Well, I wondered how I could teach him....
In response to another friend's post I noted concern over how I would raise my son to see people as people, avoiding the elitism that oozes through society. The specific topic was gender, and my comment was:
"It's easier to me to figure out how to tell a daughter she's just as good as any guy. It seems easier to tackle the problem head on with a daughter.
On the flip side, I'm less worried about trying to convince my son that he's as good as a girl. But how do I interweave into my parenting that girls are just as good as him? It's not something I expect to come up as directly as it would for a daughter--basically, I expect fewer clear "teaching moments", so how do I make sure he hears ME and not society? I need to spot when he is internalizing pressures applied to girls around him, and this seems a lot harder than spotting pressures applied directly.
I'm not known as the most observant person either...."
Well, today I found and illustration of what I'm going to need to do. Ugh, but at least I have something concrete to start with:
http://magazine.goodvibes.com/2011/03/21/slut-shaming-on-the-playground/
"It's easier to me to figure out how to tell a daughter she's just as good as any guy. It seems easier to tackle the problem head on with a daughter.
On the flip side, I'm less worried about trying to convince my son that he's as good as a girl. But how do I interweave into my parenting that girls are just as good as him? It's not something I expect to come up as directly as it would for a daughter--basically, I expect fewer clear "teaching moments", so how do I make sure he hears ME and not society? I need to spot when he is internalizing pressures applied to girls around him, and this seems a lot harder than spotting pressures applied directly.
I'm not known as the most observant person either...."
Well, today I found and illustration of what I'm going to need to do. Ugh, but at least I have something concrete to start with:
http://magazine.goodvibes.com/2011/03/21/slut-shaming-on-the-playground/