I have a ten-year-old daughter (10 going on 18). She a strong and confident girl, though also quite fragile. Raising girls is difficult, but all the more satisfying.
I raise my son with concerns about how he will treat others—particularly women. As such, I probably seem much harder on him. Quite likely, I am.
As for my daughter, I worry more about how she will be treated. Call it “sexist”, it you must. I just consider it fatherhood. I cannot be over-protective of my little girl. I confess to my students that my primary motivation for lifting weights is that I might be more intimidating to the boys the day they start coming around to date my daughter. Still, I know that I cannot always be there to protect her. She will need to have the strength to stand for herself and the capacity to also walk in partnership with another.
I say my daughter is “strong and confident”. She is a cuddle, but she is also more likely to “punch” me than to tell me she loves me. She knows what she wants—she’s going to be a powerful prosecuting attorney one day. Deep down, though, she is the most gentle and caring child.
I see in her a new generation of women. It is exciting. She has great opportunity and the will to do extraordinary things.
I am raising her to believe in herself and to take her rightful place in the world. I am teaching her to be respectable and demand to be respected; to be on guard without yielding her feminine side. Ultimately, I am raising her to be human.
Less and less do I see a divide between masculine and feminine. Less and less do I see a blue and pink world. I see beyond the labels of “diversity” and see a world of unique individuals ordained with unique qualities and gifts that are meant to define one’s unique Purpose.
My role as a father—to a son and a daughter—is to set the stage for my children. My greatest Purpose in to prepare the next generation to find and fulfill theirs.
I was asked the other day what makes me feel masculine. Among other things, it is raising a strong, independent, caring woman.
Carpe momento!