Reply to How to answer sons who are asking me why so many girls have 'girls are better' merch

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP, I think your example about presidents is great; maybe add the 80 cents on the dollar salary figure. I'd tell your boys that these shirts are fighting against negative messaging that girls constantly get. They are not saying boys are bad, they are emphasizing that girls are strong and worthwhile which unfortunately not everybody believes yet. And because our society tends to elevate boys over girls, an equivalent shirt saying "boy power" would be inappropriate.[/quote]

Op - ok yes this is helpful! 
I guess on some level I’ve been reluctant to say ‘society elevates boys over girls’ bc I don’t even want to put the idea in their head. But obv I guess I have to acknowledge out loud at some point. [/quote]

Op similar to how you need to actively teach your kids about racism, you need to actively teach them about sexism. It isnt putting the idea in their head - if you don’t, someone else/society will in a way that is likely much more fraught. If you don’t teach your kids especially boys that sexism exists and some of that important history when they witness people treating boys differently then girls, or more men as lawyers, more men in congress etc, they will come up with their own reasons for why that is. Usually that will be well there must be something inherent or, maybe they worked harder! Kids are trying to understand. Don’t be afraid to tell them, you want to be the one explaining.

Same with racism. Your kids need to know from you that it exists, why, why it is wrong, and how it impacts people with darker skin. So when they notice that more homeless people they see our black they don’t come up with their own explanation for that (which they will, if not given one).

Kids can understand this. My 5 year old has a basic understanding that women and people of color (and others) have been treated cruelly and unfairly through much of our history and that means they sometimes weren’t able to have the same jobs, or buy a house etc. Then we’ll keep building on that basic foundation as he gets older. [/quote]

They don’t see it….[/quote]

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