FEMINISM

Playing with Dolls Is Fine

Girly-girls can grow up to be feminists, too

I got Tatters for my first Christmas. I slept with her most of my childhood. That’s not her original clothing or shoes, and she no longer talks when you pull her string. The smaller doll was my husband’s. One of the very small number of belongings he brought to the U.S. when he moved here from the Netherlands to marry me was his own childhood doll. (Photo by Michelle Teheux)

When we see a little boy playing with a doll, we smile with approval. He is breaking stereotypes. Oh, he’s going to be a good daddy someday!

Then, when we see a little girl pick up a doll, we frown. Wouldn’t she rather play with the shiny red fire truck? Or kick around the soccer ball? What if she’s . . . too girly?

The assumption that it’s better for a girl to be a tomboy than a girly-girl has bothered me for a long time. It’s just as wrong to try to force girls into the interests we traditionally associate with boys as it is to try to force them into traditionally feminine pursuits.

Girly stuff was my jam

I loved my Barbies and my baby dolls. I greatly enjoyed staying home with my kids for seven years. Cooking is one of my favorite pastimes. I even bake my own sourdough bread. But I’m not some tradwife; I’m a feminist.

Once my kids were in school and required less hands-on care, I returned to my career. I would still be the editor of a daily newspaper today if that industry had not imploded.

I kind of hate that when I say something is “traditionally male” or “traditionally female,” we all know what I mean. There are…