+
More

Tired of stereotypical characters in books for girls, this dad wrote his own.

Browsing through the children's book section, you might notice a common theme among the books targeted toward girls:


So. Much. Pink. Image by Robynlou Kavanagh/Flickr.

And, look, there's absolutely nothing wrong with pink and princesses. But let's be honest: There aren't a whole lot of job openings for princesses these days. What about books that tell girls they can grow up to be anything they want, like firefighters and police officers?

Enter Charles C. Dowd, a dad who decided it was about time to remind our girls they can do — and be — anything. And he's doing it with this awesome board book.

All book images by Charles C. Dowd, used with permission.

Dowd was inspired to write "The A to Z Guide to Jobs for Girls" after he and his son, a junior in high school, were talking about college majors and career options. His younger daughter piped in, and before he knew it, they were deep in a conversation about why boys can do certain things that girls cannot.

"That led to a conversation about traditional and stereotypical gender roles and why none of that really applies in modern society," Dowd told me. "It also pointed out to me that regardless of how encouraging my wife and I are, our daughter is still being influenced by friends, teachers, media, and everyone else."

And so the book idea — with the tagline "You can be anything you want to be!" — was born.

'Cause the thing is, girls can be anything they want, like a chef:

Or a heavy metal guitarist:

Or a librarian:


Dowd doesn't hate pink and princesses nor does he have a problem with our kids' varying interests.

But, as he says, society "likes to tell kids that there are boy things and girl things, but in my opinion, they're all just things."

"Why can't girls play with normal Legos? Why do they have to have special pink ones?" he wonders. "It makes no sense. Why can't a girl play with Hot Wheels? Why can't a girl aspire to be a professional athlete? Why can't girls be strong?"

All good questions!

And the fact is, gender bias in books is real.

Florida State University led "the most comprehensive study of 20th century children's books ever undertaken in the United States." This probably won't come as a shocker, but what they found is that there's a gender bias toward male lead characters — even in books about animals.

Janice McCabe, assistant professor of sociology, led the study. She noted:

"The widespread pattern of underrepresentation of females that we find supports the belief that female characters are less important and interesting than male characters. This may contribute to a sense of unimportance among girls and privilege among boys. The gender inequalities we found may be particularly powerful because they are reinforced by patterns of male-dominated characters in many other aspects of children's media, including cartoons, G-rated films, video games and even coloring books."

Let's fix that — for all of our kids.

At the end of the day, Dowd's goal is simple: "I just think it's important to teach kids (and adults for that matter) that gender really doesn't have anything to do with choosing a career path. If a person has the drive, determination, and the talent, they can pretty much pursue any career path they choose.


Dowd is running a Kickstarter so he can publish the book. As of the end of September 2015, he's pretty close to being funded. If you're interested in supporting him and getting your own copy of "The A to Z Guide to Jobs for Girls," you can head over to his page and make a contribution.

Health

Relationship expert shares her advice on how to 'stop an argument in its tracks'

She has the perfect question to ask once your partner gets defensive.

Therapist Lauren Consul has one trick to stop arguments before they begin.

Arguments start to take off when one partner begins to get defensive. So, therapist Lauren Consul shared her relationship-saving tip to "stop an argument in its tracks" when one partner goes into self-preservation mode.

Lauren Consul is a couples and sex therapist who’s developed a following of nearly 160,000 people on TikTok and has received over 5.4 million likes. She is an infidelity expert and hosts retreats to help people "survive and thrive" after one partner has strayed.

Keep ReadingShow less
Democracy

A police officer makes a profound statement after pulling over a Black teen

The teen’s emotional response hit him like a punch to the gut.


“Try not to become a man of success but rather try to become a man of value."

In October 2016, that was a quote from Albert Einstein that sat atop the Facebook page of Tim McMillan, a police officer in Georgia.

McMillan become a sensation after a post he wrote on his Facebook wall went viral in 2016. In his post, he explains how he pulled over a Black teen for texting while driving:

Keep ReadingShow less
Joy

Owner of plus-size dress shop gifts $700 prom dress to 'shy' teen after watching her light up

Creating moments like these is why she opened her store in the first place.

@juicybodygoddess/TikTok

Elyse Monroe found the perfect dress, then found out it costs nothing.

Adolescence is a harrowing time for body image and self-esteem all around, but few milestones are as universally daunting as finding a prom dress. Whether it’s due to budget constraints, not being able to find a dress that fits, or both, what should be a fun event is often viscerally dreaded.

This was certainly the case for Summer Lucille. Lucille told Today.com that growing up, “if you weren’t skinny, there weren’t many options, and it was devastating for me because I’ve always loved fashion.”

She recalled, “I went to my prom looking like a church lady in a suit dress with a jacket because it was the only thing that fit. It was a very sad period in my life.”

Keep ReadingShow less
via Pexels

Childless people over 50 discuss their decision.

People who decide not to have children are often unfairly judged by those who chose a different life path. People with children can be especially judgmental to women who’ve decided to opt out of motherhood.

“You will regret it!” is one of the most common phrases lobbed at those who choose to remain childless. Why do people think they’ll have such awful regrets? Because they often say they’ll wind up “lonely and sad” when they’re older.

They also say that life without children is without purpose and that when the childless get older they’ll have no one to take care of them. One of the most patronizing critiques thrown at childless women is that they will never “feel complete” unless they have a child.

However, a lot of these critiques say more about the person doling them out than the person who decides to remain childless. Maybe, just maybe, their life is fulfilling enough without having to reproduce. Maybe, just maybe, they can have a life full of purpose without caring for any offspring.

Maybe the question should be: What’s lacking in your life that you need a child to feel complete?

Keep ReadingShow less
Family

Dad's video sharing 'hardest part of co-parenting' has other separated parents relating

"I wish for peace and quiet, as does every parent when they’re overwhelmed. But then I hate it when I have it.”

@ainjole/TikTok

“Now I cherish every scream, every dirty hand print, and every spill.”

Very often, the right choice isn’t easy. Co-parenting is a prime example of this—no matter how amicable a break-up is, single parents inevitably lose time with their children after a divorce and must deal with the resulting loneliness that happens once the child leaves to spend time with the other parent. Knowing that you’ve made the right decision doesn’t necessarily take away the pain.

That’s why one dad’s video sharing his own experience of his child’s empty room is resonating with other single parents over on TikTok.

The dad, whose name appears to be Angel but goes by @ainjole on the platform, confessed in his video’s caption, “I think the hardest part of coparenting (for me) is dropping my daughter off with her mom and coming home to silence.”
Keep ReadingShow less
Science

Brazilian veterinarian gives parrot a second chance at life with a prosthetic beak

The parrot could not survive in the wild without its beak, which is used to build nests, fend off predators and eat.

Brazilian veterinarian gives parrot a second chance at life.

A parrot in Brazil got a lucky break when it was rescued after someone found it with a severely damaged beak. In fact, most of its little beak was completely gone. Birds use their hard beaks to eat, fend off other animals and build nests, and their mouths are essentially their hands while their feet are busy walking, scratching or holding twigs.

Plus, I don't know if you've paid much close attention to birds, but they don't seem to have a lot of dexterity with their tiny little bird legs. They sort of walk around like peg-legged pirates even though I'm pretty sure birds have knees. (I'm not a bird scientist or a zoologist if that wasn't clear.)

Luckily for this parrot, Renascer ACN, an animal rescue and rehabilitation facility in Planura, Brazil, had a doctor on staff who not only knows if birds have knees but also knew how to make a prosthetic beak.

Keep ReadingShow less