To the Editor:
Re “Men’s Lib!” (Sunday Review, Nov. 15):
Congratulations to Richard V. Reeves and Isabel V. Sawhill for a balanced and hopeful article. Societally imposed gender stereotypes shackle both men and women, boys and girls. The writers’ conviction that public policies can hasten the acceptance of more divergent gender roles is heartening.
But despite distinct progress in some areas over the last few decades, I have been dismayed to see a resurgence of gender stereotypes in recent years. Witness the “princess” obsession of little girls and their parents.
Despite the superficial efforts of mass marketers to coat some princesses in a veneer of empowerment, the tale usually ends with the princess finding a prince and thus “marrying up,” garnering the improved economic and social status that a man presumably confers.
Let’s see more stories of princes “marrying up”!
MARIE J. HAWE
Stamford, Conn.
The writer is a social worker.
Note from KBJ: Marie J. Hawe, meet biology.
