Please, someone...anyone...tell me what we're thinking. Not 'we' specifically but, rather, people and scientists in general. I use that term very loosely, too. Here's the big news from Sweden today - at the Egalia preschool in Stockholm, they are fighting the "Gender Bias" by no longer referring to boys and girls as, well, boys and girls. They are going to refer to them as "friends"...and no, I am not making this up. Wait, it gets better. The premise is this - they feel that in every society, boys are given an unfair edge and advantage. The direct quote from a teacher was,
"Society expects girls to be girlie, nice and pretty and boys to be manly, rough and outgoing. Egalia gives them a fantastic opportunity to be whoever they want to be." Uh....okay. I'm....not quite....sure...how....to respond to that. Another teacher noted that they like to help the children discover new ideas when they play. "A concrete example could be when they're playing 'house' and the role of the mom already is taken and they start to squabble," she says. "Then we suggest two moms or three moms and so on."
Okay, now I think you're just mugging for the camera. This can't be real. Is it just me or is this taking things way too far? Listen, it's a biological fact that boys and girls are different. We all know those differences, too. For too long, Equal Rights in this country was like Civil Rights. I understand that, years ago, many men would call women, "Hon, Sweetie, Sugar," or any other name that women found demeaning. It signified that the woman could not or should not even think of doing the same job as a man or expect the same wages. I want to point out that those years involved men whose mothers stayed at home daily. They didn't even enjoy the opportunity to work outside the home. Things changed. Women began to work outside the home and (part of the change, here, folks) they had sons that noticed. My mother worked since before I was born. I have had female co-workers and female superiors. I want to ask, "Are we really still fighting this battle?" Seriously, we are now sending women to the front lines in wars overseas. What more do you want? What more can we give women to make things 'Equal'? Ladies, I mean that with no disrespect whatsoever. I'm just curious as to why we are still jumping all over this. I know an argument can be made for wages. If a woman is doing the same job as I am she should certainly be paid the same wages, no question. I would be the first person to fight for that, too. Bring me the specifics and I am all over it. The male-chauvinist pig of the 60's, 70's and early 80's is long gone. Please don't make us pay for the 'Sins of the fathers' any longer. We're with you...and will do what we can to help, but really? We are now going to call students 'friends' rather than boys and girls? I'll fight that one. I want girls to be lacy and frilly, and wear high heels and dresses...and enter the Boardroom and kick some ass. There is where the point gets made - I don't care if it's a female or male she hammers. Just get the job done.....friends.
Ironically (and a little of the last subject), I did tell a friend (she) today that I was going to steal her words. They weren't actually her's, however they were posted where she asked that they be stolen. No, not in a public restroom. They were online. In a comment to her friends, she wanted to let them know how she determined who she considers a friend and what matters. In it, she said, "
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