Why Boys and Girls are Different
Friday, July 25th by jamie
Twisted Sister circa 1982
Really. Doesn’t this illustration look odd? It’s like someone has wrenched the poor girl’s head around. Her feet overlap; she has no arms, no neck….uggh.
This well-meaning little book called, Each One Specially: For Ages 3 to 5 by Carol Greene comes from that uncomfortable transition period from post-Second Wave Feminism’s waning power and the rise of the 1980s Conservative Movement. Jeffery Euginedes would not have been awarded the Pulitzer had he written Middlesex in 1982. Had he dared, he would have been cheerfully bludgeoned to death with several “It’s Morning in America” yard signs.
In 1982, boys were boys and girls were girls and that was that. Period. Thus the explanation, “God gave girls a vagina. It is on the inside. That is the best place for it….God gave boys a penis. It is on the outside. That is the best place for it.”
Okay, I realize this is aimed at the 3 to 5 year old set but if your child is inquisitive enough at three to ask you that much, firmly saying, “That is the best place for it,” is unlikely to end the conversation. At least not at my house.
So, Michael and Jennifer of 1982 or Jacob and Emily of 2007… There! All questions answered. Heads on straight now? (See above). And let’s keep those hands a safe six inches apart, mmm’kay?
