Which came first, the stereotype or the mechanise?

I went clothes shopping this morning for the Crankmaster J.

Specifically, I went to buy size 3 board shorts, thinking they would be cooler for summer and long to keep his legs from the sun.

When I finally got him wrangled to the right section of the right store, he seized on a pair of pink 00 tights. I explained that they were not shorts and completely the wrong size, but at least I could get something pink shorts for him. Or so I thought.

So 2 pairs of board shorts were found and 3 plain t-shirts for tie-dying. But there was nothing pink in the 'boys' section. Onto the pink section....

Apparently girls don't wear board shorts. I couldn't find any pink long shorts at all. Short shorts, skirts and even pink jeans, yes, but no long shorts. It seems that when you change from the boy's aisle to the girl's aisle there is no correlation in clothes. The styles and prints change dramatically from what the store deems 'boys' and 'girls'. I don't want to be told what my child should wear based on rules that he doesn't care about.

Okay, he is fixated on trucks, trains and cars. He fits that stereotype perfectly. But he also wants to wear pink. I think he should be allowed to.