AIBU to be really disappointed that my 5 year old daughter just

[helloclitty]

said whilst role playing "No I can't be the doctor because I'm a girl, doctors are boys and nurses are girls"
I know she probably doesn't totally even understand the difference in roles but this subtle gender stereotyping in society really annoys me. Not just for girls boys too. Boys have to be tough and unemotional etc which is totally wrong IMO.

I wouldn't mind but I bought her a doctors outfit rather than a nurses a few years back complete with doctors bag.

My female doctor cousin gave 2yo dd a docs outfit kit for Christmas. When she opened it, both mil and fil said separately "oh a nurse's kit" !

Have you read zog, its good.

@Entropy. I've seen a book like that in French called "what are you playing at".

A typical page would be something like this : you have a group of girls playing at skipping under the title "Boys don't skip". You then lift the flap and see a famous heavyweight boxer skipping away in his gym, drenched in sweat, with the tag "skipping is for girls, that's why.".

Or "Boy's don't play at cooking" and when you lift the flap it's a picture of Jamie Oliver.

Just correct her, more than 50% of entrants into medicine are women, and I'm sure she's seen women doctors. I wouldn't be upset, that's what stereotypes are, entrenched caricatures, but it's fine to casually challenge them.

How strange op. is your child not exposed to professional women at all?
My DS is 5, has never questioned the existence of female doctors. When I took him to the doctor just the other week he asked me "is it going to be the lady doctor or the man?"

Oh yes they can, I had a woman Dr. as a teenager back in the dark ages.

Med school at Uni was 50/50 20 years ago and the girls had a lot more sense than the boys, I used to demonstrate for their lab classes.

timetoask
How strange op. is your child not exposed to professional women at all?

Have you read the thread?

stealthpolar

yes we have the book Zog.

To clarify, I am a professional myself, her friends' mothers are nearly all professionals including banking, law, and one is a doctor. Our GP is female. Her god mothers are professional women whom she sees regularly in their work attire.

The reason I am surprised by her saying it is the fact that she is surrounded by professional women including a doctor. Of course I corrected her gently when she said it.

My OP was really just saying how disappointed I am that with all the surrounding examples, she has still been sucked into to the antiquated gender stereotyping.

This reminds me of something that happened several years ago at my DS1's nursery. My DH was told about it when he picked him up.
Apparently, DS1 (age about 3yo) was role playing with another little boy and girl. The girl wanted to be the doctor and the other little boy said she couldn't be, as doctors are boys!. My Ds piped up and said "That's not true, girls can be doctors, my Mummy is a doctor."
One proud Mummy. I think it is important that both boys AND girls realise they can do anything they want. My DS3 age 3yo at the moment wants to be a cook.

Oh and while I'm on the subject it's not woman doctor or lady doctor it's female doctor if the converstaion requires to specify the gender.

My DF is always saying "I went and saw the lady doctor" when there is no need whatsoever to know her gender and it drives me nuts. The assumption of my father is that all doctors are male unless stated otherwise with the 'laydee' prefix.

Yes, I agree, sad that all this needs to be countered. I plan to read zig to my dcs until they beg me to stop :o

Good idea Stealth

Link to zog please? I am getting a dragon trying to capture a princess?

kirsty that sounds like a great book...will check it out.

@entropy. The French title was "A quoi tu joues?". I don't know if it's been translated.

Yes entropy, but she wants to be a doctor and ends up enlisting the help of Zog as well as the knight who comes to rescue her. She says she doesn't need rescuing - and she doesn't, she is clearly in charge of her own fate!

When I say they help her, I mean they become her sidekicks.

yes, the knight decides he'd rather be a doctor than a knight, she complains about the "silly frilly dresses" she has to wear to be rescued, trains him up as a doctor as well and zog becomes their flying ambulance.
Sorry if I've just ruined the ending for anyone :o

so does anyone know if a book along the lines of a stereotype bending 'whats my job?' exists? I can imagine one full of aspirations aimed at girls exists but what about s more general one aimed at 4-5 yo of both genders?

DD has a book called "Vicky the vet". I think it might be part of a series.

There's also "Daisy the doctor".

Yes, this kind of thing is really depressing. I always try to make sure my DD gets plenty of exposure to people fulfilling non-stereotypical roles to try to nip this kind of thing in the bud and it annoys me she still ends up being given the message that "girls can't..." or "boys can't...". Luckily we were out at the weekend and DD was unexpectedly able to watch a very talented female blacksmith which made me smile!