Suspicious Men And Me

Depending on how think, seeing a lonely man in a children's clothing shop may make you slightly uncomfortable. Once, in a reputable department store, I had to stand and loiter wait for The Chancellor to go to the toilet. However the toilets where located next the the children's underwear section. I didn't notice this at first but then I became aware that I was a man looking slightly suspect next to children's pants. Of course it was all in my mind but I did get, that day, a number of dirty looks. After I became aware of where I was I scurried off to look at the Lego. Lesser of two evils.

Today I took myself off for a bit of man time. I treated myself to some new shoes and some new CDs, it was all very therapeutic. One of my other jobs however was to spend a voucher on something for the wee man. The said voucher had been sitting around for a while so it was thrust into my hand as I left the house by The Chancellor.

The shop had a special section for children's clothes so off I went and trawled through the many tops and t-shirts. Then I remembered that The Chancellor had said the wee man could do with some new pyjamas.  I looked around for nightwear but eventually lost interest and had to ask an employee. "Can you tell me where the nightwear is for toddler boys?" I asked but I was greeted with a strange look and a pause. "It's for my son" I blurted seemingly desperate for her to know I had a child and I wasn't just buying boys pyjamas for my own fun times. She replied with a half smile and a look that said 'I'm not too sure about you'. She obliged to my request but I couldn't get the thought out of my head that I wasn't trusted.

What's the difference though with a man in a children's clothes section to a woman being there. It's just our minds assuming that there is something wrong going on. Maybe because it's such a rare thing that we're just socially so confused that we suddenly think 'the bad thing'. I always try and hurry up when I'm by myself  in these places though I'm not sure I look untrustworthy.

jpr