(no subject)
I'd like the opportunity to write a paper about how parenting styles that are "gender neutral" are actually perpetuating our culture's gender stereotypes. I am bothered by what I saw on Oprah the other morning. It was a family that had a six year old boy; according to the parents their son decided on his own to be a girl. He began his gender transformation at age two. How? By preferring girl themed toys and colors. This is so baffling to me. How have we come to the point where gender is based on what aisle we prefer to shop in at ToysRus? As a child I would role-play as a boy when we were playing imaginary games. At McDonalds I wanted the racecar instead of the Barbie. I wanted the blue crayon and disliked pink. What if my parent's had chosen to reinforce this behavior by calling it a gender choice and making me a boy?
I allow Adriana to play with whatever toys, and I don't gender classify them. (Of course, I still choose what toys I allow her to have and will probably continue to do this for some time. I don't like the idea of my daughter being influenced by the media beginning at age two.) For Christmas I gave a few dolls, a firetruck, a train, and a tea set. Gender typical toys isn't even an idea in my head. When I showed my mom the train-set and she laughed at me and told me it was a boy's toy (then showed me how all the children on the box were boys) I told her that it was just a train.
This is what I don't understand about 'gender neutral' parenting. It is just a doll, just a train, just legos, just a tea set. I think we should phase out the gender specific toys, like all pink planes, computers, doodle pads, etc. But I don't think we should gender classify everything. I think this is where the perpetuation of the way our culture views gender roles comes from. I won't raise Adriana this way.
I allow Adriana to play with whatever toys, and I don't gender classify them. (Of course, I still choose what toys I allow her to have and will probably continue to do this for some time. I don't like the idea of my daughter being influenced by the media beginning at age two.) For Christmas I gave a few dolls, a firetruck, a train, and a tea set. Gender typical toys isn't even an idea in my head. When I showed my mom the train-set and she laughed at me and told me it was a boy's toy (then showed me how all the children on the box were boys) I told her that it was just a train.
This is what I don't understand about 'gender neutral' parenting. It is just a doll, just a train, just legos, just a tea set. I think we should phase out the gender specific toys, like all pink planes, computers, doodle pads, etc. But I don't think we should gender classify everything. I think this is where the perpetuation of the way our culture views gender roles comes from. I won't raise Adriana this way.