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| Bob Freund, MA, 2013 |
While my dad's values and personality differ greatly from my own, he raised me to see myself as a "human" first and a "girl" second: to never feel either limited [growing up, I felt equally free to explore interests in figure skating, crafts, and stage makeup as in heavy machinery, extreme sports, and mathematics] or entitled [while I believe women have historically been restricted, and some still very much are, I also don't believe it's okay for the modern woman to get away with being manipulative, self-victimizing, or bitchy in cases where her privilege allows for her own emancipation] by virtue of being female.
I grew up understanding that there are societal factors that shape what opportunities are available to men or women, and that these opportunities are not equivalent [well, no shit--how many freelance male models do you see?], but that equivalency differs from equality, and in my pursuits I should never set my standard at being "pretty good...for a girl."
My dad raised me to feel empowered to take care of myself, rather than depending on any man to provide for--or validate--me.
Hooray. 8]
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