Posting Pics of kid breastfeeding dolls

blush · 01-16-2012, 05:45 PM

[/QUOTE]The problem is that the child does not always choose the toy. In most cases, the child doesn't. I kept my Barbies in their boxes in the closet untouched and paid no attention to them whatsoever and extended family members (thankfully my parents were a little smarter) kept getting me Barbie's. I'm definitely not an exception, I'm definitely not the only one who experienced this. Talk to a lot of folks on this very forum (whether butch, femme or trans) and many will tell you that they had the exact same experience. Talk to your local queer community, people assigned male at birth, whether cis or trans, who preferred to play with dolls but were yelled at for even trying. People assigned female at birth who would much rather be playing sports, but were yelled at or told they couldn't because "you're a girl, act like a girl." I'm not talking about "transgendered dolls" I'm talking about society frequently forcing gender stereotypes onto children. All children. I'm talking about society telling girls or children assigned female at birth that they need to want to breastfeed, have children, be "nurturing" and play with toy kitchens.

Like it or not, encouraging nurturing in the case of dolls like this is enforcing gender roles. The advertisements shared here are not asking little boys to breastfeed their dolls in order to "be like mommy," it's targeted to female children.

As far as encouraging nurturing, not all children want to grow up to be "nurturers." It's not a human trait across the board. I'm not going to go and discourage a child who wants to play with that kind of doll from doing so, but neither do I want to see such heavy emphasis on "encouraging" children to be nurturing...especially when girls are so frequently the target.[/QUOTE]

Actually, you kinda proved my point. You were given Barbies and you didn't play with them. The child chooses the toy. I don't like Barbies either, for a myriad of reasons. I don't consider them a nurturing toy.

I find it interesting that you're so bothered by toys that encourage caring behavior.

You're also referencing marketing of toys, which is a whole different ball game. A baby doll is not inherently evil. Marketing a baby doll only to girls is. Many of the messages marketing toys is not healthy. That doesn't make a baby doll unhealthy.

What you're referring to is a lack of options given to children for the toys they want to play with. That is a parenting choice, and differs entirely from the actual toy. A child should be given a healthy choice of toys geared towards their interests, whatever they may be. If a child shows interest in nurturing behavior, they should be given a toy that they can nurture.

Martina · 01-16-2012, 05:59 PM

Because nurturing has been traditionally assigned to women, we want to discourage girls from being nurturing? That's crazy. What we want to do is encourage people of all genders to be nurturing. i think we all know this. But it did crop up here again.

Give every kid dolls. If someone doesn't want to play with them, great. But the idea that you don't encourage nurturing play, which so many kids love to do, because it might enforce gender stereotypes defies reason. People like to nurture. Kids like to, too. i used to rock my dog endlessly and sing to him. i did not grow up to even have children, but i did like that kind of play.

It's seventies feminism at its worst to say to a girl or woman, oh don't like this because it's associated with women and might cause you to be disempowered by others. The opposite, i suppose, are attachment parenting people who go too far and criticize working mothers.

But discouraging a child from playing with a baby dolls? Huh?

Also, would young girls who do not like dolls dislike them so much if they weren't associated with enforcing stereotypes? If it weren't accompanied with the message, "be more like other girls?" i doubt it. Lots of boys like playing with dolls, and they aren't all gay boys. And look at all the men who groove on childcare. i honestly think it's an unusual child who does not enjoy nurturing something, a plant, an animal -- something.

Moreover we have plenty of games that encourage competetive play and worse. i say more play that encourages nurturing behavior.

01-16-2012, 05:45 PM	#1
blush Member How Do You Identify?: femme Preferred Pronoun?: she Relationship Status: I'm with goofy. Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Texas Posts: 911 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 962 Thanked 2,375 Times in 616 Posts Rep Power: 15632317	[/QUOTE]The problem is that the child does not always choose the toy. In most cases, the child doesn't. I kept my Barbies in their boxes in the closet untouched and paid no attention to them whatsoever and extended family members (thankfully my parents were a little smarter) kept getting me Barbie's. I'm definitely not an exception, I'm definitely not the only one who experienced this. Talk to a lot of folks on this very forum (whether butch, femme or trans) and many will tell you that they had the exact same experience. Talk to your local queer community, people assigned male at birth, whether cis or trans, who preferred to play with dolls but were yelled at for even trying. People assigned female at birth who would much rather be playing sports, but were yelled at or told they couldn't because "you're a girl, act like a girl." I'm not talking about "transgendered dolls" I'm talking about society frequently forcing gender stereotypes onto children. All children. I'm talking about society telling girls or children assigned female at birth that they need to want to breastfeed, have children, be "nurturing" and play with toy kitchens. Like it or not, encouraging nurturing in the case of dolls like this is enforcing gender roles. The advertisements shared here are not asking little boys to breastfeed their dolls in order to "be like mommy," it's targeted to female children. As far as encouraging nurturing, not all children want to grow up to be "nurturers." It's not a human trait across the board. I'm not going to go and discourage a child who wants to play with that kind of doll from doing so, but neither do I want to see such heavy emphasis on "encouraging" children to be nurturing...especially when girls are so frequently the target.[/QUOTE] Actually, you kinda proved my point. You were given Barbies and you didn't play with them. The child chooses the toy. I don't like Barbies either, for a myriad of reasons. I don't consider them a nurturing toy. I find it interesting that you're so bothered by toys that encourage caring behavior. You're also referencing marketing of toys, which is a whole different ball game. A baby doll is not inherently evil. Marketing a baby doll only to girls is. Many of the messages marketing toys is not healthy. That doesn't make a baby doll unhealthy. What you're referring to is a lack of options given to children for the toys they want to play with. That is a parenting choice, and differs entirely from the actual toy. A child should be given a healthy choice of toys geared towards their interests, whatever they may be. If a child shows interest in nurturing behavior, they should be given a toy that they can nurture. __________________ "We never forget those who make us blush." Jean-Francois de la Harpe

01-16-2012, 05:59 PM	#2
Martina Senior Member How Do You Identify?: * Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: * Posts: 4,999 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 13,409 Thanked 18,285 Times in 4,167 Posts Rep Power: 21474854	Because nurturing has been traditionally assigned to women, we want to discourage girls from being nurturing? That's crazy. What we want to do is encourage people of all genders to be nurturing. i think we all know this. But it did crop up here again. Give every kid dolls. If someone doesn't want to play with them, great. But the idea that you don't encourage nurturing play, which so many kids love to do, because it might enforce gender stereotypes defies reason. People like to nurture. Kids like to, too. i used to rock my dog endlessly and sing to him. i did not grow up to even have children, but i did like that kind of play. It's seventies feminism at its worst to say to a girl or woman, oh don't like this because it's associated with women and might cause you to be disempowered by others. The opposite, i suppose, are attachment parenting people who go too far and criticize working mothers. But discouraging a child from playing with a baby dolls? Huh? Also, would young girls who do not like dolls dislike them so much if they weren't associated with enforcing stereotypes? If it weren't accompanied with the message, "be more like other girls?" i doubt it. Lots of boys like playing with dolls, and they aren't all gay boys. And look at all the men who groove on childcare. i honestly think it's an unusual child who does not enjoy nurturing something, a plant, an animal -- something. Moreover we have plenty of games that encourage competetive play and worse. i say more play that encourages nurturing behavior.