Gender Stereotypes

Happy Friday! Do you have any plans for Father's Day this weekend? Frankly its going to be stupid hot this weekend so I am going to want to do nothing but hide in air conditioned spaces, but unfortunately, I have to work and we have errands and a Father's Day BBQ on Sunday with Adam's family planned, so I will have to brave the elements.

Lately, many parents have been speaking out about the way toys are gendered and pushing stereotypes onto our children. I agree, its ridiculous and its high time to let go of this crap.

I am not saying there are no differences between males and females. We know that there are and many are biologically based. But there are also lots of misconceptions about 'maleness' and 'femaleness' that are due to our very antiquated gender stereotypes, and unfortunately, these are still being shoved down our children's throats.

But kids aren't the only ones who face this crap. Adults do too. Believe me, I see it often among my clients who experience shame because they do not believe they live up to what they have been told is the ideal for a man or woman. Ugh, such bullshit!

After all, gender can no longer be thought of as binary anyways!

These gender stereotypes always rear their heads around holidays like Mother's Day and Father's Day. Just take a look at any gift giving guide for them. The past few weeks everywhere you look are ads suggesting you buy dad:

Golf clubs
BBQ accessories
Tools
Alcohol
Meat
Car wash products

I can tell you right now, none of these things would be useful or appropriate gifts for most of the men I know, and certainly not for my husband. Adam would much prefer chocolate to alcohol, and, in fact, the only thing he ever wants for Father's Day is a Blizzard from Dairy Queen (with lots of chocolate in it). I'd be much more likely to appreciate craft beer then he would be!
Ugh, this stuff drives me nuts, when are we going to let go of this stupid shit?

Anyways, go have a nice weekend and don't forget to buy the dads you know a gift. Maybe some flowers? A box of chocolates? Or maybe a pink tutu, if that is what he wants!

Comments

Japanese 7-Spice Kelp Noodles

I love trying new spices and seasonings, so I am very excited that the President's Choice Black Label line now has a bunch of new spice blends available. My most recent find: Shichimi Togarashi, or Japanese 7-Spice blend. It's a combination of crushed red chili flakes, sea salt, Szechiuan peppercorns, black and white sesame seeds, poppy seeds, orange zest, wasabi powder and nori seaweed flakes. I make Japanese-inspired dishes all the time, but resort to the same old flavours most of the time: miso, soy, sesame, ginger and garlic. I was so excited to be able to liven things up a bit. This dish is easy and tasty, although be warned that this seasoning packs punch. I used 1 tsp, which ended up being too spicy for me, and I have a high tolerance for heat! I recommend 1/4-1/2 tsp, or, if you don't like heat at all, make your own at home and omit the red chili flakes. You'll get all the flavour without the heat. I served these noodles with a mix of seafood (

Book Review: The A to Z of Children's Health

Hey there, welcome to Monday! We had a delightful, relatively quiet weekend. How was yours? Hopefully no one in your home was sick...there is a lot of nasty stuff going around these days. If you're a parent, than you have probably spent far more time that you would like to desperately searching Google and/or parenting books trying to figure out if your child's rash, cough or fever warrants a trip to the doctor or if there is something that can be done to treat it. It's hard not to worry that it could be something more ominous that just an every day infection and while you'd make yourself (and everyone around you) nuts if you panicked every time your kid has the sniffles, as a parent, you naturally want to do everything in your power to prevent your child from harm. Recently I was sent The A to Z of Children's Health , written by doctors Jeremy Friedman, Natasha Saunders, and Norman Saunders, of Toronto's very own Hospital for Sick Children . One of th

How to Look Like a Celebrity

Okay, I know you're going to be interested in this post! I am sure virtually every woman in North America has wondered how Hollywood celebrities achieve such 'perfect' bodies. Well, at CAN FIT PRO last week, one of Hollywood's top fitness trainers, Eric the Trainer , was there to tell us fitness professionals the secrets! Eric the Trainer, gave several presentations, and I caught the one on Celebrity Secrets, and it was most interesting!!! I also found some of what he said rather disturbing. First off, he was very upfront about the fact that celebrities come to him for improve their appearance. Not to improve their health or athletic performance. To look their best. He admitted that his approach then, is entirely dedicated to that end. Male and female celebrities are trained in completely different ways because Hollywood wants women to be lithe and thin and in his words, "look like they dropped out of heaven looking this way without every having ste

Healthy Life Lessons

Search This Blog