For several years, I've frowned on the pink and purple princess mania of modern girldom. To me, it was a sign of early tracking of little girls to woman's weeds and "girl things." It was so antifeminist.
I'd bristle. I'd roll my eyes.
Why do they need special "girl" Mega Blocks? What's wrong with the primary colored ones the boys play with. What makes red, blue, yellow and green "boy," and pink and purple "girl"?
But I've change my mind.
I mean, sure, there is nothing wrong with girls playing with primary colored toys and I still think it's, I don't know, superfluous to make pink and purple blocks. But the fact that she's playing with pink blocks doesn't mean she is destined for a life of subservient, second-class citizenship. That's going to require a lot more parenting mistakes than any frilly princess dress or box of pink blocks is going to impart.
I mean, let's remember that playing with any colored blocks is intellectually stimulating. If pink gets her building towers, that's okay. In fact, it's not just okay, it's great. She's probably not going to demand a pink princess microscope when she gets to MIT. The lessons she learned from her mom and dad about self-respect, personal fulfillment, education, and her fundamental rights as a human being are going to be the thing that determines whether she's mighty or a mouse.
Not that anecdotes are proof of anything, but I played with Barbies like mad and I turned out okay, with no illusions that I should only wear pink, have long blond hair, always wear heels, and have an impossibly tiny waist.
And, honestly, if I'm going to let my boy play with Hello Kitty and Minnie Mouse, I really ought to chill out about girls doing it. Probably, those girls have a few Hot Wheels or other "boy" toys in their toy boxes too. I mean, I did, after all. I remember my collection of Star Wars figurines quite fondly.
So, as due, I'm chilling out. And today, without second thought or guilt, I will accompany my son to a little girl's birthday party with an unapologetic gift of princess Duplo blocks. May she build skyscrapers one day.
Maybe I'll even wear a pink sweater.
