No, you wouldn’t necessarily have noticed it.
[/quote]
How would I have not noticed somebody telling me that the reason they don’t want their boys to be around girls is that they don’t want their boys to be feminized?
You tried to have it both ways, you got caught, and now you’re speaking gibberish to try to get out of it. Either it’s blatant and explicit, like you said it was. In which case I’d have noticed it. Or it’s not, in which case only you with your special powers would have noticed it. You said it’s blatant and explicit when I accused you of imagining it, but then you said I wouldn’t notice. You’re not making any sense.
[quote=CA renter]
Even your argument about “boys’ activities” and “girls’ activities” shows that you don’t see it. Do you honestly think that the orientation of our reproductive organs makes us more inclined to want to shop or get our nails done or play/watch football or go fishing or play golf? Really?
[/quote]
I don’t think the “orientation of our reproductive organs” has anything to do with it. Where you put the ovaries or the testicles is not important. What’s important is the differences between the brains and the hormones of men and women. And I think those differences have very much to do with watching football vs. getting your nails done.
You 1970s, humans-are-born-a-blank-sheet, genders-are-the-same types are dinosaurs. That’s wishful thinking. For those who would wish for such a thing. I say, “Vive la difference!”
[quote=CA renter]
What you see as “natural” gender-based behavior is due almost entirely to socialization, and it’s being done by people who (sometimes inadvertently, like you might be doing with your own kids) reinforce gender stereotypes by encouraging their kids to participate in certain types of events and activities while discouraging them from participating in other events and activities.
[/quote]
You’d like to think that. Boys and girls are different. They’re born that way.
Almost all non-human animals have gender roles. Those gender roles are obviously not due to socialization. Why do you think that humans would be an exception to nature’s general rule of gender roles?
[quote=CA renter]
I’ve seen it as a parent and as a teacher. There have been many occasions where I’ve witnessed a parent or teacher or aide guide a student, or group of students, toward or away from a particular activity based solely on the children’s gender. I’ve seen pink paper literally ripped out of a boy’s hands while doing some artwork because “boys don’t like pink, they like blue.” This happens in big and small ways, all day long, every day. It might seem subtle to you, which is probably why you don’t notice it, but it’s sending a very strong message to these kids and to the adults around them. Other parents, teachers, and students/children notice it and conform to what they are told is the “right” behavior for a particular gender. For the most part, this is not natural behavior; it’s socialized.
[/quote]
Anybody who would “[rip paper] out of a boy’s hands while [he’s] doing some artwork because ‘boys don’t like pink, they like blue’” is an idiot. You make it sound like the norm. It’s not.
It might seem real to you, but just as you say I don’t notice it, I say you imagine most of it. Your vacillation between “it’s blatant and explicit” and “only I, with my special powers, can notice it” is clear evidence of your weak postion.
You imagine it because of the way your mother treated you. You’re clearly angry about this whole situation, and you’re letting your emotions get in the way of seeing things clearly.
And you still haven’t answered why you think exposing boys to girls will feminize the boys.
[quote=CA renter]
As for the insults, the worst insults for BOTH genders tend to be sex/gender-specific. Think about the worst ones for both sexes and write them down, then look for a pattern. See? You might think that you’re capable of noticing obvious examples of sexism/misogyny, but even with this simple example, you’ve missed it entirely.
[/quote]
You missed my point entirely. My point was that the basis of insults for each gender is not proof of misogyny. And that you apparently need very little evidence to declare “proof” of misogyny.
