tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post2355725435270177652..comments2024-03-26T07:07:14.304-07:00Comments on Teacher Tom: Hobby-Horses On The King's HighwayTeacher Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14606781724784785338noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-19623284387403516392009-10-13T12:57:16.725-07:002009-10-13T12:57:16.725-07:00beautifully said!
I was just blogging about how ...beautifully said! <br /><br />I was just blogging about how my son Jules, at almost four, has been wanting to be a witch for Halloween. And before that a female superhero named "Mega Mindy". I can't disguise my glee (and sometimes dismay) at watching Jules figure out gender through this kind of play, and am a little surprised at how much I WANT him to experiment with girls' "roles." <br /><br />That being said, when he donned his superhero costume and went to the park yesterday and an 8 year old boy asked him what he was, I caught myself silently wishing--"don't say Mega Mindy, don't say Mega Mindy" because I was afraid the bigger kid would tease him or tell him he was wrong to be a girl. <br /><br />The gender question has always been such a chicken and egg thing for me. So many parents swear their boys are hardwired to love trucks and girls to love dolls and pretty purses, etc. But I don't think we realize in just how many ways kids are socialized into these things, how we all do it unconsciously, and how, even if we resist, gender messages come from all over. <br /><br />I don't mean to say that the socializing is bad, either. It's how we make sense of the world. But if we're not conscious of how and why we label, we'll never get very far into understanding how to best react when our labels for others (or others' for us) don't "fit."dv.x.3https://www.blogger.com/profile/17097937663389205624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-7430320921630675942009-10-11T18:26:24.059-07:002009-10-11T18:26:24.059-07:00That last quote is great! I agree and that goes f...That last quote is great! I agree and that goes for everything in life...if it's not hurting me or others, it's nobody's business.<br /><br />PS - I have an award waiting over at "my place" for you. :)Pumpkin Delight (Kimberly)https://www.blogger.com/profile/15754292671421221960noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-91502929091671558102009-10-11T16:22:41.317-07:002009-10-11T16:22:41.317-07:00Last year Logan asked me when he was going to be a...Last year Logan asked me when he was going to be a mommy like me. After I explained he was a boy, etc. He was constantly listing off the boys and girls in our house - mommy's a girl, daddy's a boy, Logan's a boy and Kitty's a girl! still does it sometimes (even though poor Kitty is gone). But she still has a special place in the gender list.Monkey's Mamahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01437699085199871699noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-5884622621472190822009-10-11T15:39:04.055-07:002009-10-11T15:39:04.055-07:00Well said! This is a touchy issue that has yet to...Well said! This is a touchy issue that has yet to be explored. <br /><br />As a child I wanted to be a girl. I played with girls' toys, enjoyed dressing up as a girl, and acted like a girl. I outgrew the gender "confusion," unlike so many others. I no longer wish to be female, but I can feel for those males who do.<br /><br />Thank you for addressing this issue at such a young level.Jason, as himselfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16630210317307544165noreply@blogger.com