Just for Girls

"Is it so bad?" she asked me as we sat beside the pool watching our kids learn to swim.  "Is it so bad for something to be 'just for girls'?"

We'd been talking about our sons wanting to wear nail polish.  She told hers no, I told mine yes.

I didn't answer her in the moment, but two days later I think yes, it is so bad.  As much as male is male and female is female, what makes a man and what makes a woman is so much harder to define.  There are things that bond my girlfriends and I together, yet there is really not a definable personality trait, gift, talent, struggle, passion, interest, desire, strength, weakness, ability, or characteristic that we ALL share.  Beyond anatomical similarities, I can't imagine what one thing all women would have in common.  Tendencies, perhaps.  Generalizations, maybe.  But a universal concrete woman-only-thing?  I have yet to hear of one.

It is a long-held truth that men and women are different.  But aren't men and men just as different.  Or women and women just as different.  People are different.  People are unique and individual and should be celebrated for who they are.  I don't fit into a box because I am gloriously and wonderfully made.

Neither does my son.  He likes nail polish.  Who wouldn't?  I mean, colourful toes: what's not to like?