Now that we have a baby in the house, we play around a lot with gendered stereotypes. Q loves to say, “Thank goodness she’s wearing pink so we don’t forget she’s a girl!” I like the lighthearted way that we all get to play with these gendered norms that still are a powerful and sometimes frustrating or overwhelming force at other times, especially for Q (current agony involves locker rooms and when to wear the hair in a ponytail).
I shot this video the other day to document W’s new crawling ability, but a conversation about gender ensued spontaneously. I thought I’d share it here. Just know that there’s lots of sarcasm in there that you can’t necessarily note unless you know the subtext. And pardon my loud laughs. I was wielding the phone-as-camera.
OK….video not uploading. Any hints? Working on this….
If I remember wordpress correctly, you have to host the video somewhere? Like YouTube? Maybe? Good luck!
Eager to see the video when it’s up!
Just found your blog…LOVE IT! My six year old son also defies societal norms by loving all things that are stereotypically meant for girls! We do not live in a very accepting town, so it has been a struggle to find others who share our views of unconditional love and acceptance! We get the looks and the under the breath snide comments all the time when he is out and about with his Barbies…in the last week he expressed interest in dress up clothes that he cannot wait to change into after school! After weeks of asking me to remove his toe nail polish before each TaeKwondo class, he finally worked up the courage to leave it on this week. It has been a struggle for both of is…for him the fear of being made fun off is so strong…for me I struggle with how other parents will react….I worry so much that they will tell their child to stay away from my son and what they will say to others…stupid, I know…but it is what it is! I just wanted to say thank you for writing your blog…it has given us hope that we are not alone in wanting to raise our son true to his unique self with love and acceptance! I have started blogging about our journey as well…would love followers, comments, advice from others who are on similar journeys! Our site is catchingourrainbows.blogspot.com
Pourlebebe is right, first create an account with YouTube, then upload the video there. Finally, after the upload is complete, click on the Share button> Embed icon to get the old code and insert it in the post. Update and you are done
Look forward to the vid Labelsareforjars. And I seriously do not think your Q is on the way to growing up to be a Gayman. I think he has artistic leanings and might become a great designer someday in some field. “Clothes should be for kids, not boys and girls” is profound!!! Hope you realize that.
I’m glad to “meet” gay parents who defy gender stereotypes. I know so many gays who blithely perpetuate gender stereotypes and I just don’t. get. it.
Haha, that sounds like the kind of sarcastic remark I would make. “Oh thank goodness you gave me something pink, I might’ve forgotten I’m a girl! *drops off shirt at Goodwill*”