Let’s continue the conversation about gender and parental identity with a look at a recent piece by a butch mama about her princess-loving daughter. It also involves Boris Karloff, the actor who famously played Frankenstein’s monster, which seems appropriate given that Halloween is this week.
In “Butch Mama,” at Mutha Magazine, Pat Alderete writes:
When my daughter, mi querida hija, was placed in my arms for the first time, I told myself I would give her everything I always wanted but didn’t get. I looked at her and envisioned holiday gifts of Rockin’ Sockin’ Robots, baseball gloves and cleats—high adventure. I promised to show her all the Universal Classic Monster Movies and, especially, to introduce her to the sensitive genius of Boris Karloff, my first love.
To my growing horror, she early on displayed a love for all things princess.
It’s a wonderful piece not only about gender, but about the lessons we learn from our children—and how they are still our children despite our differences. “Mija taught me it wasn’t about giving her the things I wanted and didn’t get. That time had come and gone. My redemption lay in seeing her clearly and giving her the things she wanted and needed,” says Alderete.
That’s wisdom for us all. Go read the rest of what Alderete has to say.
