Interesting conversation with my teenage daughter about gender roles.

Her- “some people say we shouldn’t have gender roles”

Me- “‘.mmm…hmmm”

Her – “shouldn’t girls be able to do anything guys do? Like at home he does dishes sometimes and she does dishes sometimes that seems fair”

Me- okay

Her- seriously mom, doesn’t that seem fair?

Me- are we talking about a het couple?

Her- yes

Me- I think it’s about a lot more than fairness baby girl… Does he say “well this is heavy, so I’ll lift some of the heavy stuff and you can lift some? Does he say “I’ll kill some of the bugs and you can kill the rest?” If there is a noise at night does he send her to check it out sometime?

Her- (laughing) no…

Me- sometimes people are advocating for things that they really don’t want. What they do want is to be valued and respected. You can have that and have gender roles too. Humans have done it for a very long time. Everyone can do what they like, and no one has to. I just want you to understand that gender roles in a relationship aren’t synonymous with female oppression. Some of us actually like it.

Her- that makes sense! I should mention this to my teacher

Me- uhmmm… Let’s just… Not.

In Laughter, Love, and Lustiness,