Saturday, June 5, 2010

Toy Story Versus Disney Princesses

Today, while I was preparing my meal plan, grocery list, and clipping coupons for the week (cause I'm a mom, and that's what moms do. I think.), I dropped a Pullups coupon and Noah picked it up for me. Before handing it over, he looked at it carefully, only to decide he wanted the pink bag of diapers over the blue. Let me spell this out for you: Noah is a boy, they don't get any more boyish than him. The blue diaper bag is "Toy Story" themed. The pink bag is all about Disney princesses. Noah, my boy, wants a bag of princess diapers.

So what do I do? (no really, I don't know, what do I do?)

Had Noah been a girl asking for Toy Story diapers, I'd never have given the issue any thought, but the opposite warrants a rather obnoxious debate in this ol' head of mine.

I could say "yes," showing him at a tender age that there is no right or wrong choice when it comes to what society stereotypically thinks are gender based decisions...

I could just say "no," but then I'd be shaping his preferences based on what society dictates the norm is.

And this makes me wonder why the debate over what to do even exists. It comes down to what people think, or even perhaps to the fear of allowing my son like something we think should be reserved for little girls. Yet, I'm thinking that Noah is probably not off being seduced by the princesses (they're hot!), no really, kidding aside: If we as parents, and if society did not impose these ''blue is for little boys, and pink is for little girls'', or, ''Dora is for little girls and Diego is for little boys'' stereotypes, at such a young age,  our children would be free to like what truly appeals to them, and not what we shape them to like. Our children might inturn be better equipped, at least, more practiced in the ''art'' of decision making, and affirming what they truly like/want, and I doubt that this would have a negative impact on their development...Just saying.
Fishing for popular opinion, I asked what to do about my son wanting ''girlie'' diapers. I've received a few replies from ''telling him there weren't any in the store'', or ''humour him,'' or that maybe he was at that phase where he wanted them to ''dress up''. This all goes to show how engrained gender stereotypes are, even amongst modern, open-minded, amazing women and  moms. I received a refreshing comment from Monica, a friend who just gave birth to a gorgeous little boy, she put it quite accurately simply by saying '' He doesn't see it as girlie Kath!'' And so, I think she's right, and I will get him his princess diapers this one time, but I am secretly hoping that they still have ''Cars'' diapers'', and so, the princesses will be forgotten... Fingers (shamefully) crossed.

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2 COMMENTS:

Anonymous said...

That's hilarious!

Anonymous said...

So Noah likes girls, and he also likes the plastic beauty type, let's say its more the latter that would worry me, if worry need be!