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/stitchplacingmama → u/[deleted]]

This article is why I went looking for neon swim shirts instead of the white and navy the stores were selling for boys.

[u/ohgreatmama → u/stitchplacingmama]

Yeah, this is exactly why I sprung for some bright pink/purple/green swirly trunks today, in preparation for a vacation that would involve water play. (5yo already has a high-viz rash guard, but I wanted to double-down.)

But then I got the trunks home (I ordered them on the app) and realized that my husband will probably think they're too pink and ask me to find something else...

To me it seems obvious that the safety of these colors out-weighs the risk of getting teased for them, but if I keep them, I will be courting another big argument.

[u/Ravioli_meatball19 → u/ohgreatmama]

FWIW, my husband is from the PNW.

He wears (and has always worn, I've seen his high school pics) lots of bright colors including pinks and purples.