International Women’s Day!
Yesterday (the 8th of March) was International Women’s Day. How does that relate to parenting and my parenting blog you ask? Well it all goes hand in hand. Women’s issues are human issues, mothers issues and even children’s issues. There are so many issue’s that are parenting related and women related, such as breastfeeding in public (yes it’s normal, get over it!) but the issues I want to focus on have more to do with how we’re raising our children and gender norms.
With Willow, my daughter personally I think a lot of gender norms are thrown out the window, I don’t mind what she likes or dislikes, pink, blue, shorts, dresses, dolls, ballet, trucks robots etc etc. Whatever she likes, as long as it’s legal, I’m behind her. I definitely don’t think she needs to follow any sort of gender norms. I don’t think she has to like “girly” things because she’s a girl and when she starts having her opinions about her dressing I’m not going to be upset if she says “mum, no more dresses please!” Women are marching for equal rights, not more rights, not to be superior and superhuman but just to be equal. And I personally think this starts at a young age, that whatever choices little boys have, girls should have too. They should be able to play the same way boys do.
The second issue I have about how people treat little girls is, that they treat girls as if they are the most fragile creatures on earth. They treat them as if they are weak but with boys they have to be tough, even from young. I think we need to teach our girls that strong and brave is just as good or even better than being pretty. If all you do is call your child pretty from a young age then you are telling her that her worth is only based on her looks. Now I’m not saying don’t call her pretty, that’s fine I call Willow pretty too but I think there’s so much more to being a girl than just being a pretty face. I always tell Willow she’s brave when she conquers a fear or tries something new. Tell your girl she’s smart, that she’s strong, that she is intelligent. It’s not all about pretty. And I don’t have a son but if I did it wouldn’t be all about being tough but also about being compassionate and kind.
Thirdly with my daughter I want her to know that she doesn’t need a man to make her happy or that she is weak and a man needs to save her. I am a single mum, my ex is a train wreck and definitely not a positive influence in her life. If the men in her life do not treat her as an equal, as someone to be respected then they can go. The other day my ex called and on the phone I said “She is going to be a strong women” and he said “she is going to be a beast, not a women,” he then went on to tell me that women are weak and that she can’t be a strong women, he specifically told me that he was indeed sexist and that he didn’t want her to be an emotional girl calling for her mummy all the time. Yeah, that’s her father. So this is my point, if someone in your life is not supporting you, as a women, get fucking rid of them. I named my daughter Willow after Willow from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and she is a God damn powerful women.
There is so much more I could type for international women’s day and not only how it relates to mother’s and their kids but to everyone but that blog would be pages and pages long.













