Skip to main content

Misogyny in Play

This blog's title, On Subsequent Inspection, is meant to reflect the many times I've said something, only to later recognize the inconsistency of that idea with my ideals. Today was a good reminder of that.
I've been considering the ways in which girls' play, like women's labor, is undervalued in even my own head. I'm not sure what sparked the realization; perhaps reviewing my documentation and noticing more photos of stereotypical masculine work than feminine. It's true; the girl examining the dead fly had many more photos and much more of a write up than the girls and boys making birthday cakes from playground mulch. And the boys using plastic pipes to transport water got more "air time" than the girls decorating for a party.
I realized, in my frustration over needing pink legos to engage some children, that be focusing on the pink, I'm devaluing children's genuine likes and interests. Why am I excited when a boy tells me his favorite color is purple, but not when a girl conveys the same enjoyment? 
This is brief, because I am still really trying to figure out what to do. How do you combat your internalized misogyny? How do you show the value of the "feminine"?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Those Face-Melting Acid Bubbles

At a site today, I overheard a well-meaning teacher of two-year-olds tell a child at a water table, "Don't put those bubbles on your face, you might get them in your eyes or mouth!" I resisted asking the teacher whether or not she had ever had bubbles in her eyes or mouth, as my presence there was not in a capacity that allowed for much input from me. However, her insistence that it hurt, coupled with the presence of both her eyes, implied that she had in fact gotten soap in her eyes and successfully recovered. Meanwhile, the child was exploring the sensation of bubbles on his face. Minutes before, we had been discussing how he looked like daddy shaving, and how those same dangerous bubbles tickled his cheeks. While I'm not disputing that there a few things I'd prefer in my eyes to bubble bath, the fact is that this teacher shut down some great sensorial and language learning opportunities for the fear of... temporary discomfort? Needing a towel? The molecules...

Ornamental People

Imagine you're in bed, about to fall asleep. Your significant other is cuddled up to you (or on the other side of the bed, maybe you prefer a little space), your blankets are right where you need them, and you can barely keep your eyes open; not that you want to. Suddenly, your neighbor walks in. You're on good terms with your neighbor, but they're not your best friend or anything. Why are they in your room? Even more to the point, why are they stroking your hair and telling you how old and fat you're getting? This is rapidly encroaching on illegal, right? Why is this socially acceptable to do to people who can't speak up to protest? Why are there people who feel the need to pick up, pat the head, or tickle the feet of every small child they encounter? Why are strangers more willing to touch a strange baby than a strange dog? It seems to come back to the image of the child, and the idea that they are less human and more ornamental. It takes a perspective shi...

I Wonder ...

'I wonder..." suggests that the child can experiment and problem solve and help the adult facilitator find a solution. "I wonder..." tells the child "I don't have it all figured out either" "I wonder"... gifts the adult the opportunity to hear the child's hypotheses about the world around them. "I wonder..." Offers suggestions and assistance without taking the shortcut of solving a problem for a child. My resolution in 2016 is to wonder more, and advise less. To step back and let them work it out. To allow them to wonder as well, with or without an end goal.