However, I have to warn you, I am about to talk about mom things. Specifically moms-of-girls things.
Before I had kids, I was your typical self-righteous DINK. "If I ever have a girl," I was known to say, "NO pink, NO princesses, NO girly shit. Because that stuff, you know, degrades girls. Feminism all the way, yo."
And then I had a girl. And despite my best efforts to dress my girl in blue and red and yellow and green and orange and every other color besides pink, she loves pink. Like, LOVES LOVES LOVES OMG LOVES pink.
You know what else she loves? Princesses, specifically those of the Disney persuasion. And fairy tales and castles and Pinkalicious and tutus and pretty much anything else that falls under the category of "girly".
So when pink legos targeted especially for girls came out and my Facebook feed literally lit up with protests from women of all ages, my response was "MEH". Who. Cares.
Because here's the thing. As a society, we have somehow decided that girls who love all things girly-the princesses and the tutus and the color pink- can't also be strong girls. They can't be soccer players or leaders or skiers or mathematicians. All because they have a childhood obsession with Cinderella.
While I would have agreed with that a mere 6 years ago, having a daughter has taught me this is a complete fallacy. As my 5-year-old daughter can loudly and eloquently attest, girls (and boys) can't be pigeon-holed. Adults aren't one-dimensional, why should we assume children are?
Now, I would totally understand the uproar against princesses and the like if we lived in a society that expected girls to be meek or second to the man in their lives. But that situation is ridiculous. It's 2013 for crying out loud.
My daughter? She IS the spawn of Brian and I, which means she can't keep her mouth shut or her opinions to herself. She can be a leader and a follower. She's a badass skier and a badass bike rider. She thinks Princess Ariel is the best princess EVER. She can pull an art project out of anything. Her closet looks like Pepto Bismol exploded in it. I haven't seen her wear anything but a dress in months. She owns a lot of crowns. She loves soccer. She is obsessed with books, all books. And pink legos are her favorite. She can create some pretty rad creations out of those pink legos.
Bring on the princesses. While I could care less about them, Hazel loves them. She knows all of their names and stories and yes, even their outfits. Honestly? Good for her.
When she rips down the ski hill or creates a play or rides her bike wearing a crown on her helmet and loudly proclaims, "I'm a princess!", I pretty much think that's the coolest thing ever. Because she is.
One seriously badass princess.
Yeah, those are pajamas covered in Disney princesses.
She is probably supposed to be kicking the ball or something. Instead she's posing.
How Hazel rolls on the ski slope. I did get in big trouble for buying her black gloves.
