Here is a strange and, when you think about it, disturbing fact about our culture: Girls are more often, and more openly, encouraged to do “boy things” than boys are to do “girl things.”
Can it be a good thing—for our personal relationships and for society—for females to grow up with an awareness of and appreciation for males, without the reverse occurring?
A few weeks ago, I was gift shopping for a boy in kindergarten and his younger sister. I bought three books with male protagonists, thinking that both of them could read and enjoy the books. I shied away from the books with female protagonists, thinking that only one of them would appreciate those.
And then I read the Washington Post article What are we teaching boys when we discourage them from reading books about girls? This article says it perfectly. It is one of the most profoundly important articles I have read this year. It’s not a long article, but every sentence is a gem. I urge you to read it.
How wrong I was in that bookstore! And I consider myself an open-minded person! Ach! I am upset with myself, but the situation is easy to rectify: I’m going to go back and buy the kids three more books—with girl protagonists.
Hmmm. Well, first of all, I understand the stigma when it comes to male-dominance on the whole and the pressure women usually feel when competing against men–which pretty much explains why girls are encouraged to do boy stuff and not the other way around. I must admit though, that I personally don’t think buying children’s books such as The Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, or even Snow White is a bad thing to do to a boy. My father (God rest him) bought all Disney records for me when I was a child and besides Peter Pan, Dumbo, Peter and the Wolf , et al, he also include the ones with female protagonists as well, including Mary Poppins–which I thought was hilarious! At any rate, it’s good that you’re reconsidering your initial thinking. Good girl!
That’s great that your father bought you the whole range of Disney stories! š
Interesting – Makes we rethink my gift choices for our niece and nephew this holiday season…. You’re right – if the story is interesting and appealing – should it matter if the protagonist is male or female? Growing up and even now, I’ve loved books with both female and male lead characters and never thought about whether The Wizard of Oz or Beatrice and Ramona were a ‘girl books’ and the Three Musketeers was a ‘boy book’. Why shouldn’t/couldn’t boys enjoy books with female protagonists?
Good point.
So glad you enjoyed the post. Glad I’m not the only one rethinking my gifts… š
Thanks for sharing Liza. I loved this blog. To me this may be one of your best yet. Good for you!
Thanks for the nice comment, Liz!! š
Kevin, you make a good point. Why aren’t we as a society encouraging our boys to do more so called ‘girl stuff’? After all it is the ‘girl stuff’, like doing dish, laundry, etc. that eventually makes kids independent of their parents.
Liza, Thanks for the interesting blog! I enjoyed it.
Thanks Jean!
Thanks, Jean! Yes, I agree that this issue goes way beyond books. Thanks for pointing that out!