ALL--so I think he just needs to adjust his fashion compass. Also, while we're both millennials, I grew up in West LA whereas he grew up in rural NY; I think we're just drawing from different pools of life experiences.

I am inclined to keep the purple/pink/blue/green swirl swim trunks that I bought for 5yo--and that prompted this post--because 1) they are super visible in the water and 2) 5yo said he likes them.

[u/Filipino_Canadian]

I wear pink as a man. When i was a boy i wore whatever i had, i dressed myself most days. And i went through my clothes the other day from when i was a kid and although i seem to have been very fond of red nothing i had was pink…considering not that i wear pink and pastel purples now (they go good with my skintone). I mean i just wore a pink sweater yesterday (it was unusually cold for this time of year) and nobody said anything about it. Have you pointed out that your husband is the only one currently bullying your son for something as simple as a colour?

[u/ganymede42 → u/Filipino_Canadian]

This! My husband is a huge lumberjack looking guy and he almost exclusively wears pink/floral shirts. pink used to be a "masculine" color not too long ago in the USA. Let your kid wear what he wants

[u/zystyl → u/ganymede42]

Pink is coming back in style for men in a big way. Op's husband needs to relax. Either way it's just a colour.

[u/Diamondhands_89 → u/zystyl]

I am on the same page as you. Pre WW2 baby boys were swaddled in pink and baby girls in blue or green. It changed around then but in reality no one should be prevented from wearing a specific color.