LJI Exhibit A (SCI) Topic 6: An Open Letter on Gender Roles

[alycewilson]

This is my entry this week for the Exhibit A competition of therealljidol. Currently, I am in the Second Chance Idol, which means I was eliminated from the main competition but still have a chance to get back in the game. I invite you to read and vote for my fellow SCI competitors. This week's topic is "Can't Get There from Here."

Comments

[cheshire23]

LOVE LOVE LOVE this!

And thank you for adding the boy side of this - a lot of time it seems more acceptable for girls to do "boy things" than vice-versa, and that is so annoying.

[alycewilson]

Actually, to be honest, it was the "girl" part that I added. This whole thing started because I've been thinking about all the assumptions people make about my son because he's a boy. His hair has rarely been even long enough to cover his ears, and yet rude people would strongly suggest I needed to get him a "boy's cut." I wanted to write something about equal rights for both boys AND girls, because I agree with you that boys don't get the same support that girls get when it comes to challenging gender roles.

[comedychick]

This is a really important message that I think really needs to be encouraged more. I agree with cheshire23 about it seeming more acceptable for girls to do anything than boys. My eldest son once said "I like girls better than boys" and when I asked why he said "because girls can have pretty things" and that made me sad, though I'm not sure if I appropriately explained that boys can like and have pretty things too. I have allowed him to wear nail polish in the past but I think he's more self conscious about it now since he was teased about it in kindergarten and kids said only girls can wear it.

[alycewilson]

I'm with you. I've had playground conversations with other parents of boys who are concerned about the same things. What I'd really like to see would be a movement to support boys the same way that there's been a movement to support girls who want to depart from gender stereotypes.

[comedychick]

Yeah, me too!

[tatdatcm]

It's so difficult to fight those gender stereotypes. I agree too, that it's easier - or more accepted - for girls to challenge those roles than boys.

[alycewilson]

That's probably because "male" qualities are more valued in Western culture than "female" qualities. My first draft of this was a long essay about my thinking on the subject, but then I decided that the most effective thing I could do to start making a difference would be to write something directly to the kids who need to hear it.

[kandigurl]

You forgot Alton Brown!

I definitely love this empowering list. Thank you!

[alycewilson]

I <3 Alton Brown! He's my favorite food geek. When my husband and I started dating 10 years ago, he introduced me to the Food Network, and Alton was the first person on there whom I really adored.

My decisions on who to include were difficult, to be sure. There could have been three or four or five times as many names in any of these categories. I wanted to make sure it was both diverse and contemporary, because I wanted them to have some living role models as well as be aware of some historical figures.

[alycewilson]

The boy side is very important to me right now. I'm constantly thinking about the messages I want to give my son. This post includes some of them!