My cousin posted a picture on facebook of her son kissing a doll he got for Chrismas (I think he's about 1.5 years old). My other cousin, her brother, wrote a dumb comment about calling social services. It's not even a 'girly' doll, it's dressed in an Eeyore costume.
In my opinion I don't see why it matters what toys a boy or girl plays with, as long as it makes them happy. When I was 7, I had a best friend who was a boy, he would play Barbies with me and I would play GI Joes with him. I did and still do play video games, not 'girly' ones either.
please stop making me laugh! I can't afford the lines it gives me!
I'm a female and my mom wouldn't let me play with Barbie dolls because of the way that they portrayed how a woman should look.
That being said, she was a single parent with 4 kids. There were tons of different toys around and she didn't care what toy we were playing with. She was just happy that we were occupied.
Growing up as an only girl (with three rough and wild brothers), we played with whatever wasn't broken. IF that meant barbies got beat up by Gi Joe so be it. My husband on the other hand is one of three boys, and they weren't allowed to have anything that remotely resembled a doll. I wonder if it is a nationality thing. His parents immigrated from Poland and are very old world.
My son doesn't see anything as gender specific. He is 6 and plays with dolls, trucks, whatever. He loves his stuffed bears and even sleeps with select ones. Kids are kids and if we subject them to gender specifc roles then we deserve the outcome.
I have three sons. My first son had a baby doll when he was a baby, and I bought him a play kitchen when he was a pre-schooler. He did not care for the kitchen. My middle son wanted an easy bake oven, he only played with it when the "coast was clear" and made sure that the blinds were closed. He would bake when I was baking. It's sad that he felt he had to hide it. When I bought my neice a doll that would have a messy or clean face with warm or cool water...all three of the boys took it and raced upstairs to wash it's face. They sort of acted like they were doing something taboo by being curious about a doll...but it wasn't from me ! I think toys should be marketed to both boys and girls, especially the ones that teach life skills like cooking, childcare...or driving a car or building something....gender roles have changed...and are still changing. It would be nice to see more men who like to cook and take care of the baby, and more women that can fix the car or build a new fireplace.
Original Post by monarch777:
It would be nice to see more men who like to cook and take care of the baby, and more women that can fix the car or build a new fireplace.
Mechanical things are a different subject though... playing with stuff is one thing, but understanding how to build / fix something like a car is pretty complicated!
Original Post by monarch777:
It would be nice to see more men who like to cook and take care of the baby, and more women that can fix the car or build a new fireplace.
Heck yeah! My husband is proud of the fact that because of his mother baking with him when he was young, he can bake a better chocolate chip cookie than I can....I know it's a small step, but anything we can do to get rid of some of the old stereotypes is great in my opinion.
On the opposite side, my father made sure that I knew at least the basics about my car when I turned 16. I can change a tire, re-fill my fluids, I know what an engine looks like, and if I absolutely had to, I think I can still remember how to change the oil.
Original Post by loriklorik:
Mechanical things are a different subject though... playing with stuff is one thing, but understanding how to build / fix something like a car is pretty complicated!
Maybe not necessarily build or fix...but I think at least knowing the basics should be important. Every woman should know how to change her own tire if the need ever arose.
The only doll I had was a bathtime baby that I wanted because I saw it on TV- I was (and am) a huge sucker for advertising. Other than that, I had Tinker Toys, Legos, and a very old school set of blocks. I've never been a tomboy, but I've also never been girly. But I've also never been mechanically inclined, stangely enough- quite the opposite!
I'm just not sure how parents think they're going to un-gay their child by denying them the toys they want, if they're working on the premise that wanting female-typical toys makes a male child gay.
Original Post by loriklorik:
Original Post by monarch777:
It would be nice to see more men who like to cook and take care of the baby, and more women that can fix the car or build a new fireplace.
Mechanical things are a different subject though... playing with stuff is one thing, but understanding how to build / fix something like a car is pretty complicated!
If taught, a woman can learn anything complicated. There are women brain surgeons. I am very sure we can fix cars.
Original Post by monarch777:
Original Post by loriklorik:
Original Post by monarch777:
It would be nice to see more men who like to cook and take care of the baby, and more women that can fix the car or build a new fireplace.
Mechanical things are a different subject though... playing with stuff is one thing, but understanding how to build / fix something like a car is pretty complicated!
If taught, a woman can learn anything complicated. There are women brain surgeons. I am very sure we can fix cars.
*poke poke* hehe :)
I know,I hear about this kind of thing all the time..My little sister started school this year and one of the boys in her class group plays with dolls and there's absolutely nothing wrong with it,he's a kid but some people are just so narrow minded it's ridiculous
Original Post by loriklorik:
Original Post by monarch777:
Original Post by loriklorik:
Original Post by monarch777:
It would be nice to see more men who like to cook and take care of the baby, and more women that can fix the car or build a new fireplace.
Mechanical things are a different subject though... playing with stuff is one thing, but understanding how to build / fix something like a car is pretty complicated!
If taught, a woman can learn anything complicated. There are women brain surgeons. I am very sure we can fix cars.
*poke poke* hehe :)
When my husband was a teen he wanted to babysit his baby brother...but they made his sister do it (and she wasn't interested in doing it) I am convinced that he would have made a much better sitter because he is a very nurturing person....(ah gender bias.)
As for me, if I had been taught to fix cars instead of cook...I might weigh less..I guess I can still learn !
I took a psychology and biology of human sexuality class (taught by the illustrious Dr. Breedlove, as a sidenote), in which we watched a documentary about two identical twin brothers, maybe aged 6 or 7. One of them was extremely effeminate- painted his room pink with unicorns, wore makeup and nail polish. The other was a gender-typical boy, even maybe on the hypermasculine extreme.
Interesting that they can share 100% of their genes (and in theory, 100% of their environment) and still be so different.
Back in the 60's when my brothers were young pre school boys they played with my dolls as well as I did their trucks and car. G.I Joes was my favorite. My grandsons now play with their mothers old dolls when they come here to visit. I see anything wrong with it myself. Both my brothers turned out fine
I remember as a child being vaguely offended that while barbie got to be naked Ken had to keep his skives on, and G.I.Joe didn't get to go swimming at all. But my major concern was that there wasn't any green lego.
I remember I used to get so mad at parents at my old job, and it certainly wasn't just the fathers. We sold these stuffed animals behind the counter because they had an online code attached, and kids would always try to steal them.
So many times little boys would come in with a parent and want to look at one of the more feminine stuffies, and the parents would freak out! I remember one boy had his heart set on this pink fluffy cat and the mom refused to get it for him! It broke my heart because you could tell he really wanted the kitty but ended up with some lizard instead. So stupid!
Original Post by theresa5656:
My husband on the other hand is one of three boys, and they weren't allowed to have anything that remotely resembled a doll. I wonder if it is a nationality thing. His parents immigrated from Poland and are very old world.
Heh, being a Pole myself I can assure you that this is not a nationality thing 
Your husband just happened to have parents who decided to bring him up the way they did, regardless of their nationality. Someone mentioned in a previous post that an American person was beaten by the parents for playing with dolls (which I find totally horrible, btw - beating, that is), so such an attitude can be seen in any country.
My brothers and I played with dolls, cars, G.I.joes, wooden planks, LEGO - whatever we could lay our hands on 
Original Post by shevandell:Oh, yeah, I wrote about the friend who was beaten for playing with dolls--to clarify, though he was born in America his parents came from the Phillipines, not that that makes it any different or better somehow. And I guess shows it is indeed not restricted to any nationality.Original Post by theresa5656:
My husband on the other hand is one of three boys, and they weren't allowed to have anything that remotely resembled a doll. I wonder if it is a nationality thing. His parents immigrated from Poland and are very old world.
Heh, being a Pole myself I can assure you that this is not a nationality thing
My brothers and I played with dolls, cars, G.I.joes, wooden planks, LEGO - whatever we could lay our hands on
So you can log your weight -- which allows you to do the following:
- Plot your weight curve
- Analyze the trend of your weight (see under Recent in the figure above)
- Determine the projected target date (see under Overall in the figure above)