So, I'm rounding the final curve of this pregnancy run, and the experience thus far has been extremely positive. It hasn't been a complete walk in the park, but I think I've handled the changes much better than I ever expected I would. In about 9 weeks, I'll finally be able to answer the question that so many people seem so fixated on:
"Is it a boy or a girl?"
Interestingly enough, quite a number of people have no qualms about following up with "I hope it's a boy - girls are (insert negative attribute here)." If there's one thing that pregnancy has opened my eyes to, it's been the ways in which we "innocently" uphold misogyny in 2014.
I can't help but feel that we set our girls up to fail before they even take their first breath. While many mothers playfully ascribe to the old wives' tale that 'girls steal your beauty,' I often hear a bit too much bitter disdain in the voices of moms who believe the statement. On some level, no matter how minute - baby girls suddenly become the enemy. Catch me on a good day, and I'll undoubtedly hear the commentary that I must be having a boy - that glow! that hair! - eliminating any threat that a baby girl would pose to my vanity.
Aside from the patriarchal messaging around boys being better protectors and having the power to maintain the family name, people seem quite comfortable with embracing misogyny - consciously or unconsciously.
"Girls are always spoiled - they're too much trouble."
"Girls these days are too fast."
"Trust me - you don't want no girl bringing home no babies in high school!"
Whatever the statement, we suddenly blame girls for qualities that we place upon them; circumstances that are far too often misconstrued by adult assumption; situations that require the equal participation of someone's son, but places sole blame on someone's daughter. Let some people tell it, my potential daughter will come into this world naturally primed to be a spoiled, promiscuous slut - but of course, no one means it that way, right?
Curiously, the majority of people I find making these kinds of comments are other women. As women, we somewhat curse ourselves when we curse our baby girls, don't we? Perhaps we've been blamed, chided, knocked down a peg. Perhaps we've resigned ourselves to the fact that this is just the way things are. Perhaps in some strange way, we feel we're preparing our girls for a world that largely works against them by speaking these things over them. All this tells me is that patriarchy and misogyny have become such cozy blankets that we don't realize when we're suffocating under them.
From the comfort of our homes in the Western world, we often sip iced tea on our front porches and suck our teeth at the barbaric behavior of our neighbors over there. Girls aborted, abandoned, abducted, raped, and killed - and we wonder, how can people treat precious children that way? How can they not see their worth? While my experiences here in Toronto may not reflect the brutal realities that girls and women face in other parts of the world, I often wonder the same: when we speak negatively about our baby girls, when we burden them before they're born, when we accept their position as second-class citizens and perpetuate the notion without question - how can we treat precious children that way? How can we not see their worth?
To the friends, elders, and complete strangers who have expressed some level of concern with the possibility of Little Magician being born female, know these two things. One: raising ANY child (especially a child of colour) today comes with challenges that we'll have to weather, regardless of said child's sex. Boys and girls have their unique lessons and obstacles, but as a first-time mom, I hardly look at either being easier than the other. Two: as a proud woman who was an awesome little girl, I won't be complicit in negating my existence by cosigning your misogyny. Wake up, throw off those cozy blankets, and realize that upholding misogynistic and patriarchal ideals stifles both our girls and boys. Deconstruct, unlearn, and let's help them to flourish, not fail.