Chuck a packet of candy on the table when it’s my turn to host the mother’s group. Reddit recently asked men what they would do if they weren’t afraid of appearing “feminine.” “I’d knit so hard, bro,” was one response. “Drape myself in velvet” was another. “Wax my butt crack” was unexpected, but it did get […]
When men performatively conquer female woes by stomping around in stilettos to “I Will Survive,” is this a kind of gender appropriation? I’ve never known how to feel about drag shows. My best friend started getting into them a few years ago, and naturally, wad of singles in hand, I accompanied him to our friendly […]
“There’s nothing inherently bad about being femme; problems arise when we try to enforce femininity on people as a means of oppression.” — Anne Theriault When I found out I was pregnant, I put a lot of thought into how I could avoid forcing conventional gender norms on my child. We chose a gender neutral […]
I think she looks fabulous, but people sure have a lot of opinions about it. My 9-year-old daughter has never been shy about her preferences and opinions. Right before she began kindergarten, she asked if she could cut her hair short. Since then, it has varied in style, but has stayed pretty short. Over the […]
Dear Dana is a bi-weekly advice column for humans who engage in romantic relationships. Please send your dilemmas, issues, conundrums, assumptions, conflicts, anxieties, worriments, obstacles, complications, predicaments, queries, questions, and any other synonyms for “problems” to deardana@rolereboot.org. Dear Dana: After a couple of failed relationships over the last year, I’m back to online dating, but not […]
The message that we consistently send out is that in order to achieve any kind of significant career goals, girls need to adopt traits that are typically associated with masculinity. A few months ago, my 4-year-old son went to a classmate’s birthday. The party was superhero-themed and the loot bags were packed with cute little […]
When female athletes are powerful, tough fighters, sweaty or bloody, or just simply muscular, the media reduces them to animal-like caricatures, as if attempting to shame them into their proper place as ladies. Dear Media, Heads-up: Athleticism is not gendered. Did I really just read this sentence by HuffPost sportswriter Justin Block, in an article […]
