We are trying to raise our children sans annoying gender roles, for example, pink and purple only for girls, trucks for boys, dolls for girls, etc. We think these kinds of characterizations are silly and limiting and I want my kids to be able to choose whatever they LIKE to play with, not what our society says they should like. That said, Ethan has dolls, trucks, a pink backpack and no restrictions on the types of things he wants to play or play with. Other than knowing the physical differences between a boy and a girl, he has no real concept that there are "boy things" and "girl things". And we like it that way.
But today, Ethan made me laugh. We were driving home from swimming lessons, and talking about maybe buying him some swim goggles. Then, out of the blue, he said, "You need to buy me a dress." I started giggling and asked, "Why?" He said, "So I can go to a dress party!" Well, I started laughing so hard, tears were flowing. All I told him was that I'd never heard of a dress party. And of course, my giggles made him laugh, too. I'm so happy he has no qualms about wearing a dress. No, I will probably not go buy him one (although, I'm now thinking a dress-up one would be really fun for him - boys just don't "get" the thrill of wearing dresses. They really feel very nice). He will have many years of being forced into gender stereotypes. I'm so happy that for a few years, he can be completely oblivious of them.
Oh, and maybe if anyone complains about our son's preference for "girl" things, we can show them the video of his father in a children's theatre production he was once in. Hmmm... Feel free to ask us about that, if you want. Hehe.
1 comment:
I've been raising my kids the same way, without the "boy things" and "girl things" but I remember one day when the kids were at my mom's and she gave Alexa a purse to use during their walk outside, Asher wanted one too and picked one up and put it over his shoulder and my mom laughed at him and said, "No, people will think you're weird." I wanted to cry. I wonder how awful it must have been to have been raised at a time when this was a forced way of thinking, from birth. I can't change my mom, but I did tell Asher he could find one at home and play with one at home if he wanted. Asher and Alexa play really well together, with dolls, kitchen, trains, trucks, everything and they both enjoy it all. Good for you, Krista :) Take care!
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