Strong is the New Pretty.

I am always drawn to ad campaigns, articles and stories about ways we can instill gender equality in children and how to raise young men and women without typecasting their surroundings as "girlie" or "boyish". I'm definitely guilty of defaulting to "you look so pretty" with little girls and buying toy trucks for boys, but improving the message is important - we need to approach raising boys and girls more equally, specifically without marginalizing girls into believing that strength, smarts, energy and leadership skills make them a tomboy, know-it-all, wild or bossy. There's no doubt then, why these amazing photographs caught my eye.

Taken by Kate T. Parker, a mother, wife and commercial photographer, Parker says "I suddenly realized, wow, all of my strongest images are of my girls just being themselves — their freckled, emotional, sometimes dirty, messy selves.” How badass do her daughters and their friends look in these pictures!?

And what I love even more about Parker's viewpoint is that she doesn't mean to exclude anyone - "the project, she clarifies, is not about “taking out” girls who like the color pink and act in ways that might be considered traditionally feminine. Quite the opposite, actually: “Whatever your kids are, celebrate that.""

Isn't it awesome to imagine a world where a girl who loves to run around outside and a boy who prefers playing with a toy kitchen doesn't seem "off"? A world where kids get to be their authentic selves without culturally encouraged norms pushing them to behave, dress or think a certain way? I think we're in better shape than we've ever been before, but there's still a long way to go. Baby steps for our babies though right!?

ps - If you're interested in some AWESOME kids clothing that totally does away with gender stereotypes (but still looks adorable), click HERE.

A girl power moment

Have you ever heard a news broadcaster ask a male politician if he’s had cosmetic surgery? When was the last time a powerful male executive was asked how he balances work and fatherhood? If a young male public figure gains some weight, it must be because he’s pregnant! How come the media dialogue is so different when it comes to high profile women vs. men?

The issues of women’s rights and gender norms are important to me and I’ve had “feminist tendencies” for as long as I can remember. I dream of a time when the opportunities, success and equality of my gender are no longer topics of concern.

For me, a key problem with the women’s “equality dialog,” is that many want recognition for their woman-hood. They want an extra round of applause (an entire gendered history month!) to celebrate overcoming the obstacle of being born female. I think this is the wrong approach. While women should network to encourage, foster and support the success of other women (because significant gender-related obstacles do exist) what our end-goal should be is to be treated like “one of the boys”. For me, a successful women’s movement would be one where being a woman who accomplished something is impressive for the accomplishment itself, not because a woman managed to succeed where no woman has before.

How do we get the media to be less gendered? Do you have habits which you could change for the benefit of greater equality? If this topic interests you at all, this is worth watching and this is worth reading.

Image Via Pinterest