skin colour...
Oct. 7th, 2013 10:29 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
smittenbyuIt wasn't my first time, but it still caught me off-guard. On Saturday, N & D went to an art fair in the neighbouring neighbourhood. There was a whole area of kids arts and crafts. It was a lot of fun! One of the booths gave out play-sticky-moustaches. D kept it for later use.
So, yesterday we were meeting for a preschool class playdate at the playground. Well, while the kids played we gave feedback on the procedures, experiences at school, etc.
D decided she wanted to be a boy out to the park. So, she got out her mustache, wore my sunglasses and her hat and she was ready to go!
So, the many kids at the playground were amused. One girl even came up and asked what she was today! And when I said, "a man", she asked why she picked that for today! Hmmm...I have no idea. D just said, "because" and left it at that.
Then there were many slides to slide on and friends to meet up while I talked to the caucus and N watched D. Towards the end a friend and her son also joined D at the playground and our meeting ended and everyone was heading home.
By the end D was hungry and she decided she was done wearing the mustache and we put it away. That same girl from earlier had come over to ask what happened to the mustache. And I shared D wanted to be a girl again. She was done being a man.
She seemed to find that reason acceptable and as d ran off to join her friend, the girl went on to ask, "why is her skin colour that way?" I asked her what she meant. "why is her skin colour different? Where was she born?" I responded that she was born here. She looked puzzled and didn't understand why D's skin colour would be different. I was just about to answer because her mom and dad have the skin color, so does she.
But before I could her dad was walking over reading something on his smartphone and called her over to head home!
Bah!
Hers was an innocent question, but this thought is so prevalent among adults. This news headlines brings that to mind. But I hope by the time D is an adult she doesn't face such questions. That she is accepted wherever she is for who she is.
My first time of hearing about colour of skin was when I was watching my middle school dance teacher's 5 year old daughter. She had asked me to wash my hands properly because my hands were still brown! I remember being so puzzled. I had shared with her that I did wash my hands. I even went to the bathroom to show her I did. And only then realising that she was confused. It wasn't that she wasn't surrounded by non-whites. She just was stuck to that rule, "wash your hands till you get all the mud (color brown) is off your hands".
So, yesterday we were meeting for a preschool class playdate at the playground. Well, while the kids played we gave feedback on the procedures, experiences at school, etc.
D decided she wanted to be a boy out to the park. So, she got out her mustache, wore my sunglasses and her hat and she was ready to go!
So, the many kids at the playground were amused. One girl even came up and asked what she was today! And when I said, "a man", she asked why she picked that for today! Hmmm...I have no idea. D just said, "because" and left it at that.Then there were many slides to slide on and friends to meet up while I talked to the caucus and N watched D. Towards the end a friend and her son also joined D at the playground and our meeting ended and everyone was heading home.
By the end D was hungry and she decided she was done wearing the mustache and we put it away. That same girl from earlier had come over to ask what happened to the mustache. And I shared D wanted to be a girl again. She was done being a man.
She seemed to find that reason acceptable and as d ran off to join her friend, the girl went on to ask, "why is her skin colour that way?" I asked her what she meant. "why is her skin colour different? Where was she born?" I responded that she was born here. She looked puzzled and didn't understand why D's skin colour would be different. I was just about to answer because her mom and dad have the skin color, so does she.
But before I could her dad was walking over reading something on his smartphone and called her over to head home!
Bah!
Hers was an innocent question, but this thought is so prevalent among adults. This news headlines brings that to mind. But I hope by the time D is an adult she doesn't face such questions. That she is accepted wherever she is for who she is.
My first time of hearing about colour of skin was when I was watching my middle school dance teacher's 5 year old daughter. She had asked me to wash my hands properly because my hands were still brown! I remember being so puzzled. I had shared with her that I did wash my hands. I even went to the bathroom to show her I did. And only then realising that she was confused. It wasn't that she wasn't surrounded by non-whites. She just was stuck to that rule, "wash your hands till you get all the mud (color brown) is off your hands".
