In 2021, most of us would like to assume that we’ve made some pretty positive ground with busting gender stereotypes. After all, most of us are now fully aware that not all girls like wearing pink and doing the washing up (at least, you would hope so!)
Dads, especially, could benefit from realising that something as simple as cutting out pink or buying her a token football simply isn’t going to prepare your little girl for a world in which women finally take their place in the boardroom.
The question is, what, if any, gender stereotypes are still finding their way into your daughter-dad relationship, and what can you do about them?
1 – The princess principle
One thing an astounding amount of dads are guilty of without even realising it is what we’re going to refer to as the ‘princess’ principle.
By this, we don’t mean simply that you buy your little girl princess dresses and the like without checking if that’s something she’s interested in (though that definitely features,) but rather that you use language like ‘my little princess,’ when referring to your daughter at a young age. This, paired with the stereotypical Disney depiction of a helpless princess waiting for their prince is, really, the very touchstone of negative female stereotypes.
Of course, calling your daughter a princess might roll naturally off the tongue because she likely does feel like the most important woman in your world. But, it’s vital to remember that, far from being a simple term of endearment, this is the first step towards your little girl growing up feeling like she has no agency.
Think about it; sleeping beauty didn’t even have a right to live her life until Prince Charming kissed her into it, and Ariel of The Little Mermaid quite literally sacrificed her voice until a man noticed her. If these are the princess depictions that your girl is liable to grow up understanding, then do you really want her to associate herself as a princess, too?
We didn’t think so. Of course, whether you call her princess or not, there might well come times when she wants to have that Disney princess bedding or that Elsa costume at Christmas time, and there’s nothing overtly wrong with that. Heck, you might even think that she looks like a princess when she grows up and gets some gorgeous formal dresses of her own. But, do yourself and her a favour, and don’t call her princess or put that stereotype upon her lest she thinks that she, too, has to wait in a locked tower until a man gives her permission to do otherwise.
2 – The ‘girls don’t do that’ gimmick
In the 21st century, there aren’t many dads who still openly tell their daughters that they can’t be rocket scientists, doctors, or pro footballers if that’s what they want to do. But, don’t think that this change in attitude is preventing you from still falling at least a little into the ‘girls don’t do that’ gimmick.
If anything, modern dads are actually more at risk of falling into this trap because, these days, it’s less about what we tell our daughters that they can’t do, and more about what we simply don’t put in their vocabulary.
Think about it; as soon as a dad finds out that he’s having a boy, he automatically makes comments like, ‘great, someone to play football with.’ Yetm how often do you hear a dad say the same about his daughter? Very rarely, of course, and this alone can make that little girl feel as though football isn’t an option for her, even though you’ve never expressly said, or even believed that, to be the case.
Modern dads can only overcome this by making sure that they provide all opportunities, for all children. If you would do it with your son, you should do it with your daughter, and vice versa. Only then can you practice what you preach, and leave those doors wide open for a daughter who realises that she truly can do anything if she sets her mind to it.
The post Are These Gender Stereotypes Still Slipping Into The Ways Dads Raise Their Daughters? appeared first on DIY Daddy.
