After giving birth to two wonderful baby girls, I began to worry. How was I going to raise them in a world which attempts to dictate to little girls what their role should be?
You like the color pink.
You play with girl dolls.
You’d rather not get dirty.
Instead of trying to go against the grain, I worked hard to let my girls lead me. I gave them choices when it came to which toys we bought and the cartoons they watched. I never assumed that they wanted to “play makeup” and walk in mommy’s shoes.
Trouble came when they began attending school. I started to notice that they spent more time in the mirror and refused to wear pants. They only wanted to wear dresses. Not shocking because I prefer dresses myself but, it did make me think: where are these influences coming from? Are they noticing that the girls in their classrooms gravitate towards certain activities?
I had to jump into action (like most moms would do since we all moonlight as superheroes anyway). I encouraged them to spend more time with their dad playing sports and helping with yard work. We talk about who they would like to be when they grow up – not WHAT they would like to do but what type of person and what kind of impact they want to have on the world.
Gradually, with consistent motivation and encouragement, I began to notice that my girls didn’t have a bias on what girls can do and what boys can do. Recently, we were at the dentist office and a male started to prep Minnie for her cleaning. She became upset and asked where HER dentist was (who is female). The male explained that he was simply getting her ready for the dentist. She said, “Ok, because I prefer a girl dentist over a boy dentist”!
Last Halloween, both of my girls wanted to be princesses. I said, “That would be fine but, wouldn’t it be nice to be a superhero and save other princesses?” They loved the idea and voila! I had Batgirl and Supergirl giving out candy to eager trick-or-treaters.
My girls now think that women are better, stronger and smarter than boys. Definitely, not my original intent (I promise!) So, maybe I overshot the gender equity lesson there.
But, now my girls know that they can be and do anything they set their minds to. Nothing against the princesses in the world. But, we all can’t be princesses. Someone has to save us.
