The world doesn't hate you. Don't hate the world.

Dear daughters,

This is you being awesome

The world does not hate you.   

Look, everything in that post is true. The world is unfair. People can be horrible. A whole lot of the world, in general, thinks that being a girl is pretty much the worst thing you can be. So I'm not writing this to criticize the parent who wrote the above, or argue with anything she said. I admire her passion and her principles. I love that she teaches her daughter to go out every day and show the world how awesome she is. I like big chunks of that post, and the first time I read it, I thought "right on! Fuck 'em all!"

But I kept seeing it posted on facebook, by a lot of different moms. And I thought about it. It occurred to me I would express the same basic ideas rather differently, and I want to tell you why.

Granted, sometimes I want to say "fuck 'em." I have said it. When I get sick and tired of "girly" being used as an insult. When I get fed up with the "girl toys" and "boy toys" aisles at the big-box stores, or when I am frustrated because I have spent untold hours looking for appropriate Halloween costumes for your age. (This, by the way? NOT appropriate.) When I think about a culture that tells us motherhood is the most noble thing we can be, then doesn't support parents or families or children after they leave the womb, unless they fit into certain very specific, very gendered boxes.

You are 5 and 9 years old, respectively, and I shouldn't have to special order and pay $30 each for a pair of shorts that reach mid-thigh and don't have words written across your butts, or go to three or four stores in search of sandals in a size one that don't have heels. That makes me feel ill. A lot.

I could write several posts ranting about how utterly broken gender culture is in this country, about the messages we send little boys and little girls -- and big boys and big girls -- that can screw us all up for life. But that's not what I want to tell you about. You will find that out soon enough. And when you do, you will, I hope, be horrified, and refuse to buy into the conventional wisdom that your looks and your weight are your only source of self-worth, or lack thereof.

What I want to tell you, instead, is that the world loves you. I want you to wake up each morning knowing that you are utterly awesome, and that other people are too, and the world is a freaking fantastic place.

You will, of course, learn that there are people who treat other people badly because of things they have no control over: gender, sexual preference, appearance. There are people who are just bullies. There are people who want to make sure you stay in what they think is your place. You both have already started to learn that lesson, and there's no help for it. But you also know -- and I never want you to forget -- that there are completely wonderful people in the world, as well. Who help other people just because they can. Who give up their own comfort to make things a little bit more comfortable for someone else. Who will go out of their way to make your day a little bit brighter, for no reason other than that you both live on the same planet and it feels good to make someone else smile.

I'm not saying you have to be one of those people. Lord knows I'm not, not very often. I don't have that much energy and frankly I don't have that much self-sacrifice in me right now. But I want you to know they are out there. They might not outnumber the haters, but they are out there, and they love you.

And I'm not saying give up, accept unfairness and stereotypes and do nothing to change them. You can fight them, without hating the world that brought them into being. That world brought you into being, too.

Here's the other extremely important thing: you have nothing to prove to anyone. You go out and be awesome, because you ARE awesome, but if you don't want to be the one who proves that a girl can [fill in the blank] just as good, or better than, a boy, you don't have to. You didn't choose to be female, and you don't have anything to prove just by virtue of your sex.

You know that it's ok to like trucks, and motorcycles, and the color pink, and sparkly nail polish, and princesses and Transformers, whether you are a boy or a girl. You already know you can grow up to be anything you want to be. As long as you don't forget that you have a zillion choices, you don't have to be the one who makes the most radical choice. Someone will, eventually. If it's you, because that's what you want, fantastic. But if what you really want is to be a yoga instructor or a parent who stays home or an English teacher, then that's what you should do, instead. Don't do anything just to prove the haters wrong. Do what makes you happy.

Don't let people make you feel bad because you like to wear makeup or cry at sappy movies or collect Barbie dolls. And don't let people make you feel bad because you hate makeup and would rather sleep an extra 15 minutes, because you chop all your hair off and wear black nail polish, or because you would rather learn to rebuild an engine than sew a straight seam. Don't feel bad for wanting to get married and have children. Don't feel bad if you don't. Both are perfectly fine, valid choices. Frankly, just about anything you choose is just freaking fine, if you are choosing it because it's what you want. Not because you want to either a) conform or b) rebel just for the sake of fitting in or sticking out.

What I'm saying is, in my long-winded, god-mom-get-an-editor way, is don't go out every day thinking the world hates you for being a girl. Or for being anything that you are. Please don't. Because that will make you hate the world. You will grow bitter and angry, and you will do things just to spite the anonymous "them" who you think are telling you who you should be. Feel free to ignore "them" and do whatever you want, obviously, but don't do things just to spite "them." They don't actually care what you do. They only even exist because we give them any power to have any effect on us.

Look, I'm no Pollyanna. I know that political machinations will continue to make the world a difficult place for women. I know that some people will look at you and think "she's just a girl, what does she know?" I know that some people will judge you on the size of your breasts, not the size of your heart or your intellect. Someone someday will see you in a short skirt, or in sweatpants, and decide they know something about you because of your clothing choices. I know that at some point in the next 10 (20, 30) years, you will feel bad about yourself because of the way you look.

You know what? I'm almost 40. I'm divorced, renting a tiny house, driving a 12-year-old car, working in an underpaid, female-dominated field. This is not what I expected my life would be at this point. And still? I'm pretty sure that the world is an amazing, beautiful place. I don't feel it every minute of every day. Of course not. But on the whole. And I know that unless I let politicians, marketers, misogynists, and oversexed frat boys make me jaded and bitter, then I still win.

I want you to win, too. I want you to be awesome. Not to show anybody anything or teach anyone a lesson or to get back and anyone who said something hateful or mean or ignorant. But just because you are both amazing, wonderful, strong, loving, beautiful human beings. And I never want that to change.

This is you being awesome, too.

UPDATED : Racism: Bad: Sizeism: PERFECTLY OK, APPARENTLY.

(Copied over and expanded on from tumblr.)

hungergamestweets: Luna Lovegood?!?!?!? That little heifer looks like Casper the Friendly Ghost.
But of course, the rule applies. Pale skin equals innocence.

I found the above-linked blog through an article in Jezebel, and browsed through, appropriately horrified by the racism (as well as massive reading-comprehension fails) so nonchalantly displayed all over twitter. And I admired the author of this blog for calling people out on their horrific attitudes. Then I got to this post, where that same author who is outing people as racists displays a casual, hurtful attitude by calling someone — I’m guessing the actress who plays Luna Lovegood, who just had the misfortune of being mentioned by a random person on twitter — a heifer? 

Granted, I'm a little cranky today and I have a massive headache. But -- and correct me if I'm wrong, please -- isn't this a little, I don't know, HYPOCRITICAL? Now I'm not saying calling someone a heifer is comparable to calling someone a nigger. (That was painful to type out, but I did it, because that's the point, right?) But you can't call people out on a public platform for being racist and then turn around and use derogatory language about someone completely unrelated to the topic at hand, who did absolutely nothing to warrant the insult. Not to mention, if Evanna Lynch, the lovely, seemingly average-sized actress who plays Luna Lovegood is your idea of a heifer, I think you have been brainwashed by Hollywood and the fashion industry as to what people really look like. (And I won't even get started on that topic, or we will be here all day. And well into tomorrow.)

Since this tumblr doesn’t have comments enabled, I clicked the “ask me” button and submitted the following question: 

I was directed to this blog via coverage in jezebel and admired you for calling out racism on twitter. Then I got to the post where you call “Luna Lovegood” — I’m assuming the reference is to the actor who played Luna in the HP movies, since you talk about her “looks” — a “heifer.” How can you speak out against racism then be that cruel about someone else’s appearance? The comment was rude, inaccurate, and obnoxious, and it makes me take your blog as a whole far less seriously.

I'll let you know if I get a response.

UPDATE, 3/30:

Although the author of this tumblr, who now has been freaking interviewed by the New Yorker, has not responded to my email either directly or on the blog, he has removed the "heifer" comment from the post linked above. Good call, dude, but I'd prefer you own up and apologize. I have major problems with him getting attention and interviews for being horrified and outraged and willing to call out racists, while harboring other hurtful (if more socially acceptable) stereotypes. 

SECOND UPDATE:

He apologized, publicly, on the blog. Which I very much appreciate, although as I said in a tweet to his twitter feed, he doesn’t owe *me* an apology. And that’s why I’m glad he had the nerve to post a public apology, because when something blows up temporarily like this tumblr did, the responsibility not to be  massive hypocrit is toward your audience as a whole. 

He also says he didn’t mean it in a “sizeist” way, which, ok, but you’d never call someone a heifer as a term of endearment, either. I’m guessing he was upset about the content of the original tweet and used hurtful language unthinkingly, misdirecting his anger at an innocent party. I think this just points out that we all have a responsibility to be careful about language, whether we think anyone is reading what we put out here on the internet, or not. 

The walls go all the way to the floor, and some days that's all you can hope for

First day at Disneyworld: "Mom, today is going to be the BEST day. As long as I don't fall down."

Oh, Boo. My funny, frustrating youngest child. This morning she had a meltdown when I told her to stop threatening to poop on her sister and get dressed; I had to drag her out the door and into school, 10 minutes late, and she was fighting me every step of the way. Stubborn. So, so stubborn, so determined to show me that I can't make her do anything she doesn't want to do.

Fight Like a Girl

Fight Like a Girl onEtsy

I made this treasury of awesome, inspiring girl-power stuff I found on etsy for a couple of reasons. I needed something to remind myself of my strength. And I needed reassurance that my daughters will grow up knowing their own power, strength and wisdom. I needed to remember that there are plenty of women who don't rely on others to solve their problems, and that even when things don't go quite right there are lots of reasons to go on.

And, of course, just because as women we are awesome, and our daughters are awesome, and it doesn't hurt to tell yourself that as often as possible.