I raised two sons. I bought them boy toys. Not exclusively. My son had a doll. As in, baby doll. It was a Cabbage Patch knockoff. His grandmother made it, he wanted it, she gave it to him. I had a few objections, none of them being that my son wanted a doll. It had a creepy clown face...enough said. And it was, a black baby. I was afraid someone would take offense. How hard is that to imagine? Anyway, when we walked into Toys R Us, they headed straight for the boy toys. It never even occurred to me, back then, that the toys were divided, greatly, by gender.
I am wiser now.
And I have a granddaughter.
I bought her a baby doll for Christmas. It's perfect for a 17 month old. It's cuddly soft. Age safe, sewn on face. Pink. Machine washable. It was a natural. I guess that is why it bothered me. I don't want her toys defined by her gender. Or, more accurately, perhaps, I don't want what I select for her to be all gauzy and pink because she's a girl. I want to open more doors to her, then, she can decide what type of person she wants to be.
Yes, this Christmas, she will be getting a baby doll. I hope that she will love it. But she will also be getting a super hero costume for playing dress up. Yes, it's a skirt, there is nothing wrong with being a girl. But I want her to know, she can be a hero too.
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