I like pink.

I wear skirts more than I wear jeans.

I still have the Barbies, Polly Pockets, and American Girl Doll I played with growing up.

I love cooking.

I want to have kids and would rather stay at home than pursue a career. I also don't intend to be the one who wears the pants in my household.

I believe (at least for myself) in preserving some sense of purity.

I believe in manners.

And according to modern America, I am brainwashed by stereotypes set forth by society.

According to Planned Parenthood, I am "hyperfeminine" and am allowing myself to be exposed to emotional abuse.

According to Mic and an article on Disney Princesses, wanting to demonstrate kindness and gentleness is a harmful stereotype.

According to Health Guidance, my wanting to housekeep, wear dresses, and serve food is a "stereotype put on" me.

According to Buzzfeed, I REALLY should be sick and tired of getting classed into stereotypical women things like marriage and children.

What I'm really sick and tired of is being told I shouldn't want to be a wife and mother. That I shouldn't have played with girly toys as a kid because they probably brainwashed me. That me pursuing a job as liberal arts teacher is stereotypical. That I am a negative stereotype.

Instead, I should be pursuing science and STEM and business and a career, shouldn't get married until my thirties, should be strong (a nebulous term these days), and in general reject anything that is apparently "stereotypically feminine."

There's nothing wrong with pursuing STEM and business, nor marrying later, nor looking to be strong (whatever your definition of that is). Not at all. That's just not for me. What is wrong is you telling me it's wrong to like what you call "stereotypical feminine things." That what I want to do in life is "dangerous" and "exposing myself to abuse" (which has nothing to do with gender roles or the lack thereof, by the way), and "harmful."

So... it's wrong to be a girly girl? It's wrong to want to be feminine? It's wrong for me to choose and want such a lifestyle? Dangerous? Harmful?

I actually went through a tomboyish phase as a middle schooler. I eschewed pink, longer hair and anything I thought was "girly." The reason why is because in all the books I read, most of them even pre-third wave feminism, in a lot of the movies I watched (Disney Princesses excepted, maybe), girly girls were scoffed at, and were the brunt of jokes. The girls my age I read about were wild and made fun of girly girls. So I decided I needed to do the same. It wasn't until I was a teenager that I felt comfortable admitting I liked the color pink and preferred dressing up. Why? Because it's apparently wrong. Thank God my family didn't take that position, but my peers certainly did.

I'm not saying anyone is wrong for being less of a girly girl. Not at all.

But maybe think twice before calling my dreams and interests and other girls' dreams and interests harmful stereotypes. To do so is the exact opposite of the message you claim to hold, that girls should be encouraged to choose their path in life. This is the path I want. Maybe it's time to respect that.