What did you think? Are you not in LOVE with this little girl? First off, props to the parents of this little girl Riley for teaching her to speak her mind, ask questions and to realize the differences within people.
If you skipped the video I guess I'll tell you what she said. Basically she is questioning why all the girl toys are pink and princesses and all the boy toys are superheros and boy colors. She wants to know why boys can't buy pink princesses and why girls can't buy superheros! Her father brilliantely asks her why she thinks all the girl stuff is pink? She answers with the best answer possible, "The companies try to trick us!" Boy does she have it right!
From birth, boys and girls are constantly reminded of their gender roles. Girls' rooms are pink, all of their clothes are pink hues, they have bows, they have dolls and cute princess outfits. Boys' rooms are blue/green, with baseball borders, and outfits with trucks on them. As they get older they are imbeaded with even more gender roles by giving the girls vacuum cleaning toys, kitchenette toys, Easy Bake Ovens, doll houses to take care of, as well as baby dolls; all insinuating that their worth is becoming a stay at home mother, who cleans house and takes care of the family. Or a princess. Where boys are given trucks, superheros and sporting equipment insinuating that they should aim to become a truck driving superhero that plays baseball! I'm not saying either is better but to me, clearly one sounds like a more demanding role than the other. Believe me, stay at home mothers are strong individuals and this is not a way for me to bash them. I just don't think it's right to instill in your daughter's head that being a stay at home mother is all there is to be. Just like letting your son run wild on the thought of becoming a professional baseball player isn't great either.
Here's the thing, how can you pass by those cute barbies and dolls and not get one for your sweet little girl? How can you pass by the new soccer ball for your rough and tumble son? It's hard but important to make sure they are aware of their roles as people, not boys or girls. It's important to teach your children the differences between the two, but also that being a stay at home dad is fine, being a firefighting woman is fine, being a janitor is fine! As long as you love it, it's fine.
I'm not a fan of treating girls like they're delicate little creatures, just like I'm not a fan of treating boys like they need to get over everything so easily. But women who are brought up this way are considered cold hearted bitches, and men are considered pussies. Who knows how we will end up raising our children but I guess for now I can say that I hope we can bring them up teaching them it's ok to ask questions and it's acceptable for them to play with any toy without any judgement from me or their father. However others judging them is the real issue. I guess I'll leave you with this, next time you see a boy playing with a doll, or a girl who's attached to an Iron Man action figure, just know they're comfortable with who they are, and you should be too.
EMM
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