As I was loading the dishwasher after lunch today, one of our neighbors’ daughter sat on the dining table observing me and talking to me. She had asked me of the workings of a dishwasher and as I was explaining the physics of mechanical dish-washing to her, she blurted out, “God is sexist!”
I looked up with my surprized eyes to see her face lit with excitement as if she’d discovered life on Mars. “What did you say, sweetheart?” I asked in a confused and a feeble voice.
“I said God is sexist, ” she replied casually.
Certain that she couldn’t possibly know what sexist meant at her age, I confidently put the question “Do know what sexism is, J?” before resuming to load the plates.
“Of course, I do”. The reply was not good for my confidence. I was wrong in not giving her enough credit. I left the wet plates behind, dried my hands with the kitchen towel, and went to sit with her on the table.
“Ok, what is it then?” I asked her with a smile brimming with the belief of victory.
How could an eight year old possibly know the ‘real’ meaning?
Her eyes lit up as if she was waiting for me to ask her the question. She didn’t waste a breath before saying, “Sexism is discrimination against people because of their sex and people who do it are sexist.”
Dumbfounded and a crushed ego later, I admitted defeat.
“Where did you learn this?” I asked because that’s all I could think of at the moment.
“On TV”, came the prompt reply, “You know how people were sexist against Hillary Clinton. That’s why she didn’t win. Didn’t you know?”
She was the one with the surprized eyes this time. It was obvious from the contortions of her face that she wasn’t very pleased with my lack of knowledge.
“Yes yes”, I stammered trying to maintain my default dignity bestowed on me merely on the account of me being older than her, “but how is God sexist?”
She sighed.
“See, when I have to go pee, I have to use toilet paper to clean up but when P (her brother younger by 2 years) goes, he doesn’t need it! When we went camping, he could just go anywhere in the trees right? but I had to carry a toilet paper around. It’s not fair. God should’ve made me like P too! He didn’t. So he is sexist!”
It was my turn again to have the surprized eyes, but they were accompanied with a happy smile of pride and awe for my young friend’s analytical abilities. :)
23 comments
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September 7, 2008 at 1:27 pm
Sandy
LOL And people thinks kids are stupid…
September 7, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Reema
Ohh kids of Gen Z are very smart and not like us when we were kids. They learn to talk earlier, walk earlier and so on.
September 7, 2008 at 2:02 pm
Sidhusaaheb
A question that often crops up in my mind is that whether Hillary Clinton would have polled as many votes in the primaries as she did, had she been a man instead, or a lot less?
September 7, 2008 at 2:32 pm
Roop Rai
Sandy: :D :D
Reemz: Our parents’ generation thinks that we are smarter than they were at our age … and we think the same about our kids… Reason could be 1. Evolution ……. kids do get smarter every generation …
or
2. Like Sandy pointed out, people (adults including us) think kids are stupid …. and when kids do even the minimalistic chore like pouring a glass of water, we get overexcited. happens with every generation i assume. the cliche “ah kids these days” – i’ve heard my aunts say it and now i find myself saying it too hehe.
SS: i wonder instead, would she even be a nominee had she not been Bill Clinton’s wife?
September 7, 2008 at 2:37 pm
Suki
LOL.. kids these days. I tell you I feel like the 13 year olds are a generation away from me, and I’m 19!
suki: u lie when u say 19. u don’t sound 19. u are 49. u lying person. yes, u are 49. i say so.
September 7, 2008 at 3:27 pm
michelle2005
Another great post. I followed your ‘footprints’ over here..from my site where you left a most welcome comment.
Yet, after I read this post, it’s very similar to a post I did a few days ago..”A Child’s View of Who Should Be President”. (based on a true conversation)
To answer the question you asked me…if I knew Palin had “foreign policy experience” due to AK being close to Russia. lol…yes, I was aware…thanks to the RNC putting it all over the air wave. This was why I put up something I heard on “Comedy Central. My post was titled…”Russia, Santa Claus and Sarah Palin”.
I hope these make you laugh, as much as your posts get me roaring with laughter.
Keep up the great work!
Michelle
Michelle: yes, darlin, i read all that. hehe I’ll be back to read more!! :))
September 7, 2008 at 4:32 pm
Ms Cris
Gawd I love 8-year olds!
Ms. C: :D :D
September 7, 2008 at 6:28 pm
Allytude
And that is why I am running for Prez
http://www.inews3.com/topstory.php?id=416c616e6b726974617c50616e646579
Please get yourselves tattooed
Allly: you are madness personified, but i love you neverhteless. :D
September 7, 2008 at 6:41 pm
Silvara
Hehehe…getting smarter every day hmm….
A fair point she brought up – camping is a bitch when you have to lug toilet paper around :P
Silvara: yeaaah, we were in scotland last year … in the wilderness and I HAD to go but I couldnt cuz i dint hve toilet paper! was terrible!!! had to come bakc to civilization wasting gas just for me :p
September 7, 2008 at 8:15 pm
Manpreet
This was funny.
Well, that is what 8-year olds are. But she is a smart gal and i guess she will do away with sexism at least from her own life.
Mampii: I hope Im alive to see it too. :D
September 7, 2008 at 9:10 pm
Sindhu
Kids these days are growing up SO FAST! I’m not too surprised that she was talking this way. :) It’s baffling how quickly the kids of this generation are growing up.
Sindhu: what’d happen when you and me are ready to have ‘em kids? they’d be born all grown up. :D :D
September 8, 2008 at 3:50 am
Nomad
Perhaps every generations thinks the same of the next one
:)
Amen, me lord. :)
September 8, 2008 at 4:32 am
~nm
Whoa! Such overdose of gyaan from such a lil girl!!
These kids are growing up way too fast these days I tell ya!
nm: our mothers aid the same of us, eh. every generation does get sharper as nomad says!!
September 8, 2008 at 9:35 am
sraikh
Yup, my 9 year old shocks me on a regular basis.
She knows a lot more than I did at her age.
My 6 yr old had the same questions about her brother standing up to pee and all that.
I like her answer though..God is sexist! Very true
Sr: hehe I used to wonder too when I was little. Tried to be a boy many a few times too with failure though. :D
September 8, 2008 at 11:00 am
Nita
sweet 8 year olds! thanks for sharing
Nita: :)
September 8, 2008 at 11:26 am
wavemaker2
Yea, my 7 year old Great Nephew is SMART as hell!! And they listen when you don’t think they are and they watch when you don’t think there watching.. But, a child’s brain is like a sponge, it absorbs EVERYTHING!!! til l8er
wavemaker: sorry, but this crazy idea came to mind … put all children’s brains together and we can soak up ike. :/ dont even know why i am writing this. hehehe …
September 8, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Asad
But God gave women two whole sex chromosomes, the two X’s while he gave men only one X and the dinky Y. This is why men are more likely to inherit traits like hemophilia and colorblindness. But try to explain that to an 8-year-old.
http://asad123.wordpress.com
Asad: :D but before that I’d try explaining to her that there is no God. That might be easier to grasp. ;)
September 8, 2008 at 10:38 pm
everyoneelse
Eight year old kids are often smarter than we sometimes give them credit, but mostly they are really good parrots. We heard several children in a store the other day talking about how amazing Obama was. They sounded like little walking commercials. Obama this. Obama that. Then the children walked over to the parents who were both reading Obama books.
This is the same reason that every child just has to go to the latest animated movie, or Hannah Montana concert. When you look at the commercials for these things, they are all aimed at telling the kids how much they will want to see the show.
everyoneelse: haha classic example of kids picking up on the environment we provide them with. if parents’d be popping in britney videos to entertain the kids, that’s all they’d learn.
hey i used to like hannah montana ! :p haven’t watched it in a couple of months. i love kiddie shows. wut’s the one britney’s sister’s in?
September 9, 2008 at 6:45 am
Nova
oh Wow! You have a smart neighbour Roop :)
novz: my neighbor has even a smarter neighbor. *takes a bow gracefully* heheheeh jk
September 9, 2008 at 6:45 am
Nova
and for smartness, dont u think Calvin is too smart for his 6 yrs? ;)
haha novz, trouble is he never gets older! :P
September 9, 2008 at 6:53 am
BlueMist
Oh man I am loving her :)
I wonder how her kid will turn out to be :P
Bluemist: lol … now that’s what we call ‘forward thinking’. you’ll go far in life, real far.! :D :D
September 9, 2008 at 1:58 pm
Nish
In general, the human concept of god is as a male. While associating gender to a god-entity might sound blasphemous to some folks, the mere fact that world’s major religions treat god as being male is essentially sexist. A sexist creation would itself have sexist characteristics. So the kid is spot on there :-)
N: Pliss to not remind that the world is run by … ah, never mind, I’ll cut the drama. I don’t really believe in god anyway. ;p
October 1, 2008 at 10:20 am
Sexual harassment - 2 « banalities of my life! :)
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