I used to
play castles and princes with my two older brothers when I was a kid. Although
the level of violence was not clearly discussed, and it really did not matter,
I made one thing very clear - my brothers would play the knights or the
princes, but I would not always be the princess whom they would (fine!) rescue
from some random castle!
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| Yes, you could wear that pink ballerina hat with your green monkey onesie |
Often, I was
the dragon that terrorised the castle! I would stomp my feet and fight with my
brothers who used either the Nintendo guns or Leonardo's swords, and no matter
how much they tried they could not kill me. Just so you know, I had secret
potions that made me immortal. I was the hard-headed dragon who gave a lot of
plot twists in the game.
Soon, my
brothers grew tired of the game because 1) they were already in College, and I
was still in Grade School, and 2) it was boring to have a dragon they couldn't
kill.
Yeah, I know
being the dragon is not the role girls would first pick in a role-playing game,
but I grew up just fine. I grew up in the times when it's okay to be the
princess and play with Barbie marrying a Cabbage Patch Kid, but there's also
nothing wrong to be the dragon that could kill those stupid ducks in Duck
Hunt.
I remember
telling my roommate (my husband, btw) that one of my life goals is to drive a bulldozer.
I even had a matchbox bulldozer before. It was neatly placed next to my Polly
Pockets and Bulbasaur.
And this is something I wish Baby Charley to
understand.
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| Of course, you can have all the shoes you can afford |
She should not limit herself to just having
girl's stuff and doing just girl things.
Being a girl does not mean having all things pink and
yellow- from notebooks, to pens, to paper towels.
Being a girl does not mean being required to take summer
ballet classes or getting the pink kinder joy or the Barbie McDonald's Happy
Meal.
Being a girl does not mean that life would be easy on her,
and people would always understand her and her mood swings. Being a girl does
not mean being the emotional one in the group or being a damsel in distress all
the time.
She can, but it does not hurt if she could change the tires
herself from time to time.
Being a girl means she could wear shirts with trains and
dinosaurs or skirts with ribbons and stars. She could play soccer and
basketball and climb trees and be pirates with her cousins. She could watch the
Winx Club and the NBA finals. We could download Call of Duty and if she wants a
"Jack and the Pirates in Neverland" birthday party theme instead of
Tinkerbell, fine! She could be the big bad wolf when she goes Trick or
Treating, or Princess Cinderella, or Olaf.
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| and you can have wolverine and the gang to fight against dengue mosquitoes! |
She could be anything she wants to be…because she is a
girl.
She can be confident and smart and strong just as any boy.
She can express her opinions and tell people they’re wrong or apologise when
she’s wrong. She can ask a man to drive for her to Katipunan or carry stuff for
her. She can shout when
More importantly, being a girl means working really hard to
reach her dreams without stepping on anyone just to get them. She should be holding
her head high for something she’s very proud of while keeping her feet firmly
on the ground.
She can be all of these and more…Because. She. Is. A. Girl.
She should understand that girls aren’t just made of sugar,
spice, and anything nice. Sometimes, girls are also made with dinosaur eyes.
