The Monthly Rant // Gender Stereotyping // Angry Blogger

Every now and again I like to have a good old rant! Who doesn't, right? Ranting allows us to take all those minor irritations that build up, each and every day, and throw them away. Granted when I through away my irritations they almost always land on the blog, but that's what it's here for right!

So what am I ranting about today? Gender-bloody-bias!

I've always had an issue with the whole gender-specific theme that runs through our society- in fact when I was younger and got treated to a Happy Meal, I would always ask for the Hot Wheels toy instead of Polly Pocket! At that young age I was already outraged by that little girls automatically got given tiny (swallowable) dolls that didn't do anything, whilst the boys were given a bloody racecar- where's the fairness in that??

This sense of injustice never got any better as I got older- now I know some of you are thinking "Oh you were just a bit of a tomboy" but I truly wasn't! I loved being the pretty girl, with the long blonde curls, and a face full of make-up. I enjoyed trotting off to ballet classes, going ice skating, attending theatre groups and singing Whitney at the top of my voice (all things which are, annoyingly 'traditionally' feminine past-times) but you better believe that I wanted to fight this theory of gender bias at every opportunity.

Sorry about the dodgy quality but this photo was taken in 1992!!!

I think that photo illustrates my point about me being a girly girl ^^^. I don't have many photos of me from my teen years because quite honestly I hated my face, hair, body etc and avoided cameras like the plague! But believe me, it was all sparkly dresses, butterfly tops (stolen from my sister) and pink cowboy hats to under 18s discos at the local nightclub.
We've got the point now right? I wasn't a tomboy I just didn't believe I should have or do something just because I was born with two X chromosomes!

When it was time to buy new ice skates, all my girlfriends went out and bought pretty white figure skates, with swirly pink blade guards, whereas I, in a spoilt manner I can only apologise to my parents for, demanded CCM 52s like the professional hockey players wore! When it came to choosing subjects at high school the first elective I chose was graphic communication because someone automatically suggested home economics! I don't know who exactly I was fighting against, but fighting I was.

I'd done such a good job of making choices that made me happy for me, and not made me happy because I had boobs (which in all fairness I really didn't) that I made it all the way to University before this particular bullshit issue reared its ugly head again- so I'm fighting back now!

Here comes the stream of rantiness...

Shrink it a Pink it? Bullshit! Lady Geek? What about a revolutionary idea of just GEEK?Technology, science & all things geeky should not be marketed to men and boys, they should be marketed to anybody with an inquiring mind!

Women do not need their own special pen! We are not weak wristed, gentle fingered, fainting prone, problems for society to solve. We are strong, ballsy, unique humans, born to innovate- just like men!!

If I want to surprise my husband, by shooting him in the back of the head with a foam projectile, I'll do it with my 6-cartridge NERF gun, and not a purple and pink version with a smaller design.

If I decide to wear a football shirt, down the pub, to watch Liverpool kick Manchester United's ass, I will do so, whilst drinking a pint of Carling!  This doesn't make me a "dyke" as more than one guy had proclaimed in the past, it simply means that I wanted to wear my team colours while having a bloody drink!!

If my husband wants to use a face scrub and wear a pink shirt he should bloody well be able to, without being called a "faggot" (which by the way is a fucking horrible word!)

 If I want to sing Meatloaf at karaoke I'm going to, and I'll probably be followed by Damian and Nico and their epic rendition of Barbie Girl...because gender stereotypes be damned!!

I hope by now you'll all be nodding along in agreement, but it appears that the toy companies, magazines, and clothes manufacturers just aren't getting it!

Where are the woman football players in 4-4-2 magazine? Why aren't things like the Women's World Cup covered in the sports pages? Where are the men's beauty and skincare products in Boots magazine- or any magazine that isn't FHM or GQ, for that matter? Where are the fast as fuck, beautifully built cars in the likes of Cosmo or Glamour? Why should I have to buy 5 different magazines a month just to see everything that interests me? Is it any wonder more of us are turning to blogs to get our fix? AND why the fuck are there still products on the shelves like, Stickers for Girls and Stickers for Boys?

I can't be the only one that this bothers? As we embark on our journey of starting a family, this issue is once again at the forefront of my mind, and you bet your ass our children will be raised in a gender neutral environment. Now don't get me wrong, if my daughter wants to dress up as a princess and cover herself in glitter she will be allowed, but at the same time if we have a son and he wakes up one day and decides he wants to be princess then he will be allowed to too!

This whole article has reminded me of that old poem, we all surely heard as children-

"1. What are little boys made of? 

What are little boys made of? 

Slugs and snails and puppy-dog's tails, 

And that are little boys made of. 

2. What are little girls made of? 

What are little girls made of? 

Sugar and spice and all that's nice, 

And that are little girls made of. 

3. What are young men made of? 

What are young men made of? 

Sighs and leers, and crocodile tears, 

And that are young men made of. 

4. What are young women made of? 

What are young women made of? 

Ribbons and laces, and sweet pretty faces, 

And that are young women made of."

- Baby's Opera by Walter Crane

Sounds like this is what society is still basing gender preference on? This was written in 1877- have things really not changed since then??

Does this annoy you as much as it does me? Or do you disagree with me? I'd love to hear your opinions in the comments. 

And remember I'm on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Bloglovin so come join me :-).

Much Love

AJ 

xx