Last night my daughter was mad at a boy in her class. I mean mad. Why, you ask? Because he said men were stronger than women.
In a society where young boys are typically shown horrible models of what manliness is I think it’s great if a little boy is proud of being a boy. And I had to tell her that it’s the truth. As a group men are stronger than women. It’s just the way we’re made. They are made to do more physical stuff than we are. She took horrible offense to his assertion that boys are stronger, but I want her to look at the reality of it. Not just the ra ra go feminism stuff she sees on TV. That boy is stronger than her. Probably every boy in her class is stronger than her and unless she becomes a body builder that’s probably always going to be true. When a boy is proud of being a boy and proud of a boy’s strength that doesn’t take anything away from young women. She’s not weak because he is strong. She’s weaker because that’s how God made her. In a society where the models of men we see are Homer Simpson and the guy from family guy I think it’s great if a young boy feels proud of being masculine. And if Angelica wants to find a good man she’s got to let boys be boys.
Asserting nonexistent feminine superiority isn’t the way to go. And why should it be boys versus girls? She was so angry at this boy, but boys having a high opinion of masculinity is good for them and takes nothing away from the girls. A mentally healthy person of either gender can recognize the strengths of their gender and its opposite.
I don’t want my daughter to be marching in DC with a pussy hat on, so I taught her better. That little boy takes nothing from her by saying boys are stronger. He’s telling the truth.
Life at Home 