I had a very nice back-and-forth email conversation with Michelle Norgan, a student reporter for Cal Poly’s Mustang Daily, about the 2007 Weblog Awards. Her article appeared today. Earlier, Michelle wrote an interesting post for the Daily’s own blog entitled “Game On, Ladies.” Michelle was lamenting continuing Hollywood gender stereotypes, which usually don’t include women interested in math, computers, videogames, football, etc.
Actually, my daughters find they have to be VERY cautious about letting guys know that they are excellent videogame players who not only understand the rules of football but can anticipate the plays. This combo has an instantaneous aphrodisiac effect on young men. Okay, the ability to cook really, really well doesn’t hurt either. The football skill comes courtesy of Mr. F, who taught his toddler daughters how to play “Smash the Daddy,” in which you first teach your daughters proper tackling technique, then you get on your knees and see if they can knock you over. And although I am a fairly decent cook myself, Mr. F can take credit for instilling a love of fine cooking in his daughters. So let’s get rid of the stereotypes and have some fun!
Thanks again, Michelle, and keep playing!
1 Comment
nichol.myers · November 14, 2007 at 12:03 pm
Love this blog entry! I distinctly remember at the age of 5 repeatedly asking my dad to explain what a “down” was and kept repeating, “But if they already have the down, why do they have to keep going after it???”
My love for football hasn’t changed. I was able to play flag football in sixth grade and passed the ball pretty decently in high school gym class, but other than that, my hands on experience as well as my education in the sport hasn’t changed much. I am very skilled in certain video games, but find this is more threatening to the males I’ve encountered than intriguing. Who knows?
However, I applaud you for spurring on Michelle and her endeavors and I agree with you as well: stereotypes need to be done with. People are people; even though men do have more physical strength than women (and some different anatomy) I don’t think that’s a reason to discriminate. 😉
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