papa working, mama cook

pigtails, originally uploaded by Kristy and Eva.

for as long as i can remember, i've been saying that if i ever have a daughter, i would do whatever i could help her question gender stereotypes. (okay, when i was 12 i didn't put it quite that way, but you get the idea.) so, you can imagine my profound joy this week when she repeatedly uttered: "papa working. mama cook."

larry had a massive deadline this morning (he was up all night after barely sleeping all week and working constantly for a couple weeks -- he's currently crashed out on the couch). over the weekend, it was cold and raining, so eva an i were mostly stuck in the house. she kept wanting to see papa, and i'd say "papa's working"... she's also been watching me cook in the tower. so, there's an explanation for her gendered declaration, but still... it hurts my ears a little.

i don't know how to deal with all this exactly. at 18 months, eva already does "girl" stuff, including hugging and snugglling her doll. we took her doll to a friend's house, and he immediately grabbed the doll by the hair, swung it around over his head, and threw it across the room. i took notice because it's not something eva has done. but that's not to say it's necessarily gendered, maybe just her personality? my point is, the goal is not to avoid gendered behavior entirely, but to prevent it from becoming limiting as far as what she pursues in life. but it seems so unavoidable... how long before her favorite color is pink and she's obsessed with princesses? (which are forcefully marketed to her by giant corporations?) it's overwhelming to think about, and i don't know what the right answers are.

today it's freezing, literally, and will be below freezing for about 48 hours. that's a pretty big deal for texas, and qualifies as a "winter storm". we might even have snow. it's the big news...

eva's calling, she won't fall back asleep. gotta run.