This Milk Might Be Bad

A few weeks ago, someone asked if my kids were "half-breeds." If I married an "Oriental lady." This comment was from a man who probably lost his use-by-date when a refrigerator door stayed open too long. He was also born when these types of comments were tightly locked behind refrigerator doors. Back when these appliances could also permanently trap people they didn't like.

This comment is clearly abhorrent, but it is not an isolated incident. I've experienced it a number of times, more often with my daughters. And yet, even those who prefer the sweetest forms of milk are the first to illuminate that gender and race will play an instrumental role in girl's and womxn's future success.

Beginning in kindergarten to date, my daughters have been consistently told by male peers a resounding rhetoric. With full court press, little boys with maturation issues have learned to cherry-pick data. I seriously think it's a tactic they believe works to their advantage. They have, of course, only heard part of the story from their equally small engendered daddy, who has told them things like, "Boys brains are bigger than girls," which they turn and use as badge of glory.

I've held off telling my girls that much of a boy's early life is focused on his dumbstick, and that he won't mature until he's like, 25. Let girls' use that to their advantage. Especially during group work assigments. Give him task-oriented activities that allow him to feel as though he's in charge. It's an art, but once you've mastered that brush stroke, you've also learned a great skill for long-term relationships and marriage.

The reality is, the girls who stand up to boys and shine through with their personality and academically are always a threat to a boy's manhood. Girls immasculate, but the same is not equal for boys. Boys will always belittle girls and milk this narrative when generations of misinformation and misconceptions have allowed them to chalk their ideas from some pretty outdated playbooks.