Day 20: Ad-buster
I no longer have a photo of the ad I wish I could post, but I think I can describe in adequately. Heaven knows I still have a very firm picture in my head.
In my college advanced creative writing course I started my first idea journal at the urging of the invincible late Dr. Esther Wagner. She urged us to always be on the lookout for images and words that triggered strong reactions and to include them in our journals.
Shortly after I found out I was expecting our firstborn, I found a picture from a JCPenney ad that was destined from the idea journal. It was in the size 2T to 6x section (toddlers to kindergarteners, roughly). The ad ostensibly was to depict a little girls' summer outfit that included shorts and a top with shoulder ties. The blonde child model is looking seductively over her nearly bare shoulder (she is likely about 5). An adjacent boy model is giving her what I call the "hubba hubba" eyes (I swear they asked him to put his tongue out a little and look startled). These children were typecast at such a young age, by adults, to be caricatures of the world to come.
This image inspired many aspects of my life since then, from the clothes I made or bought for my own children, to the photos I included in nonprofit publications, to how I was a Camp Fire leader, to the issues I eventually decided to deal with in therapy.
Today, I am nannying for a two babies (Sofia and Xander). I am working hard to catch myself from using "boy" and "girl" as automatic endearments, working hard to substitute "one" -- What a strong one! What a smart little one! What a bright-eyed one!
There will be so much CIS gender labeling in their lives; I hope less than I or my children faced. The least (and best) I can do is be more thoughtful about my own messages.