Hello Kitty for men...

So you spend your time waving a finger and muttering as you take the foam off the top of your second pint about gender performance,... You paint the nursery yellow and lean away from too much blue... You specify Christmas presents mustn't contain the words 'monster', 'trouble' or 'monkey' (you never find these epithets in the girl sections, it's all angels and princesses over there), but then you find this in the middle of your kitchen...

And you start to think... hmm...

Don't get me wrong, I love Hello Kitty, and many Japanese men would agree. It's just that in the West, Hello Kitty is a girl thing (although, incidentally, it was the ChapDad who handed over my Hello Kitty to his son, not me. Don't know why I feel it's important to say that, but there you go); is it fair for me to allow my son to attach to this particular stuffed plush article when he may either a) feel embarassed about the attachment in years to come, or b) have other kids laugh at him if they find out about her?

Am I overthinking it? Yet Grayson Perry has made a whole career around the adoration of his old teddy, Alan Measles.

Well, as with everything, I'm going to play the Wait And See game. Kitty feels very interesting to little fingers - soft bits and silky bits and lacy bits and hard, shiny eyes* , so we'll leave it for the moment. After all, Kitty may fancy a gender change in years to come. When my father's manly Big Ted met me, he started running round in frilly dresses and calling himself Juliette. Story of my life....

*I think I may have just listed what my husband likes best about me there...