Microaggressions - Part 2

        After I made my original post, I thought of another incident of microaggression that I wanted to share.
       One day my director told me about a conversation that she and her mother-in-law had about her 4 year old son. Her son had asked for a play kitchen for his birthday and her mother-in-law was aghast that she would even consider buying him a kitchen. She was told that she should buy him "boy" toys and wait to get a kitchen for her daughter later. My director argued that she should get him toys that he was interested in and that kitchens aren't just for girls.
      I sincerely hope that her son did not hear any of this conversation because I am sure  he would have started second guessing himself since he loves his Gram and values her opinion. This conversation totally invalidated his desires and made it seem as though there was something wrong with his wish to play in the kitchen.
     Not surprisingly, my director was very angry that her mother-in-law would take this stance with her. Her anger was two-pronged; first, she felt as though her child's sexuality was being questioned, and second, she felt as though her parenting was being questioned as well.