Introduction: The Importance of Difference

Scott is all boy. At age six, he’s the apple of his dad’s eye. He learned quickly how to catch a football, kick a soccer ball, and swing a bat. Dad is itching to help him become a pro. The little bruiser loves to be with dad and soaks up every drop of his attention. But he also seems to have a great interest in caring for small animals, nurturing them as if he were their mom. When he and dad are playing in the front yard and a dog comes by, little Scott forgets all about the game and runs straight for the animal. This concerns dad…and mom too, but for different reasons. Dad wonders what normal boy allows anything to distract him from playing ball, other than perhaps a pretty girl. But certainly not this uncontrollable attraction to hugging dogs. Why can’t his boy be a little more boy? Shouldn’t he be caring more about “big boy” things by now? Has mom’s concern for his safety—what if the dog bites?—encouraged Scott to be a little too soft? Should dad get him a dog—or take him hunting instead?

Alisa is a princess. Not specifically one princess, but several in any given day. Sometimes she’s Cinderella, sometimes Snow White, other times Jasmine or Ariel. Most often, she’s any kind of princess she can cobble together out of her available dress-up resources and from the creativity of her imagination. For Alisa, the frillier and shinier the better. Her mom is uncomfortable with Alisa being so stereotypical. She doesn’t like the unrealistic role models of the Disneybots so prevalent among girls today. But what should Alisa’s mom do? She always intended for her daughter to be a stro...