I have long believed that God gives people the children they deserve. That is to say, the children that will teach parents the things in life they've missed along the way. This is why I don't fret too much when my guy friends get all bro-ish talking about "crying/throwing/running like a girl" or how their fantasy team "totally got raped" or likewise. Because I know that they'll eventually have daughters.
I've never thought that ESPN's Bill Simmons was misogynist, but it does seem that he's softened a bit since having a daughter a few years ago. In today's column, a running diary of the Lakers-Heat game, he got a little tweaked at Chris Webb's "bitching like little girl" remark. "Hey, I'm insulted by that! My daughter is almost 6, and she's never whined like these Miami guys! Take it back, Chuck," he wrote. It's a small thing, and probably at least partially motivated by the chance to dig LeBron, but still. It's a revelation that "like a little girl" is a lazy insult because it's just inaccurate.
I know, I know. If Simmons were to read this, he'd roll his eyes and write 4,000 words about why the WNBA sucks. And that's okay. But the first time his daughter comes home from school crying because some other kid used the fact of her girl-ness to put her down, he's going to go the hell off. And that's just as it should be.
And then there's Jezebel's Daddy Issues series, where a bona fide dad-of-a-girl explores the issues that come with being a conscientious father of a young daughter. In this installment, he worries over what his daughter might be learning from movie cartoon role models. I haven't seen any of the movies he's talking about, but I love that he's thinking about this.
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