Gender Issues

Three separate things occurred all in one week. I saw a link between them, and they all individually and as a whole made me laugh.

First One
I should start this one with a bit of background. My dear mother swore like a sailor. She never censored herself in front of us kids. In turn, she allowed us to swear occasionally under the premise that it would always be at home or under our breath and never in the company of others. And although I cannot hold a candle to my mother in terms of swearing, I have maintained the same swearing protocol with Julia. I think it can be empowering for a kid to use a curse word once in a while when they want to express a strong emotion or during a well timed joke for shock value. All that said, Julia and I were walking the dogs this week. Julia was re-capping an event that had happened a few days prior that really got her ire up. She was furious at a man and says to me, "Mom, I wanted to say to him, 'Listen, Bitch!'" I explained to her that bitch is usually used to describe females.

Second One
She and Isaac play this rough WWF style wrestling game that they've named, Randy Johnson (Randy, for short). We were in a department store recently, and they started up. I walked away like I didn't know them. A few minutes later, Julia sought me out. She looks at me with a sheepish grin and says, "Isaac and I were doing Randy and he accidentally [her voice drops three octaves and her grin widens] kicked me in the balls." I had to explain to her that although she has heard Isaac use this term, it is not a generic term for privates. I told her in no uncertain terms that she does not have balls.

Last One
We were in Costco at the check out. We only had a few items so we did not grab a cart. A worker was handing the paid for items to the kids to hold. At first, he handed Julia a large box that contained two drums of oatmeal (heavy but within her ability to hold). Then something lighter came down the conveyer belt, AA batteries, I think. The man says, "You know what, let's give this heavy thing to him [he hands it to Isaac] and you take this. It's easier." We walked away from the counter. Julia looked at me and says, "That's so sexist!"

On second thought, maybe she does have balls.