Prompting the occasion for a friendly, folksy episode description, Janet’s neighbor Constance Zimmer drops by (with fresh-squeezed juice, no less) for a chat ranging from spiders to Barbies to what seems like it might be a record-breakingly long game of M.A.S.H.
Episode 55:
The JV Club
Constance Zimmer
Constance Zimmer
Great podcast as always.
On the gender thing, as a Dad (7 year old daughter, 4 year old son)I’ve always used the approach of I don’t care what they are into (age appropriate) as long as it makes them happy. I don’t care about colors, or anything like that.
When my daughter was little, we used to give her dolls and she’d throw them across the room and yell “No baby!”. And yet, now she’s into Barbie and My Little Pony (Friendship is Magic). However, she is also really digging the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon on Nick.
Paul
I definitely never had an extreme girly phase as a child. My mom actually says that when she would put bows in my hair or put me in dresses with bows on them I’d do my best to rip them off. And I hated floral patterns… Then again, all the kids on my street around my age were boys, so I grew up dressing like them and playing with them all the time, becoming a huge tomboy in the process. I do, however, remember being asked in second grade if I was supposed to be in there by a girl in the girl’s bathroom. I had a horrible bowl cut… That was embarrassing, and I do also remember feeling embarrassed when I had the same shoes as a boy in my class when I was younger, so I guess there was something there about understanding what is expected of genders and feeling like I didn’t fit.
Constance’s bit about girls latching onto (and later discarding) frilly pink clothing as a means of gender expression was interesting. If they’re modeling the world around them and replacing the super pink stuff as their understanding becomes more sophisticated, then what does that mean for parents who push hyper-gendered toys and clothing on toddlers before their kids are even aware of things like fashion?
Waking up every Thursday knowing that there is a new JV club waiting to be downloaded makes me so happy every week! I especially loved hearing Constance talk about her relationship with her sister- I also have a sister who is 3 years older whom I adore. I do have to take issue with the idea that princess paraphernalia started after 9/11 because I definitely had a pair of hand me down, gold, sparkly, plastic, Beauty and the Beast shoes that I wore to Sunday school each week as a preschooler. Wonderful episode as always!
Ah, spiders again… They are fascinating creatures, but only as long as they are outside the house. And I also love seeing wildlife in the neighborhood. I had wild turkeys visit my birdfeeders last week (first time ever). Those are huge. But even vermins like raccoons are just so darn cute (but oh so destructive).
I agree with Taylor! Brilliant episode as always it made my Thursday a lot better.
I still can’t get over how responsive you are to your fans at the beginning of each episode. It’s fantastic.