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Why Are Daughters Only Valued When They’re “Like Sons”?
Why is a girl or woman all of a sudden “like a son” when she is successful
“She’s like a son.”
The first time I heard it, they were talking about my cousin. She had just come first in our class, something we often competed for, and a woman praised my aunt for raising a daughter who was “like a son.”
It was meant as a compliment. But it said everything.
My aunt has only one child. A girl. And people never let her forget it. After my cousin’s birth, complications made it impossible for her to have more children. Somehow, that became a stain on her womanhood. She hadn’t given her husband a son to carry his name, his imaginary legacy. Her daughter, though… well, at least she was “like a son.”
She was ambitious, even as a ten-year-old. She had something pushing her, a fire that made her stand out. She was a natural leader, outspoken, fearless. I was a shy kid, and she was always the one speaking up for me, standing her ground even against our teachers when she felt something was unfair. And every time she did, the same praise would follow: She’s like a son.
I wonder if my aunt ever noticed the weight of that statement. If she ever sat with the idea that, no matter how proud she…
