Proud to play like a girl!

Attending Logan's flag football games on Saturday was a test of strength.  By the time the second game came along, my entire family choose to sit in the end zone rather than with the rest of the families to avoid the parent chatter.  If it wasn't Willie's mom screaming at the top of lungs that "YOU CAN DO IT, WILLIE!  NEVER STOP!  NEVER NEVER STOP!" or the mom yelling angrily that they could play better than they were or even if weren't for the man that kept telling the kids that they were playing like girls...maybe we would have gone and sat with the rest of the families.

Unbelievable behavior by a bunch of people who supposedly have their child's best interests at heart.  I'm for tough love, but ridicule?  Berating?  Name calling?  THAT is not parenting.

But back to what the one dad said.  "You're playing like girls" and "You just gotten taken down by a girl!" were his favorite phrases.  One issue with those phrases is that there is a girl on Logan's team, too.  And she is fierce!  She holds her own with those boys, never complaining, always doing her job, and she's fast!

My sister had had it at one point and when he said one of those comments, she turned to him and said, "What's wrong with playing like a girl?!"  Haha!  Others echoed her comment and he sheepishly slunk back down on the bleacher for a minute.  Moments later he was back at it.

Wow.  I'm pretty proud to play like a girl.  I'm pretty proud of all I've accomplished as a girl. 

Last night we watched Wonder Woman on DVD and it was funny watching the boys watch her "kick butt".  Lucas isn't one who likes female superheros, but I called him into the room at one point to watch her take down the German army that was manning "No Man's Land".  Lucas was impressed.

The attitudes of that man take up right back to the 1940's and 1950's placing women directly back into the kitchen to care for her man and her family.  It places all women back into the box they never asked to be placed into.  And they are forced into a stereotype that they have fought hard to beat.

When did it become a bad thing to play like a girl?  When did it become bad for a woman to excel ahead of a man?  Sadly, I don't think it was ever a good thing.  And even in 2017, it's still a derogatory comment.

Now, don't mistake me for a feminist who believes we are all equal in every aspect.  I believe women can and should be allowed to just about everything a man can do.  But, I also still believe the bible placed men as the heads of the household and truly believe that is still something that should be upheld.  Not a dictatorship, mind you.  Just a succession of power: God, husband, wife.  That's all.  

And, I'm not big on a woman every being president...we have emotions that are so necessary to being a woman, but I'm not sure they are conducive to presidency.  But, THAT IS JUST MY OPINION.

But, please, I beg you, stop telling kids it's not okay to play like a girl.  Maybe genders have gotten blurred because of this very sort of thing, who knows.  But, I'm proud to be me.  Other little girls should be proud to play like girls.  And I know because I had parents who pushed me to work hard and taught me to believe in my abilities as a girl, that I've become a caring woman who plays hard, who works hard at all she does.

Yep, I'm proud to play like a girl!