The Princess Boy

This morning on the today show there was a feature on a new trend...boys dressing in girls clothing. They have labeled one little guy "the princess boy". His mom lets him wear whatever he wants and he chooses to wear pink dresses.

It got me thinking...how would I feel if my sons traded in Transformers for Barbies, Star Wars for Littlest Pet Shop? A bedazzled pink shirt instead of blue turtlenecks?

What about an easy bake oven?

Well the last one is easy to answer. After requesting such an oven for over a year, Cole received one from his auntie for x-mas. Tim's eyebrow raised when he saw the box, I squealed in delight...FUN!

It's blue....but would it matter if it were pink? Cole helps me bake all the time in the kitchen. Mind you, we use generic spatulas, metal bowls and electric mixers. If we now place an "easy bake" label on this activity, does it suddenly become a "girl" type thing to do?

Does it matter that the box and website has, and ALWAYS has promoted the easy bake oven as a girls toy?
We tried out the "process" today. My thoughts....

Icing in a small little pan occurred with the same concentration as placing cookies onto a big cookie sheet.
The anticipation was as high as ever. Whether it's my oven or his...staring at the door will always make the cookies bake faster. And when the goods were baked and it was time to eat, the delivery method did not matter, the experience was the same. The smell of cinnamon pretzels even drew Tim away from his home office...


My example is small and likely ridiculous as Cole is not wearing a pink dress as he bakes pretzels in his easy bake oven. But would that matter? Would I be as patient and forthcoming as the Princess Boy's mom? Is she hoping this "phase" will pass? Is she at all questioning why?

Does she long for snips and snails and puppy dog tails? Is "pretty in pink" no longer for only the Molly Ringwalds of the world.

Are we, as a society, ready to accept conflicting genders?

Is a 5 year old boy and his supportive and understanding mother leading a crusade for gender acceptance?

I'm not quite sold just yet...and deep down I really don't want to be faced with "buying in" .

Back to Lightsabre battles tomorrow.