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In reply to the discussion: 13-Year-Old Girl Asks Easy Bake Oven To End Sexist Ads: [View all]Victor_c3
(3,557 posts)I thought they looked cool and fun. I never ended up getting the toy - probably because my parents thought it was a toy meant for girls.
I remember my grandfather and father getting a little upset when my little brother and I decided that we wanted to sew cloth together to make pillows just like my grandmother (I was probably 8 years old). I remember specifically being told that sewing was for girls.
What is funny is that my two daughters and I were going through the toy section of a department store yesterday when my oldest daughter (she is 4 years old) asked "why are all the girl toys pink?". "I don't know. I don't have a good answer" is all I could tell her.
I don't think my "feminine" desires to sew or to bake when I was a little boy curbed my masculinity in any sense. If anything, it made me a more well rounded and understanding person. I'll stand up to the "manliest" of men (those who think things like taking care of children, baking, or sewing is beneath them and only fit for women to do) and point to my combat valor awards and tell them what being a "real" man is all about.