Progressive Vienna (Oakton, Fairfax, Madison: movies, school, live)

[live_strong28]

Anybody read this past Thursday's Washington Post Fairfax Extra Section?

I saw a tidbit in the Community Events Section (page 6) that goes something like this:

EVENING RECREATION FOR GIRLS AND BOYS, for grades six-eight, girls paint their nails, learn hair and makeup tips and watch movies while the boys play basketball and video games. Sponsored by Vienna Parks and Recreation. 6 p.m., Vienna Community Center, Club Phoenix Teen Center, 120 Cherry St., SE. Free. 703-255-6360

[Denton56]

You want the boys to get their nails painted and makeup tips?

[Mearth]

Originally Posted by Denton56

You want the boys to get their nails painted and makeup tips?

Not all boys. Just yours

Why should B-ball be restricted to boys? Honestly, with the endurance required to be a good player, women are better equipped than men.

[JEB77]

I guess being its own town gives the Town of Vienna the right to be aggressively retro when it chooses. There is probably a separate 20-person committee in the county that scrutinizes every proposed event at the county's parks and recreation facilities for months in advance.

But seriously, the Vienna youth sports organization are some of the best in the area, and girls basketball is an important part (it's not a coincidence that Madison, Marshall and Oakton, which have a lot of Vienna students, have colllectively won many district titles in recent years). And, fear not Mearth: at least at the 6th grade level, the girls who play basketball often are taller, bigger and fiercer on the court than their male counterparts!

[terrence81]

Originally Posted by live_strong28

Anybody read this past Thursday's Washington Post Fairfax Extra Section?

I saw a tidbit in the Community Events Section (page 6) that goes something like this:

EVENING RECREATION FOR GIRLS AND BOYS, for grades six-eight, girls paint their nails, learn hair and makeup tips and watch movies while the boys play basketball and video games. Sponsored by Vienna Parks and Recreation. 6 p.m., Vienna Community Center, Club Phoenix Teen Center, 120 Cherry St., SE. Free. 703-255-6360

Oh you're being too sensitive. Girls in general are not into video games, not saying all girls hate xbox, but many don't like them. Boys love video games and while not all will want to play basketball, most will want to play video games. Girls that age like hair and makeup. Shucks even a grown woman wouldn't mind free hair and makeup tips and getting their nails for free.

It's not retro, boys and girls typically like different things. If a girl doesn't want to get her nails painted she doesn't have to. She could choose not to go or just talk to her little friends. The kids wouldn't go if this wasn't something they wanted to do versus something like school that they're forced to go to. Keeping them seperated probably isn't the worse idea at that age either. So I say it's a good thing.

[Stephen 81]

I agree that boys and girls typically like different things, but this seems pretty retro to me, and not in a good way. Encouraging little girls to sit around and look pretty and let the boys roughhouse sounds like something from the 1950's, not the 2000's. Girls should be allowed, and indeed encouraged, to do whatever they want, including beating boys in basketball! And if a 13 year old boy wants to sit around watching movies with girls, by all means, let him. Boys and girls who don't perfectly conform to gender norms suffer enough at the hands of their peers that they don't need the Town of Vienna telling them which activities are or are not suitable for their gender.

If this seems innocuous, how about "white children will get lacrosse lessons while black children play basketball"?

[Caladium]

I'm willing to bet that if any girls wanted to play basketball, or any of the boys wanted to watch movies instead of playing basketball the staff would be thrilled. My experience with the people who work for the Town of Vienna is that most of them are pretty liberal.

I think what's going on here is a poorly written flyer. I think the point was to tell parents what they can realistically expect. They're recognizing the reality that most kids that age prefer to hang out with their own gender, the girls tend to like watching movies, and the boys tend to like basketball.

A better description could have said something about the kids having a choice of activities. But, IMO, it's just bad writing. I think we're all guilty of it from time to time. I know sometimes I read an old post I've written and realize it didn't quite say what I meant to say. In fact sometimes I really miss the mark of what I meant to say. We're not all great writers.

[Stephen 81]

Originally Posted by FromVAtoNC

I think what's going on here is a poorly written flyer. I think the point was to tell parents what they can realistically expect. They're recognizing the reality that most kids that age prefer to hang out with their own gender, the girls tend to like watching movies, and the boys tend to like basketball.

You're probably right. I can't really imagine the staff banning girls from playing basketball. I must need caffeine or something so that I can think clearly!

[robbobobbo]

I went to the Vienna Rec Center's website. The activity in question is one event only, a "Girls Night In, Boys Night Gym" special event, part of "Club Phoenix" at 4:30. I agree that it sounds conformist and stereotyping and off-putting at first - however, their recreational program also includes (for boys and girls) baseball, water balloon fights, relay races, youth open gym, guitar lessons, gymnastics, and much more. So they aren't limiting opportunities by gender, it's just one particular event they've devised with stereotypical "girl activities" and "boy activities".

[michgc]

I remember when I lived in Bethesda there was a personal finance class offered through Montgomery County. The flyer said something like, "A basic level personal finance class perfect for women." I was always insulted reading that flyer, which I interpreted to read that most women are dumb in math and finance matters, while men would not need such a basic class. It was written like that for a few years, and for all I know it still is. I am a woman who can probably teach personal finance to 90% of the population - men and women included. It's not just women whose personal finance skills are lacking. Anyway, I agree with From VAtoNC that the Vienna flyer is probably just poorly written, as was the Montgomery County one.