My Son's MobiGo Game Collection

A couple of weeks ago, I came across the following story from the Huffington Post about a game store manager who sadly witnessed a scene where a father deeply chastised and threatened his son for picking a game with a female protagonist and a girly-colored controller. My initial reaction was to get huffy about the father’s reaction and his notion on what is manly for video gaming, and then I got irritated that he wanted his young son to pick a Mature Rated game just because it was more masculine. (Thanks for adhering to the ESRB, jerkwad!)

After those knee-jerk reactions passed, I looked into how I was raising my own young son, as I can’t control that jerk, but I can control what I do. I strongly do not believe that one’s gender dictates which games are acceptable to play. I have several guy friends who play shooters and just as many guy friends who prefer the JRPG or play has female protagonists if they can choose to do so. I like JRPGs with the girly-looking men and the midriff shirts, and I love the dude-bro shooters like Gears of War. My favorite color is blue–never liked pink, even as a child–I played rugby in college, and yet I like girly things like Coach purses, new boots, and big earrings and bracelets. I feel like I’m a decent mashing of preconceived gender tastes, and I want my son to be similar in that I want him to do what he likes, no matter what he’s “supposed” to like.

I think I’ve done a halfway decent job so far.

Gabe’s favorite color right now is pink. He likes to color with pink crayons, markers, etc. His second favorite is purple. He loves looking at my jewelry and telling me how awesome some of the bracelets are. I don’t let him wear my jewelry, because well, it’s MINE, but I did give him a bunch of Mardi Gras beads that he likes to occasionally wear. He also likes “boy” things like dinosaurs, trains, cars, tools, and building blocks. He actually has a pink train. And if you look at his video game collection to the right, you’ll notice a distinctly “girly” game in the mix: Tangled. He played Tangled during a playdate at a friend’s house, and he liked it so much, he begged for it for days. After a solid week of picking up his toys every night, we surprised him with Tangled. So it’s kind of girly. It’s also very educational, and he likes it. Can’t ask for much more than that.

And if he grows out of liking princess games and the color pink, that’s fine. If he doesn’t, that’s fine too–although peer pressure may change that later. As long as he understands that it’s fine for girls and boys to like what they like, no matter the gender preconception, it’s a victory for me.

However, I will have to draw the line at Barbie Horse Adventures, as that’s just a terrible game.