For decades, Barbie has illuminated the eyes of little girls everywhere. Matchbox cars have kept boys racing around endless tracks. Pink has always been the color for newborn girls and blue for newborn boys. But what if a boy's favorite color is purple or a girl loves playing with her new dump truck? Is there some written rule that says boys cannot play house or that girls cannot use tools to build? Does that make them any less of a child or does it indicate what their future will hold?
A story recently surfaced about a boy dressing up as a female character for a school Halloween parade. The mom was ridiculed for allowing her son to where a female costume. See Mom's blog. Isn't that what Halloween is all about, costumes! It's a time to be creative and a little out-of-the-norm. To quote the mother, "If my daughter had dressed as Batman, no one would have thought twice about it. No one." They're just kids mimicking some of their favorite characters.
A few years ago, we had a new preschool class starting and I remember one of the new moms had something she wanted to discuss with us. She had asked if it was going to be a problem if her son liked to play with Barbie dolls and that he really enjoyed playing in the dress-up area. She was concerned that the other children would not accept him and that we might deter him from playing in such areas. It certainly was not a concern of any of the staff and that we encouraged it.
Some might say that it's an indication that the child will be feminine or grow up gay as the earlier story suggests. Frankly, they're just kids and it's no body's business except the moms'...
A few years ago, we had a new preschool class starting and I remember one of the new moms had something she wanted to discuss with us. She had asked if it was going to be a problem if her son liked to play with Barbie dolls and that he really enjoyed playing in the dress-up area. She was concerned that the other children would not accept him and that we might deter him from playing in such areas. It certainly was not a concern of any of the staff and that we encouraged it.
Some might say that it's an indication that the child will be feminine or grow up gay as the earlier story suggests. Frankly, they're just kids and it's no body's business except the moms'...
Colette, I couldn't agree more! Our society seems bent on "teaching" kids about gender roles right from the beginning. But what about those dads who choose to stay home with the kids while the mom works? Does that make them less of a man? I have a three-year-old little boy who loves the color pink. He has a baby doll that he got when I was pregnant with my daughter. He thought it was great when he could put a diaper on the baby and wrap her in a blanket. I love that he is learning how to be gentle and careful with babies; what a great way to teach little guys about being great dads some day. Anytime Mack is asked what color he wants for something, he always replies pink or purple. Our neighbors gave us two pairs of snow pants, one pink and one black. The pink ones are the perfect size for Macklin, so I plan to use them for him this winter. When I told him, he replied that he couldn't wear them because pink is for girls. I am not sure where he learned this, but it really bothered me.
ReplyDeleteI think that the little boy's mom has every right to be upset. My husband heard about this on the radio and loved the comment about the ninja! The mom gives some excellent reasons why this thinking is faulty. We saw several "Spider Girls" during trick-or-treating this year. Macklin thought it was cool to see so many, regardless of gender. Hopefully, more people will be fired-up about this topic and realize that kids are just kids. Adults make the issues.