I haven't blogged in a long time. That's not to say I don't have a lot to write about... I just don't have the time.... After all, it's summer- we're busy having fun!
BUUUUUT.... today I came across this article:
... and for a fleeting moment, I was horrified. I was scared to death that as a mom of FOUR little girls, I am not ONE BIT bothered by this fact. AT. ALL. and that somehow my daughters would be scarred for life if I took them to see this movie. Then, I asked my eight and six year old if they knew that all the Minions were boys. Their responses?
Maggie: "Who cares?"
Lucy: "Really? I never noticed... but wait, their names are Bob and Kevin, so yeah, they are boys. But they're funny!"
Do I think children are impressionable? Absolutely. Do I think those types of messages exist in our society? Absolutely. Do I think seeing only boy Minions is sending them an underlying message that "girls aren't important or interesting?" Um... nope. I think what they will take away from that movie is a bunch of giggles, a tummy full of popcorn, and enough "Minion-speak" to replicate in the days following to drive their parents crazy.
The article gives very little biographical information on it's author, Samantha Ettus. Perhaps I could find more if I did some digging, but I just don't quite care enough. I am not sure if Samantha is a mother of a daughter(s), or even if she is a mother at all. But I am... times four. And to Samantha, I say this: all the energy and brain power you wasted on dissecting this entire phenomenon of strictly male Minions, you could have spent the same amount of time playing, talking, creating, with your daughters. Why are you letting a movie like "The Minions" shape how your daughter(s) feel about themselves? As a mom, that's what *I* signed up to do. The way I talk about myself in their presence. The way I encourage them to try new things. The way I tell them how proud I am of them. The way I talk about OTHER women in their presence. The way I tirelessly support their choices and let them learn from their mistakes. And you know what? By doing just that, my daughters "don't care" that all the Minions are boys. It's just a simple fact in their world... a world filled with drawing pictures and kicking soccer balls and measuring sugar and riding bikes and giggling and fighting with their sisters and playing (gasp!) Barbies and learning archery and making their beds and doing puzzles and reading books and swimming and climbing and cartwheeling and building with Legos.
