Gender Hierarchy by Botkin Cuz

[Creaky Mom]

http://kbotkin.com/2012/02/06/for-a-new-baby-girl/

"I heard from many sources growing up that I was weaker because I was a girl — though never from my parents. Girls, people said, were

prone to make overly emotional decisions about things and were physically weak, which was why gender hierarchy was important."

Poor A.S. and Elizabeth. :(

[SamuraiKatz]

http://kbotkin.com/2012/02/06/for-a-new-baby-girl/

"I heard from many sources growing up that I was weaker because I was a girl — though never from my parents. Girls, people said, were

prone to make overly emotional decisions about things and were physically weak, which was why gender hierarchy was important."

Poor A.S. and Elizabeth. :(

I really like what THIS Botkin has to say. I agree poor Anna Sophia and Elizabeth....

[Guest Anonymous]

"in my experience, contrary to everything I heard about “feminists†growing up, it has been the men who were more prone to verbal outbursts, grumbling and manipulative behavior than the women."

Well said, Katie, well said! :clap:

[Marian the Librarian]

I read Katie's latest post a few days ago. I think she's pretty darned awesome. And I have to believe it's another response to the Kool-Aid-drinking side of the family. (A-S&E sent her a copy of their latest "SAHD-hood is wonderful" screed for Christmas, and she shot a few well-placed holes into that one too.) Good for her, for making a public statement supporting her nieces - and perhaps it's a coded way of telling her cousins they have a safe "out" if they need one.

[ThisOlGirl]

So Katie's dad and AS&E's dad are brothers, right? I just quickly scanned Katie's blog, but it looks like good stuff. She seems to be educated, gets to travel, gets to pursue her own hobbies and goals. How did two brothers who were presumably raised in the same household turn out so different?

[Deleted05]

I love her blog, and have long wondered what the Botkinettes think of her. She comes across as everything they attempt: well-spoken, educated, cultured. But Katie comes with a lot more believability and a lot less pretentiousness.

[Guest Anonymous]

So Katie's dad and AS&E's dad are brothers, right? I just quickly scanned Katie's blog, but it looks like good stuff. She seems to be educated, gets to travel, gets to pursue her own hobbies and goals. How did two brothers who were presumably raised in the same household turn out so different?

That's easy-Geoff was a baby-switch,

[Olive Plant]

The two blog posts before that mention homeschooling. Apparently she was homeschooled until she went to college, so at least in terms of that the brothers seem somewhat similar. It sounds like her parents' brand of homeschooling was more like "here's our library. Do what you want" than "and now you will be indoctrinated by reading what I tell you and thinking what I tell you." Maybe she's trying to find common ground with her cousins while also pointing out that having intellectual freedom helped her family develop individual traits (the two brothers are now a musician and a semi-pro rugby player):

"I had great parents for the job; a visual artist and a botanist-biologist-turned-medical-doctor who was willing to work part-time so he could participate in our education. But even still, it wasn’t perfect. Our greatest boon was that it saved us from boredom and potential bullying, and that it gave us an enormous amount of freedom to develop our own particular skills. If my little brother Daniel sang at all hours of the day, nobody gave him a pill and told him to shut up. If Samuel wanted to spend the afternoon running around the yard tackling invisible people and doing flips, he could do that. And if I wanted to read until my head ached, I could do that, too."

[Avalondaughter]

She is my hope that one day the Botkinettes will escape. They do have someone who might be willing to help escape that life. They have contact with someone who hasn't totally swallowed the Kool Aid.

Edited for plain stupidity.

[silvia]

Three cheers for Katie Botkin! I just love her. If AS&E ever decided to escape, Katie would be the perfect go-to. Many cloistered girls in other families we talk about here aren't lucky enough to have such a thoughtful, compassionate relative who's also plugged into the real world.