Aiming for a different future

Yesterday,  I wanted to buy Chicklet her first 'post-birth' gift, so I walked into Queenstown.  No wonder they call Queenstown 'The Adventure Capital of the World'.  It's because there is NO SHOPPING!!

I found two baby/children's wear outlets.  Both of them had sales on and I could have bought her a little size 0000 dress which was on sale from $179 down to $117 in one of those shops.  (If anybody can explain to me why you would spend so much money on an item of clothing that won't fit your baby by next week, I would be very interested to hear it!).

I did find a little pair of pink velvet jeans at a reasonable price, which should fit her by Winter.  The other outlet also had sale items and I was able to acquire a pair purple polka dot tights and a little black dress with red and purple flowers embroidered on the front.  It's very rare to find anything for a baby girl in black!

My plan was to get something pink, lacy and frilly but Vegan Chickie and The Bare-chested Chef are not fans of 'pink for girls'  and  'blue for boys' or anything that distinguishes girls from boys.  What difference does it make what sex your child is?  How can there ever be equality when we treat our children so differently depending on whether they are wearing pink or blue?  Our daughters grow up believing that they must be pretty.  Our sons grow up believing that they must not wear pink.

Her point is not as black and white as the little information I have mentioned in that short paragraph and of course, there is so much more to it than that.

I do believe that her point is valid, though for my generation, it's difficult to get our head around it and that alone is a huge hurdle for Generation X to climb, let alone all the other feminist issues on the agenda.

I think my generation should be called the 'Confused Generation'.  I am not a Baby Boomer and I am not Generation X.  Ours was the generation that was sitting in a boat in the middle of the river when the world offered:

Option one - row to the right if you want to stay at home, have babies and take care of the house and family.

Option two - row to the left, if you want to have a career.

If we chose option two, we had to be superwoman and be prepared for war with everybody.  Half of the human race believed there was something seriously wrong with you if you chose career over family.

If we chose option one, it was an admission that we didn't think ourselves capable enough to go the distance with option two and the other half of the human race believed that you were useless, incapable and brainless if you stayed at home and raised your family.

Did I want to be  Germaine Greer or did I want to be  Mrs Brady (from The Brady Bunch for those of you wondering)?  It was one or the other.

So what does the world have in store for Chicklet's generation?

The feminists from my generation have broken down many barriers, but it's only our generation who can see great break-throughs because we experienced what it was like before.

The current generation are fighting hard to make their own break-throughs and know that they have to involve their own daughters and sons in the fight to create change and equality for future generations.

So I'm thinking that by giving our daughters and granddaughters a firmer grounding than 'Don't you look pretty in that pink fairy dress', they just might be able to strive for greater goals than 'I want to look the prettiest at my high school graduation'.

So with the help of today's feminists and feminists past, their sons and their daughters, and even re-educated 'Confused Generation' members like myself, I'm guessing that Chicklet will be aiming for a very different future than any of the generations before hers, including mine and her mother's!