I should make this perfectly clear: I do not believe that men are the same as women, biologically or otherwise, nor should they be.
But a few men have ruffled my feathers recently by suggesting that certain traits are inherently "boy" traits. Perhaps it is because I possess these particular traits (and was not raised as a tomboy) that the issue rankles. I love playing with legos (yes, that is present tense), I have always wanted to spend time outside (except when I did it for a living and gained far greater appreciation of air conditioning, heating and showers), and when compared to the Mister, MB or MBiL, would be the most naturally inclined to work on a ranch.
I don't think I possess these traits because I'm female, nor do I think it is my femaleness that makes me taller than the Mister or worse at math than the Mister (but better than 90% of the graduate school-attending population) or better at baking cakes. They are just part of who I am.
Dianthus currently wants to be outside all the time, follows his grandfathers into the pasture or garden, and is obsessed with trucks and lawn mowers. He also is a big help unloading the dishwasher and is fascinated by kittens, bubbles and hair clips.
His sibling, female or male, will certainly be different at age almost two.
She or he may not like being outside looking at insects, may not want to dig and may not make loud grumbling noises when pushing objects across the floor.
My challenge to my Father-in-Law is to put a cap on her or him, give her or him a dump truck, and take her or him out digging potatoes and bashing musk thistle and give her or him every opportunity to find out.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
4 comments:
Yay legos!!!
I'm definitely challenged---mostly mentally.
Although I'd like to bash musk thistles, we chop them or spray them. I suppose bashing would also work if it killed them. I have no time for philosophical discussions at this time---I'm obsessed with the daily battle with the not so elusive thistle. Time to get back to work.
From Irene (attached to a different post): Annika is equally enamored of robots, planets (she likes combining these interests by watching videos about the Mars Rover), pretty dresses, motorcycles, sparkly shoes, Transformers, ballerinas, swordfighting, and playing outside.
I know in the next year or two, she'll inevitably become more aware of which interests are considered masculine and which ones feminine. Hopefully, though, with a dad who likes to teach her about swordplay and a mom who's much more willing to buy her robots than dolls, she'll be at least a little resistant to gender stereotyping.
Because sometimes I'm a stickler for fair accuracy, I should add that it was not my FiL who said that "girls don't like legos".
FiL-- I must be using the terminology wrong, as the "chopping" I've seen you do is a form of what I generally call "bashing". Good luck with it, and thanks for accepting the challenge.
I should add a further challenge to my MiL that Dianthus and his sibling both have the opportunity to learn quilting and baking skills from her.
Post a Comment