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When momtrolfreak and her friend, Penny, were about to become moms, they vowed to uphold an ideal similar to that with which they grew up ... well, listened to anyway, on vinyl when they were kids. The songs from the album "Free to Be You and Me."
Those who had the record--remember the hot pink cover?--might remember some of the song lyrics.
"It's alright to cry..."
"William wants a Doll! William wants a doll!"
"In this land every boy grows to be his own man, in this world every girl grows to be her own woman ..."
These catchy tunes imprinted messages that our older minds were able to appreciate, and in many cases emulate.
The nostalgia and hilarity evoked in her post, "I Know What Boys Like", is why we selected momtrolfreak as our BlogHer of the Week.
Says Momtrolfreak, "...we weren't going to prescribe to those silly gender notions, with pink OR blue, and dolls OR trucks. We were ENLIGHTENED. We were MODERN. We were feminists...I was certain we were both having girls and that each would be a modern-day Rosie the Riveter, Every Woman, Working Hard for the Money, Bringing Home the Bacon ANNNNND Frying it Up in the pan."
But the stereotypes she fought became reality for both her and her friend. And momtrolfreak finds that there are some things that can't be controlled.
Momtrolfreak had a boy, and her friend Penny had a girl. For Penny: "The message was clear: NO PINK. NOPINKNOPINKNOPINK." The result: a daughter who left to her own devices would wear all shades of pink. She loves dolls and accessorizing. She's what you might call a girly girl.
Momtrolfreak says, "I thought I'd give it a shot, though. In true Free to Be, You and Me fashion, we bought him a dollhouse."
Observing her son playing with the dollhouse, she picks up her camera and documents her discovery that her son is, in fact, the anti-William. He doesn't want a doll. He wants cars and trucks. The pictures speak for themselves.
When you stop laughing you get the lesson: we can't make our girls into Enjoli women, or our boys into doll-appreciating men. We can just make them free to be who they will be.
Thanks to everyone for continuing to send in your nominated posts.
Remember to nominate individual posts, not entire blogs, and keep them
coming! If you want to check out all the BlogHer of the Week posts, check out the BlogHer of the Week archive.
Best,
Jory
For Elisa, Jory and Lisa
BlogHer Co-founders
