I'm not going to pretend that I can draw (which I know I basically suck at), but I have long felt so irritated at how stereotypical most digital stamps are that I'm now taking the matter into my own hands. Lol. Because so far I haven't seen a single princess boy. Yet, Christia Brown, Ph.D., a professor of developmental psychology, says it’s common for little boys to want to wear frilly dress-up clothes or have their nails painted. So, why is the paper crafting world so behind? I have lately seen digital stamps with the theme "boys with their toys" (hmm yeah, it really is as bad as you would think) and girls dressed up as princesses. Always girls. Come on, are we living in the 50s? Oh wait, according to my mother, cross-gender play was still no news back in the 50s in China. Back then she played with toy cars, while her play-mate Greg took her dolls. Anyhow, this is my digital stamp Lou. A princess boy. Or princess boy girl. Or princess girl boy. (Why the need to put a label on everything, anyway?) |
| Digital stamp: a princess boy |
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| A princess boy - digital stamp |
Yes, it's ugly, but I'm making a point here. Just yesterday I heard a woman talk about her nephew who likes pink and glitter, as if that was something strange or new. It's now 2013, and girls have dressed up as pirates or warriors as long back as I can remember. The girls who have dressed that way, have been encouraged and felt empowered. Boys who have dressed up in what's socially constructed female, have in contrast been seen as social outcasts or probably transgender (liking pink and glitter doesn't make one transgender). I have mentioned before that the kid I used to mentor was ashamed to admit to me that his favourite colour was pink. I feel that society shames our children. Society shames our children to not be who they are. That should have stopped a long time ago. But it's not too late to stop with it today. Now.
