Barbie's and Dump Trucks

In her Cousin's Onesie

Having a little girl, you would think that our house would be over flowing with pink, lacy, frilly, dainty little dolls and teddy bears. To a certain extent this is true- but she also has red, blue and green little cars and building blocks.

She has lots of pink, purple and pastel coloured girly little outfits, but she also has lots of blue, green, brown outfits that had little boys in mind when they were designed. If I'm looking for an outfit, I have no issue looking in the "Boys" side for Talia if I can't find what I had in mind. I was given bags and bags of hand-me-downs from my sister that were my nephews. Talia wears them- in public too.

Why are we so fixated on the belief that girls are fragile? They need to knit and sew and watch the boys work outside. I was not raised this way, and I know that The Wonderful Husband was not either. Yet I keep hearing people ask me if we're going to put Tali in ballet and gymnastics- and we get dirty looks when we say we're actually thinking of putting her in martial arts instead. Don't get me wrong I LOVE to knit. I love to sew. But what many people don't know is that my GRANDFATHER taught me to knit. And as a child I spent many evenings in the shed with my Dad wood working, and working on Rusty, the 1928 Model AA Ford. Before The Wonderful Husband I moved in together, I had my own set of tools (granted not the best, but I had and used them!)

In her Girly Dress

I want Talia to be able to change the oil and spark plugs in her car, mend a hole in her sweater, cook a wonderful dinner. I want her to be self sufficient and not burdened down by the gender stereotypes that plague our society. To a certain extent, I want her to raise her in a gender neutral environment- but I also want her to be able to embrace and LOVE what it is that makes her a women. I'm not sure what Ideological belief system this falls under? Feminism to a certain extent perhaps... but I do not consider myself a Feminist by any stretch of the imagination.

I'll make sure that Tali is able to play with any toy she desires, regardless if its in the boy or girl section. Whats your thoughts on Little Girls with dump trucks instead of Barbie dolls? Do you think we should enforce or dispel gender stereotypes? Do you also feel like you're in a constant uphill battle?