Lately, I've been much more concerned about the stereotypes for boys. I'm not talking about playing with trucks here. I'm talking about the disturbing number of sentences that start with the phrase, "Just like a man..."
So far, I've heard, "Just like a man...
- Always fussing
- Never happy with anything
- Always making a mess
The list goes on. And though it's always said as a jest, it's never a positive statement.
Seriously? Babyroo isn't anything like a man. He's everything like a baby. And I'm sorry that at some point you had a bad breakup with a wretch of a man, but please don't put that baggage on my 4-month-old. He's wonderful and sweet, and we plan on raising him so that he stays that way.
I think about that sometimes, too. We, as girls, are allowed to get SUPER OFFENDED when we're pigeonholed into being defined by our gender (as rightly we should) but at the same time, people do it to men pretty frequently, too. And I get it. Men haven't ever had to overcome the things that women have in the past. I so get that. But still. If we're fighting for equality and trying to break stereotypes, shouldn't it be for both sides? Otherwise, what's the point? If we stereotype boys, girls are, by default, going to find themselves still stereotyped, too.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Sara. That's what got me thinking about it. If someone looked at Babykins and said, "Just like a woman...always late" everyone who could hear would get upset! But no one seems to mind when it's said about boys!
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