03.26.07
Gender Play: First Post (First Impressions)
This book has begun with some great statements and questions. I love that Thorne bothered to ask the kids what term they preferred and why, even though it seems obvious that “kid” is less offensive from their point of view than “child”. Probably my favorite of her questions was “as adults, we claim ‘friends’ and ‘colleagues’; why do we so often compress kids’ social relations into the flattening notion of ‘peers’?”. And I don’t have a good answer for that, but I know I hated it when I was a kid! Thorne also points out that she is taking a rather feminist view here, where gender is socialized, and kids socialize each other far more than adults socialize them. That’s something a lot of adults seem to forget, so I’m thrilled she understands it. I’m looking forward to the rest of this book.