It seems the older my son gets the more he feels the need to pigeon hole Lily. He tells her not to "talk like a man" or tries to tell her what she should like. I don't know where he gets this. I know it isn't from me and I know it isn't from Greg. Greg lets Lily wear and do what she wants within reason. She goes fishing, helps him when he's fixing things, and likes to sing. She is her own child and he treats her like that.
Lily of course doesn't stand for it. She is not going to let her brother try and dictate how she should behave and she lets him know that.
The question is how do I confront Dedrick about this? At one point he asked me why I don't work. He's also commented on whether I'm going to learn how to cook because I'm "just a mom". I know he's not being sexist on purpose, but I'd really like to nip this in the bud. I just don't know how to.
Societal influence in general is at work here. I think the best way to confront it is to turn it back around on him by asking him why he thinks that or why that is. Then, you can open up a dialogue and proceed from there.
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