Gender roles are fun things, aren't they? I'm so glad that I had a girl because girls get the best of all worlds. They can play with dolls and cars, but boys only get cars. Teaching gender in our house is more of a challenge, I think, than most households.
Mata wears skirts and has long hair.
Dada wears a kilt and has long hair.
Dada generally wears more jewelry than Mata. (He wears a torc, armbands, 2 rings while I only wear one ring and some earrings though I wear more when I'm dressing fancy.)
The easiest identifiers for gender have been taken away. All that's left in the easy category is facial hair. We do, however, have very clearly defined gender roles. They are very similar to what could be termed "old fashioned". I cook. Ketu takes out the trash. I clean everything but the toilets and the litterboxes, Ketu cleans those. I weave, sew, embroider and Ketu does all the driving. But I don't want my girl to be stuck on the idea of gender defined by work roles. Even if it weren't a silly way to teach gender, most of the world has changed and that is no longer a good identifier.
So what is? How do I teach her who is a boy and who is a girl? The issue is not exactly pressing, but it will need to be addressed eventually. Though I must admit it's funny to hear her say "good girl, dada", lol.
Mata wears skirts and has long hair.
Dada wears a kilt and has long hair.
Dada generally wears more jewelry than Mata. (He wears a torc, armbands, 2 rings while I only wear one ring and some earrings though I wear more when I'm dressing fancy.)
The easiest identifiers for gender have been taken away. All that's left in the easy category is facial hair. We do, however, have very clearly defined gender roles. They are very similar to what could be termed "old fashioned". I cook. Ketu takes out the trash. I clean everything but the toilets and the litterboxes, Ketu cleans those. I weave, sew, embroider and Ketu does all the driving. But I don't want my girl to be stuck on the idea of gender defined by work roles. Even if it weren't a silly way to teach gender, most of the world has changed and that is no longer a good identifier.
So what is? How do I teach her who is a boy and who is a girl? The issue is not exactly pressing, but it will need to be addressed eventually. Though I must admit it's funny to hear her say "good girl, dada", lol.
The issue was originally brought to mind when A-chan was playing with one of her necklaces, the kind that needs the clasp opened and won't fit over the head, and not being able to wear it herself she decided it looked good on her Han Solo figure. Now that isn't bad or anything, in fact Solo does wear a necklace (well, a medal still looks like a necklace to a 2 year old...) at the end of "A New Hope". But then she stepped back and pronounced, "pretty girl".
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