Neither one is about kids–or cars for that matter–but since they both play on being gay, VanityFair.com let the Gay Uncle un(fudge)pack Brüno and Humpday. Check it out.
Disney Study
For those of you who are interested in reading the entire study on the Disney films–the one discussed by the Gay Uncle in his column this week on Sometimes I feel like a Genderless Child
The Gay Uncle recently read about a very interesting solution to the question of gender identity. A Swedish couple has decided not to tell anyone whether their kid–who they call Pop–is a boy or a girl. This is meant to free the child from the social construct and stereotypes associated with the male/female dichotomy, something the Gay Uncle has written about rather extensively in the past. He thinks this is kind of an interesting experiment, in the same way as raising a child without anything to play with, or only feeding them Ensure might be “interesting”. In other words, it’s a dorky stunt. First off, gender development–like food–is not something you can wholly insulate a child from, nor does it seem particularly wise to do so. Kids, like the rest of us, live in society, and while our rules about boys and girls may be fucked up, its more germane to give them tools to question these ideas than try to bury their heads (and private parts) in the sand . Second, while “society” is one of the big influencers on how kids understand gender, other important sources come into play, namely family; and since Pop’s parents and a few others do know what’s going on inside the diaper, Gunc finds it hard to believe that some of this won’t seep through, rendering the experiment somewhat futile. Third, whenever we create something totally illicit and secretive with young kids, it forms a correlative and greater interest in that very thing, so while these Swedes might think they can keep this from Pop and its peers, a countervailing force–Pop itself–will likely exert some other form of influence, and soon. And finally, gender development isn’t something that ends at age three or four, when Pop will likely be released from the experimentally controlling situation of its family and into the social world of school where folks are bound to find out what’s up down there. Then what?
The Gay Uncle suggests that if you would like to conduct an “experiment” about something like this, you use a subject other than a living, functioning, human child. Maybe an art installation would be a better solution?
Cool It
Cool Moms pick the Gay Uncle. Shouldn’t you?
Dress Dilemma
The Gay Uncle takes on a new role this week: expert in the Tribune Newspapers’ new parenting column The Parent ‘Hood. Parents ask questions, other parents respond, and then Gunc (or some other know-it-all) dishes out their three cents. First problem? A girl who insists on wearing her princess dress. Everywhere. (And she’s not even a real princess!) Gay Uncle to the rescue. Click here to lose the pink acetate blues.
Go Fourth
After spending eleven summers at his house Upstate, the Gay Uncle finally broke down today and attended his town’s Fourth of July celebration. Not the parade; as you may recall, he hates parades. (All that phony pageantry, and old firetrucks. Ew.) Or the chicken barbecue. (He hates animals so much, he refuses to even eat them.) But he loves to see shit blow up, so he drove in for the fireworks. For geographical reasons too complex to get into here, the best viewing area for this display is from atop the berm on which the town’s railroad tracks run. This is a spectacular locale, overlooking the river, a field, and the setting sun, and is pretty much an ideal play area for kids, loaded as it is with lots of fun rocks to pick up, rails to hop or walk along, and tons of railroad spikes to hunt for and collect. Since these events always start about fifty minutes after you think they’re going to, Gunc is all in favor of letting the kids who attend wander around within a safe distance and engage in all of these entertaining activities. But apparently the mother who was sitting just to his right didn’t agree with this practice. Every time her two and five year olds started to do anything resembling “fun” she yelled at them. “Put those rocks down before you drop them on someone.” (?) “Don’t walk away, there are a lot of people around.” (??) “Put those railroad spikes down before you fall on one of them and cut yourself and get infected with tetanus.” (???) Stranded without anything to do, the kids began quarreling amongst themselves. Big surprise. What was surprising was her solution: she bribed the two year old to behave by giving him a can of Pepsi. Gunc is just glad he didn’t have to go home with that family and witness the ensuing caffeinated bedtime battle. Happy Birthday, America!!
Summer (Brain) Cramp
The Gay Uncle read in the paper today that school districts all over the country are dropping or seriously curtailing their programs. Many are doing so because of huge budget deficits–this despite all the federal stimulus money that has become available–while others cite nonexistent issues like Swine Flu as influencing their decisions. But the effect will be the same: boredom for kids, scrambling for parents, and what educators like Gunc call Summer Skill Loss–the tendency for kids to forget about a third of what they learned during the school year. Now the G.U. is all for breaks, both for teachers and for kids. They allow time for rejuvenation and the integration of new information. But studies ( april07asrfeature.pdf) have shown conclusively that if they’re not exposed to stimulating and enriching activities that push them to use their brains (and they don’t have to be doing math drills or writing book reports) their new knowledge just dribbles down their spines, and out of their butts. What’s worse, because poorer kids tend not to be exposed to such activities–camp, field trips, vacations–during the summer at the same rates as wealthier kids, the gap only increases. The G.U. isn’t sure how he feels about universal year-round school programs–though they certainly have their benefits–but he’s definitely in favor of states and municipalities providing fun, engaging, and intellectually stimulating summer programs for whoever wants to take advantage of them, especially those folks who can’t afford other options. If yours summer school program has been canceled, do what you can to find an alternative to your child sitting in front of the TV or playing video games all summer. Even small experiences–a weekly trip to the library to find books on a topic of interest or attend storytime, keeping a daily journal with pictures and words or dictated observations, charting the growth and change of a nearby stand of trees or plants, counting and sorting dried beans–can keep those goopy brains agile. Stop the loss.