But I think you're right about a girly phase being a part of a well-rounded experience. I think of it like her trying on extreme gender stereotypes - at her age, she doesn't know much beyond dresses, pink, princesses...... As she's starting to identify herself as female, I think she needs to announce it to the world - "hey! I'm a girl! not a boy! don't mess it up!" ....And that's the only way she knows how to express that. I think (I hope....) she'll lighten up on the gender expression as she gets into other things, realizes that girls don't have to wear dresses, gets a more nuanced view of gender roles...... Something like that. And yes, girls have a lot more options than boys.
By the way, you clearly need to share some pictures with us. I don't think I've seen any pics of Miriam in a loooooong time.
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But I think you're right about a girly phase being a part of a well-rounded experience. I think of it like her trying on extreme gender stereotypes - at her age, she doesn't know much beyond dresses, pink, princesses...... As she's starting to identify herself as female, I think she needs to announce it to the world - "hey! I'm a girl! not a boy! don't mess it up!" ....And that's the only way she knows how to express that. I think (I hope....) she'll lighten up on the gender expression as she gets into other things, realizes that girls don't have to wear dresses, gets a more nuanced view of gender roles...... Something like that. And yes, girls have a lot more options than boys.
By the way, you clearly need to share some pictures with us. I don't think I've seen any pics of Miriam in a loooooong time.