Because nurturing has been traditionally assigned to women, we want to discourage girls from being nurturing? That's crazy. What we want to do is encourage people of all genders to be nurturing. i think we all know this. But it did crop up here again.
Give every kid dolls. If someone doesn't want to play with them, great. But the idea that you don't encourage nurturing play, which so many kids love to do, because it might enforce gender stereotypes defies reason. People like to nurture. Kids like to, too. i used to rock my dog endlessly and sing to him. i did not grow up to even have children, but i did like that kind of play.
It's seventies feminism at its worst to say to a girl or woman, oh don't like this because it's associated with women and might cause you to be disempowered by others. The opposite, i suppose, are attachment parenting people who go too far and criticize working mothers.
But discouraging a child from playing with a baby dolls? Huh?
Also, would young girls who do not like dolls dislike them so much if they weren't associated with enforcing stereotypes? If it weren't accompanied with the message, "be more like other girls?" i doubt it. Lots of boys like playing with dolls, and they aren't all gay boys. And look at all the men who groove on childcare. i honestly think it's an unusual child who does not enjoy nurturing something, a plant, an animal -- something.
Moreover we have plenty of games that encourage competetive play and worse. i say more play that encourages nurturing behavior.
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