Consumer Insight

Alphas: Inclusive
Parenting

As parents adopt increasingly

progressive attitudes towards
gender, inclusive brands that
promote equality are on the rise.
NBC News
Executive summary
– Pa r ents a r e incr ea sing ly r a ising their
child r en in a mor e inclusiv e w a y tha t
a v oid s g end er ster eotyp es.
Percentage that agree
– Ma ny new b r a nd s a r e emer g ing to ca ter
parents should raise to r ising d ema nd for " g end er neutr a l"
child r ensw ea r .
their children in a
– F or niche b r a nd s, it is a s much a b out the
gender neutral way* messa g ing a nd a sup p or tiv e a ttitud e
tow a r d s g end er eq ua lity a s the clothes

57% themselv es.

– L a r g er r eta iler s a r e a d op ting a mor e

Millennials inclusiv e a p p r oa ch.

– A sma ll b ut g r ow ing numb er of p a r ents

a r e r a ising " theyb ies" , choosing not to

53% a ssig n a g end er to their child a t a ll.

– Gen Z ha v e the most p r og r essiv e

Overall a ttitud es tow a r d s g end er of a ny
g ener a tion yet, a nd w ill soon sta r t to
b ecome p a r ents themselv es.

*S our ce: Ha v a s Med ia , The F utur e is F eMa le 2 017

Analysis
Pa r ents a r e incr ea sing ly choosing to r a ise
their child r en fr ee fr om w ha t they see a s
the d a ma g ing conseq uences of g end er
ster eotyp es. While for a sma ll b ut g r ow ing
numb er of fa milies this mea ns not
a nnouncing their b a b y' s b iolog ica l sex a nd
a llow ing them to b e " g end er -cr ea tiv e" , for
ma ny p r og r essiv e Millennia l (a nd Gen X)
p a r ents it simp ly mea ns a v oid ing the " p ink
a nd b lue tsuna mi" of g end er ed toys, clothes
a nd seg r eg a ted a ctiv ities, a nd ma king sur e
tha t b oth b oys a nd g ir ls ha v e a ccess to the
sa me op p or tunities.

This r ep or t w ill exp lor e w ha t a n inclusiv e,

" g end er -neutr a l" a p p r oa ch to p a r enting
mea ns for b r a nd s, a nd how the tr end is
likely to d ev elop in the futur e a s Gen Z – the
most g end er fluid g ener a tion so fa r – enter s
p a r enthood .

How ev er , this is a contentious a r ea a nd one

tha t' s hig hly d iv isiv e – esp ecia lly a long
g ener a tiona l lines – so b r a nd s should tr ea d
ca utiously to ma ke sur e they a r e meeting
the cha ng ing exp ecta tions of young er
g ener a tions w hile a lso a v oid ing a liena ting
customer s w ith mor e conser v a tiv e v iew s.
Barn of Monkeys
Combatting stereotypes
Ther e is no such thing a s a ma le or fema le
b r a in a ccor d ing to a 2 015 stud y b y Tel-Av iv
Univ er sity, w hich found tha t r eg a r d less of
ob ser v ed d iffer ences in b eha v iour b etw een
the tw o sexes – w hether ca used b y na tur e
or nur tur e – huma n b r a ins ca nnot b e
d iv id ed into ma le or fema le ca teg or ies.
Gend er d iffer ences b etw een b oys a nd g ir ls
b ecome mor e ma r ked a s they g r ow up a nd
a r e exp osed to mor e g end er ed la ng ua g e,
a d v er tising a nd socia l exp ecta tions. While
d eb a te ha s r a g ed for d eca d es ov er the
d eg r ee to w hich g end er is socia lly
constr ucted , w ith scientific stud ies g oing
b oth w a ys ov er the influence of na tur e
v er sus nur tur e, a s a Ja nua r y 2 018 Qua r tz
a r ticle p ointed out: " Ther e' s no science tha t
counter s the v a lue of g end er eq ua lity. "
In a 2 017 B B C d ocumenta r y, the child r en of
Yea r 3 (a g e 7-8) a t L a nesend Pr ima r y S chool
on the Isle of Wig ht, UK , took p a r t in a n
exp er iment w ith Dr Ja v id Ab d elmoneim to
r emov e a ny d iffer ences in the w a y tha t b oys
a nd g ir ls w er e tr ea ted . After a sing le ter m,
the d ocumenta r y found b enefits a cr oss a
r a ng e of p sycholog ica l
Heidi Dorudi
fa ctor s, fr om self-esteem to emotiona l
intellig ence. It a lso show ed how p a r ents
w ho w er e initia lly scep tica l ca me a r ound to
the b enefits of the a p p r oa ch.
In S w ed en, la w s intr od uced in 19 9 8 for b id
p r e-schools fr om enfor cing g end er
ster eotyp es, sta ting tha t b oys a nd g ir ls
should r eceiv e eq ua l op p or tunities. The
countr y a lso a d d ed a g end er neutr a l
p r onoun (" Hen" ) to its la ng ua g e in 2 015 a nd
ha s the hig hest r a te of young p eop le w ho
id entify outsid e the ma le-fema le g end er
b ina r y a nyw her e in the w or ld .
L otta R a ja lin is a lea d ing a d v oca te for
g end er eq ua lity in S w ed en a nd the found er
of Eg a lia , the countr y' s fir st g end er -neutr a l
p r ima r y school, op ened in 2 010. " When w e
ca ll a b oy ' cool' a nd ' str ong ' , a nd to g ir ls
w e mor e often sa y ' help ful' , ' nice' or ' cute' ,
w e ha v e d iffer ent exp ecta tions. We ta ke
a w a y this b or d er a nd w e d on' t sep a r a te
b oys a nd g ir ls, w e g iv e the w hole life
sp ectr um to ev er yone. We a r e not limiting ,
w e a r e just a d d ing . We a r e not cha ng ing
the child r en, w e a r e cha ng ing our ow n
thoug hts, " R a ja lin sa ys of her a p p r oa ch.
Alpha influences
It' s not just p a r enta l a ttitud es tow a r d s
g end er eq ua lity tha t a r e cha ng ing , their
kid s' a r e too.

A ma jor ity of child r en – 6 3% of g ir ls a nd

52 % of b oys – b eliev e they a r e tr ea ted
d iffer ently b eca use of their g end er ,
a ccor d ing to a sur v ey of nine- to 14 -yea r -
old s b y child r en' s new sp a p er F ir st New s
p ub lished in Ja nua r y 2 018. Ha lf sa id tha t
g ir ls w er e mor e likely to b e jud g ed on their
looks tha n b oys, w hile 70% of g ir ls a nd 6 0%
of b oys sa id they ha d ov er hea r d sexist
comments b eing ma d e a b out their fr iend s.

Althoug h this a g e g r oup a r e slig htly old er

tha n the Alp ha s, a ttitud es a t school a g e a r e
str ong ly p eer -influenced a nd w ill b e p a ssed
on to young er cla ssma tes a nd sib ling s.

As hig hlig hted in our B a ck to S chool

Messa g ing 2 018 r ep or t, child r en a r e a lso
g etting incr ea sing ly mor e sa y ov er how
their p a r ents' money is sp ent, so it' s w or th
keep ing the mind set of the young est cohor t
in mind . A 2 016 F a ceb ook IQ stud y found
tha t 54 % of p a r ents of school a g e kid s sa y
their kid s ha v e mor e imp a ct on p ur cha sing
d ecisions tha n they d id .
evlc
Generational divide
Gen Z a r e the most g end er -neutr a l
g ener a tion so fa r . Althoug h they ma y not
ha v e b een b or n into it, Gen Z ha v e g r ow n
up in a w or ld w her e the id ea of g end er a s a
socia l constr uct is a ccep ted a mong ma ny of
their p eer s, a s w ell a s a hug e p r olifer a tion
of g end er -fluid influencer s their ow n a g e on
socia l med ia . Accor d ing to a 2 016 stud y b y
JWT Intellig ence, 56 % of Gen Zer s know
someone w ho uses g end er -neutr a l
p r onouns. Going for w a r d , a s Gen Z r ea ch
a d ulthood a nd sta r t to b ecome p a r ents
themselv es ov er the coming yea r s, this
tr end w ill only continue to g r ow a s they
p a ss their a p p r oa ches to g end er on to their
child r en.
The emer g ence of ma ny child r ensw ea r
b r a nd s offer ing g end er -neutr a l
a lter na tiv es, comb ined w ith their
p r og r essiv e v iew s on g end er , mea n tha t a s
they sta r t to b ecome p a r ents in the yea r s
a hea d , Gen Z w ill exp ect b r a nd s w ith
p r od ucts tha t r eflect their v iew s. Accor d ing
to the JWT stud y, " Gen Z a lso r ejected the
g end er b ina r y w hile shop p ing – only 4 4 %
sa id they a lw a ys b oug ht clothes d esig ned
for their ow n g end er , v er sus 54 % of
Millennia ls. "
Time
A 2 017 r ep or t b y Ha v a s Med ia titled The
F utur e is F eMa le, b a sed on a g lob a l sur v ey
of 12 , 16 8 men a nd w omen ov er 32
countr ies, found tha t only just ov er ha lf of
p eop le (55% of men a nd 54 % of w omen)
b eliev e tha t w omen a r e mor e na tur a lly
suited to p a r enthood – a sig n tha t
tr a d itiona lly held b eliefs a r ound p a r enting
a r e g r a d ua lly fa lling a w a y. The stud y a lso
r ev ea led tha t 6 1% of w omen a nd 4 6 % of
men b eliev e child r en should b e r a ised in a
w a y tha t' s a s g end er -neutr a l a s p ossib le to
a v oid r estr icting ster eotyp es.
How ev er , ov er a ll sup p or t d oes d ecline w ith
a g e. A 2 015 iGen Insig ht p oll found tha t only
2 3% of men ov er 55 a g r eed w hen a sked
w hether the mov e tow a r d s g end er neutr a l
ca teg or isa tions w a s the r ig ht one. Women
in the sa me a g e g r oup w er e mor e likely to
b e in fa v our , w ith 4 4 % sup p or ting the
sta tement.
Raising "theybies"
A sma ll b ut g r ow ing numb er of p a r ents a r e
choosing to not a nnounce the b iolog ica l sex
of their b a b y a t b ir th, instea d r a ising their
child a s a " theyb y" w ithout a g iv en g end er .
While the exa ct a p p r oa ch ma y d iffer
b etw een fa milies, this often inv olv es
a d d r essing the child w ith g end er -neutr a l
p r onouns a nd not telling the child their sex
– the a im b eing to counter a ct the ha r mful
effects of g end er b ia ses b y a llow ing
child r en to come to their ow n conclusions
(often b y a r ound a g e four ) w ithout b eing
p ig eonholed into a n id entity.
This style of p a r enting is v er y new a nd no
r esea r ch yet exists on how it a ffects
child r en, b ut exp er ts ha v e hig hlig hted
p ositiv e effects. L otta R a ja lin insists the
a p p r oa ch is fr eeing a nd op ens child r en up
to mor e op tions, r a ther tha n b eing
r estr ictiv e. Dr John S teev er , a ssista nt
p r ofessor of p ed ia tr ics a t the Mount S ina i
Ad olescent Hea lth Center in New Yor k, told
NB C New s tha t he sees " g end er -op en
p a r enting a s a w a y to show child r en tha t
they w ill b e a ccep ted no ma tter their
id entity. " How ev er , Chr istia S p ea r s B r ow n,
a d ev elop menta l p sycholog ist a nd a uthor
Raising Zoomer
of “Pa r enting B eyond Pink a nd B lue: How to
R a ise Your K id s F r ee of Gend er
S ter eotyp es”, a lso str esses how imp or ta nt it
is for p a r ents to p r ep a r e their kid s for " a
society tha t' s r ea lly ob sessed w ith a g end er
b ina r y. "
R a ising Zoomer is a b log a nd Insta g r a m
a ccount w ith 15k follow er s r un b y a B r ooklyn
coup le tha t d ocuments the d a y-to-d a y life of
their tw o-yea r -old , offer ing a d v ice for other
p a r ents consid er ing r a ising their child
g end er -neutr a l.
In July 2 017, a Ca na d ia n b a b y b eca me the
fir st in the w or ld to b e issued a hea lth ca r d
w ithout a g end er ma r ked on it.
How ev er , this a p p r oa ch ha sn' t b een
w elcomed b y ev er yone. In a 2 017 Vice
d ocumenta r y a b out g end er -neutr a l
p a r enting a nd schools in S w ed en, Dr Da v id
Eb er ha r d a r g ues tha t " you ca nnot solv e a
p r ob lem b y d oing it tota lly the op p osite
w a y, I think then you cr ea te new p r ob lems. "
Gend er non-confor ming child r en a r e a lso
mor e likely to b e b ullied , a ccor d ing to a
2 015 GL S EN stud y.
The pink and blue tsunami
Millennia l (a nd Gen X) p a r ents of young
child r en a r e incr ea sing ly fr ustr a ted w ith
ov er ly g end er ed kid s' p r od ucts tha t they
see a s r einfor cing unhelp ful ster eotyp es –
w hich lea d to p r ob lems like the g end er p a y
g a p b etw een men a nd w omen in a d ulthood .
In 2 017, Mintel found tha t 2 0% of p a r ents in
the US w ith child r en und er 12 sup p or t the
tr end tow a r d s g end er -neutr a l child r en' s
clothing . S up p or t skew s ev en hig her a mong
young er p a r ents, esp ecia lly Millennia ls
Primary
(2 4 % ) a nd ur b a n p a r ents (2 5% ). " One of the
most p op ula r tr end s in child r en' s clothing
r ig ht now is g end er -neutr a lity a nd kid ' s
clothing b r a nd s need to b e cog nisa nt of the
new g end er -neutr a l sta nd a r d . B y cr ea ting
p r od ucts tha t a r e for b oys a nd g ir ls, b r a nd s
ca n r ea ch mor e consumer s a nd ha v e mor e
op p or tunity to incr ea se their p r ofits, " sa id
Dia na S mith, a ssocia te d ir ector for r eta il
a nd a p p a r el a t Mintel.
Comp a nies p r od ucing unisex child r en' s
clothing ha v e b een a r ound for d eca d es, b ut
a s a ttitud es r a p id ly ev olv e, new b r a nd s
w ith v a lues tha t closely a lig n w ith p a r enta l
v iew s on g end er a r e emer g ing .
Wear and Where
K a te Pietr a sik found ed unisex kid sw ea r
b r a nd Tootsa in 2 011 a s a n a lter na tiv e to the
g end er ed offer ing s a v a ila b le fr om B r itish
hig h-str eet b r a nd s: " As a p a r ent to a
d a ug hter , I' m usher ed d ow n a isles of p ink,
often sexua lised clothing [a nd ] toys tha t
encour a g e a n inter est in b ea uty, p a ssiv e
p la y, a nd d omesticity, " she told R efiner y2 9 .
" S hop p ing in the b oys d ep a r tment w a sn' t
a ny b etter – unless I w a nted to d r ess my
d a ug hter w ith tr ucks, monster s a nd
ca moufla g e motifs, " she told Wea r a nd
Wher e in a sep a r a te inter v iew . Tootsa w on
the UK F T B est Child r ensw ea r B r a nd a w a r d
in 2 015.
K id sw ea r sta r t-up Pr ima r y ma kes hig h-
q ua lity b a sics in a r a ng e of colour s (a nd
now r a inb ow str ip es) tha t a v oid the typ ica l
g end er ing of child r en' s clothes – b lue for
b oys, b utter flies, flow er s a nd p lenty of p ink
for g ir ls. L a unched in 2 015, the b r a nd w ent
g end er -neutr a l in 2 016 . Accor d ing to F a st
Comp a ny, the b r a nd sa w 2 . 5x g r ow th in
2 017 a nd ha s a customer b a se of 300, 000.
With $ 2 0m of S er ies B fund ing secur ed in
F eb r ua r y 2 018, the b r a nd continues to
exp a nd .
Niche messaging
We a r e seeing the emer g ence of sma ller
g end er neutr a l child r ensw ea r b r a nd s tha t
a r e fulfilling sp ecific niches in how they
a p p ea l to p a r ents a nd their kid s.
Online child r ensw ea r b r a nd Tob ia s & the
B ea r ma kes " a ffor d a b le b ut cool" unisex
leg g ing s, top s a nd b ed d ing in p la yful p r ints
for a g es zer o to six. It w a s for med b y
mother s a nd for mer collea g ues R uth Cozens
Tobias & The Bear
a nd L ea nne McK eev er a fter they r ea lised
the d ea r th of non-g end er ed op tions
a v a ila b le in the UK . The b r a nd op ened a
p op -up shop a t B oxp a r k, L ond on, in la te
2 017 a nd ha s colla b or a ted w ith Pea nuts a nd
Mr Men. S p otting a niche for p a r ents w ho
like to " tw in" w ith their child , the b r a nd a lso
la unched a d ult size leg g ing s.
L ittle B or ne w a s la unched v ia a K icksta r ter
Flakiki
ca mp a ig n in 2 017 w ith a mission to g iv e
kid s clothes tha t encour a g e them to b e
" a ctiv e a nd uninhib ited " . The b r a nd
eschew s p r ints in fa v our of p la in, simp le
unisex clothes d esig ned sp ecifica lly for
kid s, w ith a ffor d a b le p r ices a nd p r od uction
v a lues b a sed on q ua lity a nd susta ina b ility.
Barn of Monkeys
B a r n of Monkeys ta kes a mor e fa shion
for w a r d a p p r oa ch, w hile a lso p r ior itising
q ua lity a nd susta ina b ility. L a unched a t
Pla ytime Pa r is S S 18, the a r tistic Por tug uese
b r a nd , for a g es tw o to 16 , ma kes a ll its
g a r ments w ith 100% eco cotton.
The r ise of str eetw ea r ha s a lso help ed to
close the g end er g a p in kid sw ea r , a s
contemp or a r y a thleisur e styles tr ickle d ow n
fr om mensw ea r a nd w omensw ea r . As
exp lor ed in our Hyp e K id s: Alp ha
Influencer s r ep or t, this is la r g ely d r iv en b y
str eetw ea r -ob sessed p a r ents' d esir e to
d r ess their kid s like mini v er sions of
themselv es. WGS N senior kid sw ea r ed itor
Er in R echner sa id : " The cr ea tion of
B a lencia g a ’s fir st kid s’ line in Decemb er
2 017, Ad id a s Yeezy mini-snea ker s a nd
[K a r d a shia n a nd West’s] The K id s S up p ly
b r a nd a r e a ll p a v ing the w a y for a n ev en
str ong er p r esence of str eet unisex
a p p a r el. " B r a nd s like Ha us of JR , L e F utur e
K id s, S up er ism a nd S eoul-b a sed F la kiki
ma ke unisex, Insta g r a mma b le str eetw ea r
for kid s. Austr a lia n b r a nd F YP-A g iv es its
child r en' s str eetw ea r g a r ments a p olitica l
sla nt w ith slog a ns ca lling for cha ng e.
Larger retailers
L a r g er r eta iler s a r e a lso a d a p ting to the
tr end , w hile ta king ca r e to a v oid a liena ting
customer s w ith mor e conser v a tiv e v iew s.

UK r eta iler John L ew is r emov ed g end er ed

la b elling fr om its kid sw ea r in 2 017, a lthoug h
p r od uct is still la id out in a fa ir ly tr a d itiona l
for ma t in-stor e.

In 2 015, Ta r g et b eg a n to p ha se out g end er -

b a sed stor e sig na g e for toys a nd b ed d ing ,
includ ing the use of p ink, b lue, yellow a nd
g r een p a p er on shelv ing . In July 2 017, the
US r eta il g ia nt la unched a b a ck to school
collection fea tur ing g end er neutr a l items, in
p a r tner ship w ith Toca B oca . " It' s our
mission to ma ke sur e no kid ev er feels
exclud ed , " sa id Ma thild a Eng ma n, hea d of
consumer p r od ucts a t Toca B oca .

R iv er Isla nd la unched a g end er neutr a l

child r ensw ea r r a ng e in 2 017, encour a g ing
kid s to cr ea te their ow n style r eg a r d less of
g end er .

The tr end is ca tching on a mong hig h-end

la b els. A Gucci kid sw ea r collection for Net-
a -Por ter la unched in July 2 018 fea tur ed
sev er a l unisex items.
Harper's Bazaar
Action points
– B r a nd s should consid er their customer s
w hen d ecid ing how b est to a ccommod a te
inclusiv e p a r enting . While the a ttitud e
shift a mong the young er g ener a tions a nd
p r og r essiv e countr ies like S w ed en
sug g ests tr a d itiona l g end er r oles a r e
b eing stea d ily d isma ntled , ma ny p eop le
a r e still uncomfor ta b le or unfa milia r w ith
the cha ng es.

– Choice of la ng ua g e is key. The ter m

" g end er -neutr a l" is one tha t ma ny find
p r ov oca tiv e, so consid er using w or d s like
" inclusiv e" instea d .

– Consid er r emov ing g end er ed sig na g e

a nd la b elling . B e inclusiv e a nd encour a g e
child r en to b e themselv es, r eg a r d less of
g end er . B ut think a b out how to keep
la youts fa milia r for old er shop p er s, or
those w ith mor e conser v a tiv e v iew s.

– Includ e the sa me themes a cr oss b oy' s a nd

g ir l' s collections, r a ther tha n d iv id ing
ev er ything up . " Ther e’s no r ea son tha t
p ink a nd r a b b its a r e for g ir ls, a nd
d inosa ur s a r e for b oys, " sa ys Jo
Tutchener -S ha r p , found er of S ca mp &
Dud e.
Barn of Monkeys
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