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Little Mother

I never had an Easy Bake oven, I'm brown. Instead I had a tiny rolling pin and board to make invisible rotis (Indian flatbread). I had a tiny kitchen with cute little pans and bowls. I even cleaned up after myself after "making a meal" just like my mom always does. She's the one who taught me how to use that rolling pin and the real one I use today. 

Almost every toy I've received since then from others outside my family have been exclusively "girly". Baby dolls, princess tiaras, a Victoria's secret purse from a most likely drunk aunty. My brother ALWAYS received a science-related item, because learning is for the boyz. From an extremely young age I was awakened to the unfairness of these so-called "gifts" and I threw tantrums over it. I'd thank the adult with that sort of devilish smile a kid makes when they're forced to be polite, and as soon as they left I'd be waiting for my brother to open his gift like a curious dog. I'm actually really glad I had a brother growing up, because I was able to have a variety of toys to play with. I'd play bakugan or beyblade toys with him, and he'd play dolls with me. We never segregated ourselves when it came to toys, and we most certainly never grew up with a mentality of placing restrictions around a gender. I'd walk in those daunting shopping aisles and ponder why I was engulfed in pink and glitter while my brother was across the room encased in blue walls. The creative and delicate toys always seemed to find their way in the girls section, while the boys had the strong and educational ones. 


Because I grew up in such an open community and a socially progressive family, these toys never really harmed me. In fact, today my brother cooks more than me. He does household chores, and is more organized than me. Even children like him better than me. His toys have taught him to be curious and competitive- what society wants every man to be. His experience of being an older sibling has taught him to be gentle and caring- what society wants every woman to be. That kitchen set may have been more fitting for him honestly, because he grew up to be the best of my mother more than I ever did. 

 





Comments

  1. SLZFebruary 11, 2024 at 5:18 PM

    Are all of your blogs this good??? Actually not fair ☹️ it's cheating
    Did your mom not give you small bits of dough to play with? I remember my mom giving a teaspoon sized piece of chapati dough that I would inevitably get stuck to the table...
    I really love how you didn't focus on the effects toys had on you but also how they effected your brother. You also seem like a devilish child, throwing fits all the time... it would explain a lot today Shorty

    ReplyDelete

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