I have the white-hot rage of a thousand fiery suns.
(I apologize in advance for my excessive use of the interrobang, but no
other punctuation will do. )
Yesterday, I was at the orthodontist's office waiting for Corwin, and this family sat down next to me - mom, son and daughter. The little girl couldn't have been older than 8.
The mom hands her copies of two magazines - "Girls" and "Teen Vogue"
and says, "Here, you should read these. They talk about important things
like makeup and clothes and what boys like."
(Those words literally came out of her mouth.)
And of course the kid took the magazines and started flipping through them.
Are you fucking kidding me!? These are the lessons that you want to
impart to your children!? That if you're a girl, the important things in
life are makeup, clothes and what boys like!? And if you're a boy, that
girls are are so invested in what your gender likes that there are
entire magazine devoted to the subject!? That you're the center of the
world, and that girls exist to orbit around you like the fucking sun!?
I quickly (and nicely) pointed out other magazines and books, but hell,
no one wants advice from the crazy lady in the waiting room.
Fair enough.
I also did not stab this woman in the back of the neck with my knitting
needles, though I was beyond tempted. I think the receptionist sensed
that and called me up to schedule Corwin's next appointment before blood
could be shed.
I am beyond horrified (and furious) though. Heaven forbid this kid develop interests of her own. Nope, mom's got that covered.
Parenting is hard. It's fun as hell, but it's hard, and I understand that none of us are doing it right a hundred percent of the time. I know I'm not. But come the fuck on! Why would you set your child up for a lifetime of eating disorders, an inferiority complex, sacrificing her sense of self for men and god knows what all else. I'm still too angry to think straight.
I'm sure that the mom didn't set out thinking, hey, how can I fuck over my kids. But the thing is, she's conditioning this child to let the media think for her. She's conditioning both of her kids to think that boys are more important than girls.
And if all this isn't bad enough, I came across this news story this morning. This clearly gifted young tennis player just won a major tennis thing (look, if you want technical terms, you're gonna have to read the article. Sports are so not my thing.) and instead of asking her about her game, how she felt about the win or anything else to do with the fact that she just accomplished something really great, this reporter asked her which celebrity she'd like to date.
I'll wait here while that sinks in.
Here's the link to the article if you'd like to read the whole, awful story.
There is something seriously wrong with our culture.
