I came across this video a couple of days ago as I was looking through my Facebook feed about toys for girls that aren’t marketed towards all things pink, dolls, & cooking. Watch it, it’s a short 2 minute video, & it’s awesome!
Ever since having a girl, I have been really focused on making sure that she knows she is not limited by her gender. When I had just had O, I remember reading this blog post on Huffington Post about this mom who has all boys & then finally had a girl. She said she wasn’t raising a Princess, she’s raising a future PRESIDENT. And that attitude resonates with me. I love it. My daughter (& my son), are both being raised to know that they are not bound to their genders. I’m not saying that my girl won’t have a Disney Princess birthday party if she wants one & that she doesn’t wear pink (Hello, LOVE ME SOME PINK!), but if she ever asks for a Thomas the Train party, she’s going to get that too.
You see, my daughter will be who she wants to be. I want her to know that her choices are limitless & anything a boy can do she can do too. My parents’ girls were playing sports, we were hiking in the woods, fishing, hunting, camping, you name it, we did it. We have a running joke at home that our dad treated his girls like boys because we did all the heavy lifting. We were never, NOT ONE TIME, held back because of our gender. And I will be the exact same way with my daughter!
Now, let’s flip that coin & talk about raising a boy. Lboy is all things boy, he loves cars & trains, trucks, monsters, he wants to wrestle & sword fight, pick up bugs & dig for worms. But, he also likes to play with kitchen sets, he’s interested in cooking, he thinks that new clothes are fun & he’s known for thinking that O’s baby doll is pretty cute. I told someone one time that I was considering buying Lboy one of those play kitchens for Christmas & I was, honest to goodness met with, “You mean, you’re going to tell your son it’s okay to be a sissy?”
[Blank stares]…… Seriously? Can you please tell me how Emeril Lagasse is a sissy because he’s an executive chef? Or how my friend’s husband is a sissy because he does all the cooking because he enjoys it? I’m sorry, but I’m not sorry that I think it’s a stupid attitude my son can’t play with a kitchen set. This isn’t 1913, where a man gets married & his wife cooks for him 3 meals a day. This is 2013, there is no guarantee my son will marry, there is no guarantee his wife will want to do all the cooking when/if he does get married. My son will not be bound to the stereotypes of his gender either.
If Lboy wants to be a hair stylist or a male ballet dancer, then I say go for it (yes, I have a male hair stylist who is a runner, mountain biker, has a gorgeous wife, etc, he just prefers being a hair stylist to his former “manly” job.) If my daughter wants to be a doctor & my son wants to stay home with his kids? BRAVO! Way to go to each of them for knowing what they want. If my son wants to be a lawyer & my daughter wants to stay home with her kids? BRAVO! I say more power to them for pursuing a path that works for their families.
In the meantime, Lboy can like purple, O can play with trucks, but the minute one of them wants something camo, I’m totally out. We’re going to have a problem with that for sure. 😉
What do you think about gender assigned
toys/colors/etc?
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