Gender Stereotyping

We have 2 girls and decided that we would not gender stereotype we would just play by ear with their personalities and see how it went. So if they were into dolls/girlsy stuff then fine or if into building/boysy stuff - so be it.
But then i am also very guilty of stereotyping by dressing them in girlie clothes. So even really by accident we fell into the 'trap' of gender stereotypes.

I am posting but I am not sure i have a firm opinion either way. I agree with supporting whichever course a child wants to follow even if it goes against gender stereotypes but i would not dress my little boy in a dress if i had one so perhaps I am a hypocrit? I think for me i will happily support any direction and if I had a boy and he wanted to wear a dress i would be fine with that but i would not actively encourage it. I would want to protect my children from being persecuted by other kids for being too 'different' so i would want to build confidence, yes, but hope that i would use common sense too and accept that sometimes you have to do pace with society in order to change views.

In many ways I don't think we can completely protect our children from societal norms, since even if we have strong beliefs there are many others who affect and impact the views of our children. i do however support raising children to just be who they want to be rather than moulding them according to some stereotyped view. I am sure there are gender traits that are strong in some people and in those cases i think it is as bad to prevent them from allowing that gender trait to come through. My eldest is only 2 but even tho I am not a 'girly girl' she is already showing signs of being heavily motivated by gender type traits...she spends most of her days looking after 'babies' and loves all things girlie. So be it if this continues. I really don't care - I just would like her to be an independent, confident and moral/ethical person who is passionate about whatever she chooses to do.

I've got 3 boys and we have boys toys for them. I dont like boys in pink coz they look like poofs. Some silli bint got my eldest a doll when he was about 2 but he neva plaid with it.

They love playin footbal with there daddy.

My son also loves playing with his daddy. Now anyway - he didn't much when he was younger.

I do tend to dress him in blue or boyish colours.. but he still gets mistaken for a girls sometimes, it's his hair I think.

I have no problems with him playing with dolls, pushchairs and the like. He doesn't, because he doesn't really like toys (I know, he's an odd boy) but he does have G's old Jake and Emily dolls.. looks at them sometimes, and likes it when I smack their heads together..

My daughter will probably wear a lot of pink (because I'm into pink for me, I am girly-girly so of course the clothes I'm attracted to for her tend to be girly girly) but own a lot of boys toys, because thats what *I* like playing with, and as a SAHM I want to be able to play with her and enjoy it.

I honestly believe that while some stuff is ingrained in personality, some of it is unconscious training by gender stereotypes. A girl who grows up from day 1 with nothing but tea sets and dolls is more likely to like tea-sets and dolls. It's what she LEARNED to play with, it's how she learned to be amused. If that girl has an inate gift for mechanics, she may take apart her dolls car to see how it works, but otherwise she will probably be girly. If she is given a muh broader range of toys from the very very beginning, she will learn that 'boys' toys are fun too. It's trying to introduce them afterwards, when that gender-mould has already started to set, that causes the 'EWWWW thats for BOYS!' reaction.

If I had a boy I'd have no problem giving him 'girly' toys either. They're all just toys. If he wanted to wear a dress I'd be cool with it. If he wanted to wear one in public I would explain to him that people might think he was a girl, or might think he looked a bit silly, but I wouldn't stop him if he still wanted to. Me and my best friend constantly had my brother in drag and it ent done him any lasting damage.

I watched the John Barrowman doc on whether he was genetically gay or not. Apparently, if you go against gender 'stereotyping', then you're more likely to be gay i.e. if you like dancing and collecting My Little Ponies and you're male, you have a high correlation of gayness; equally, if you like smashing things, throwing things, climbing things, cars, guns and killin', and you're a girl, you have a high correlation for gayness.

Gender 'stereotyping' is not true stereotyping at all. I remember an article I read a long time ago by a 'forward-thinking' woman who only bought her daughter cars then discovered the poor lamb had wrapped the monster truck up in a blanket and was feeding her 'baby'.

Personal experience, I bought dd1 dolls, Barbies, Polly Pocket, et.c. She ignored them all. Yes, she wrapped up her Imaginext T-Rex in the blanket...

J has not decided yet, so neither have I!!!
He does love to play cars, but he loves more to play at cooking, and he especially likes playing in the garden (which is non gender specific anyway) He also loves to play with his doll, and feeds it milk and cuddles it. (it's a lovely black doll with a pink and purple babygro - it is his "baby" - I suspect that the C&FS social worker friend who gave it to him was testing OUR prejudice, but J loves it so it's fine)

he also likes shoe shopping, and gardening.

Despite this his nan thinks he is "a proper boy" whatever that means.

I do dress him fairly boyish - I would do that with a girl too though as I don't really like pink!

He also can't tell the difference between "he" and "she" (it's obviously a complex linguisitc element, and will come, but it made me smile in the context of this question!)

Lx

Can you all see into my house?????

DH and I had this conversation about an hour ago!!

All three of our children have ben raised the same, the boys did have dolls, Doms had a blue pushchair that he used as a racing car!!
Of course when Lara was born the house went pink crazy.
However I truly believe that she has a genetic difference to the boys, she plays quiet games, talks to her baby, wants to wear my shoes and just basically be me.
She will still chase the boys in the garden but I can already see the makings of a little madam.

I think its impossible to predict the sexuality of a child at a young age. My DS2 is very feminine, always hugging and kissing his friends, LOVES mamma mia etc etc but I caught him last night looking up the worlds biggest boobies in the Guiness book of records!!

Have I rambled enough?