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Internalized misogyny is never in season.
By Alexandra Blogier — Written on Dec 23, 2022
A mom is opening up to Reddit's r/Parenting subreddit to express her shock over her mother-in-law’s reaction to the Christmas present she and her husband bought their 3-year-old son.
The upset mother posted about her recent FaceTime interaction with her mother-in-law on the forum’s discussion for child-rearing queries.
Her mother-in-law was appalled that she got her son a play kitchen.
She reported being “flabbergasted” and “shocked” by her mother-in-law’s harsh reaction to their gift.
She said that her mother-in-law’s voice immediately changed, to a “really disgusted tone” as she asked “Why did you get him that? He’s a boy.”
The woman replied that her son has loved every other toy kitchen he’s ever played with and she wanted him to have one in his own home.
Her mother-in-law responded “almost screeching in hysterics, ‘get him a workbench or something! Why would you get him a KITCHEN?’”
Her husband chimed in, reminding his mother that “they had a play kitchen when he was younger and he played with it all the time.”
His mother retorted that his sister had a toy kitchen, not him.
The woman stated that her mother-in-law was “extremely curt” with her husband and ended the conversation soon after that comment.
“Not that it matters, but it’s not even a pink ‘girly’ kitchen, it’s a very gender-neutral play kitchen,” she wrote.
She reported that her husband thinks she’s making the situation “way deeper than it is,” but she found her mother-in-law’s response “very off-putting and full of vitriol.”
Noting that she and her mother-in-law have “quite different political views,” she questioned why her mother-in-law was offended by “something so harmless.”
She ended her post by saying, “I am just in shock!”
Other Reddit users supported her choice to give her son a play kitchen for Christmas.
“Heaven forbid our boys grow up to be capable chefs or caring fathers!” said one user.
“Your mother-in-law has some deeply ingrained misogyny,” posted another.
She responded affirmatively, noting that her mother-in-law “is very misogynistic.”
“I’ll never tell my children they can’t or have to do anything based on their gender,” she continued.
Other Reddit parents were in agreement.
“It isn’t about the toy itself as much as it is about her beliefs about what is a boy thing, what is a girl thing, and the boundaries between the two becoming less distinct as time goes on,” said one user.
Another responded with her own parenting philosophy: “It's our job to teach him all the hard and soft skills he needs to be a self-sufficient grown-up. First by imitation and imaginative play, then practical experience.”
Alexandra Blogier is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team. She covers celebrity gossip, pop culture analysis and all things to do with the entertainment industry.