Looks like not even unborn babies can escape society's unrealistic expectations regarding gender roles. After going through Google analytics, Seth Stephens-Davidowitz of the
New York Times came up with this startling discovery.
The data showed that parents who were expecting sons were mostly concerned about them growing up to be geniuses; while those expecting daughters were more concerned about their kid growing up to be attractive:
Parents
are about twice as likely to ask how to get their daughters to lose
weight as they are to ask how to get their sons to do the same. Google
search data also tell us that mothers and fathers are more likely to
wonder whether their daughter is “beautiful” or “ugly.”
Seems extreme, especially when you realize that young girls are actually
performing better in school than boys, and how
childhood obesity is more prevalent in boys than it is in girls.
Of course, all good parents just want what's best for their kids. The fact remains that the world we live in claims that men can only achieve by being intelligent, while women will have an easier time if they're hot.
Here's hoping that the future generation can do something to challenge that status quo.