Rachel Aimee

"Pretty is something we do, not something we are, and there’s nothing silly, stupid, or frivolous about it."

I want to find a way to critique the sexualization of girls that doesn’t include adding to it, and I think this is possible. It just involves being really honest — with ourselves as well as with our kids — and thinking carefully about what we’re feeling, what we’re saying, and what our kids are hearing.

Every one of those “such a boy” comments make me hurt for all the other kids who hear these comments every day. Because of the many, many kids who cannot so easily hide the parts of themselves that don’t garner instant approval, knowing looks, happy eye-rolls. Because the culture that celebrates my son’s love of trucks and refuses to acknowledge his love of princesses is the same culture that shames and isolates trans and gender non-conforming kids every day.