Sure. It used by be that uppity black were getting offended over nothing, and then it was queers and sissies, and before that Catholics. And the list goes on for all sorts of other minority ethnic and social groups who complained about their treatment and were scorned by the majority for not sucking it up and “taking it like a man.” Are we a worse, more fragile, whinier society for becoming more tolerant and accepting? To some people I’m sure we are, but most people would think our increasing tolerance is one of the few ways in which the US continues to get better.
Except you’re wrong. What subtle mechanisms can be undertakes to make girls immune from social conventions like them liking pink and sucking at math? How does telling adults not to discourage my daughter from playing in the dirt and building model rockets repeat and strengthen these stereotypes?
And people test as less biased on implicit association tests when they simply think about positive cultural figures like Obama or Marie Curie shortly before taking the test: social attitudes and perceptions are underlying factors. The choice of words has meaning and many carry implicit associations.
And some still are. Some people have the threshold for getting offended too low, I suspect some on purpose. It cheapens the reactions to more important wrongs and makes it easier to dismiss them.
If it was more tolerant/accepting by actions, you’d be right. But it is more about the whining, or at least seems so from the intensity.
Nothing wrong (nor good) with pink, it’s just a color. As of math, start teaching before the externally imposed opinions take hold (together with teaching ignoring the opinions).
Said adults won’t stop saying so. But you can teach her to ignore their opinions and be a happy herself (“screw you, I’m working on a rocket”). Ignoring others’ opinions is an important skill.
