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This Gender Neutral Santa "thing"

Goodlifr

Goodlifr

Member
Nov 6, 2017
1,885
Might just be me, but my facebook feed recently is full of people commenting on this survey (probably fake) that says a 3rd of people asked said Santa should be gender neutral.
The usual "snowflakes" shouting, Political Correctness gone mad, what's the world coming to, etc etc etc comments follow.

I just ignored it, seemed to be another case of people getting really offended about other people who might be questioning social norms a bit.

But then, my daughter (6) asked me what Mrs Claus does.

Bit of background, I've got 3 young daughters, so feel like I'm pretty aware of the issues women face (but also aware, as a male, I haven't / don't have to deal with this crap everyday, so don't know / understand the half of it). My eldest (8) is really sporty and already coming up against the "this is a boys game" crap and is starting to take it to heart, which is killing me.

Was kind of stumped when I got asked... all the books that mention her are referencing her sorting out his clothes etc... there are some mentions of her basically running the show, but that just means she does all the work while a man gets all the glory.

So, I guess, I'm feeling a bit torn... should Santa always say as a man? It is tradition, afterall... but traditions, can, of course, change, adapt to modern times.

And in the short term, anyone got any clue how I answer the "what does Mrs Claus do" question.....
 
Betty

Betty

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
17,604
Go with "Mrs Claus died" or "They got a divorce"

You're welcome in advance.
 
Robin64

Robin64

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,623
England
Just tell her about Santa's true form, Final Claus.

oiSycqT.png
 
Coyote Starrk

Coyote Starrk

The Fallen
Oct 30, 2017
52,774
So uh.....maybe this is just me OP, but you probably shouldn't refer to something as gender neutral and then call it a "thing" in the same sentence. I know you very likely didn't mean anything by it, but someone could take it the wrong way.
 
Golden

Golden

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Dec 9, 2018
928
No point confusing, what is already a ridiculous story to sell to our kids. If is best to avoid going deep on the specifics.

Just say that there is no ms Claus. My daughters have never asked.

(do we need to create female alts for Jesus, Mo, bhudda etc?)
 
OP
OP
Goodlifr

Goodlifr

Member
Nov 6, 2017
1,885
Coyote Starrk said:
So uh.....maybe this is just me OP, but you probably shouldn't refer to something as gender neutral and then call it a "thing" in the same sentence. I know you very likely didn;t mean anything by it, but someone could take it the wrong way.
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Oh, sorry, the "thing" was reference to the the survey / outrage at the survey, not about gender neutrality, but will be more careful in future
 
Pankratous

Pankratous

Member
Oct 26, 2017
9,230
Coyote Starrk said:
So uh.....maybe this is just me OP, but you probably shouldn't refer to something as gender neutral and then call it a "thing" in the same sentence. I know you very likely didn't mean anything by it, but someone could take it the wrong way.
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He's not calling gender neutral Santa a thing, he's calling the ongoing debate and discussions on Facebook a thing.

Anyone with a basic reading comprehension would understand that.
 
OP
OP
Goodlifr

Goodlifr

Member
Nov 6, 2017
1,885
Golden said:
No point confusing, what is already a ridiculous story to sell to our kids. If is best to avoid going deep on the specifics.

Just say that there is no ms Claus. My daughters have never asked.

(do we need to create female alts for Jesus, Mo, bhudda etc?)
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I kind of wish I'd never done the Santa thing for the kids.... but, I guess, it is "proper" magic when you're young and something that stays with your forever.

They have seen Mrs Claus in books and films though
 
Wintermute

Wintermute

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,051
Goodlifr said:
It is tradition, afterall... but traditions, can, of course, change, adapt to modern times.
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tradition is never a good reason for anything. bring up your children to believe they can be anything, even a fictional S+ tier seasonal god who crawls down chimney's to steal peoples mince pies and whiskey.
 
Xiaomi

Xiaomi

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,237
Mrs. Claus doesn't want the limelight; she is hiding centuries of tax evasion in her household and needs to keep the fucking feds at bay at any cost.
 

Deleted member 2109

User-requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
3,927
I dunno about that survey but Santa is still a dude in my house. We have a yearly Santa Party wear we hire a local actor and actress to play Mr. and Mrs. Claus so I don't think we could switch genders without just confusing the fuck out of the kiddos. As far as Mrs. Claus' job we just go with she's the brains and designs all the toys while Santa is the the one that has to deliver them.
 
Khasim

Khasim

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
2,260
Explain to her that famous people are sometimes men and sometimes women, and not all couples are equally famous, so there's no shame if one person in a couple is a superstar and another takes care of the household, no matter the gender of either.
 
Golden

Golden

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Dec 9, 2018
928
Goodlifr said:
I kind of wish I'd never done the Santa thing for the kids.... but, I guess, it is "proper" magic when your young and something that stays with your forever.

They have seen Mrs Claus in books and films though
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I think the Santa thing is great. I really enjoyed it as a kid, and at the moment I'm loving seeing how much fun it is for my kids. It also creates a barrier, so that you're kids are not expecting, nor asking for things from you, which gives them a a healthier understanding of the 'spirit' of Christmas.
The story of Santa doesn't benefit from to much close examination though. It is innately ridiculous, so the less details the better. Im dreading the day when they find out!
 
OP
OP
Goodlifr

Goodlifr

Member
Nov 6, 2017
1,885
Khasim said:
Explain to her that famous people are sometimes men and sometimes women, and not all couples are equally famous, so there's no shame if one person in a couple is a superstar and another takes care of the household, no matter the gender of either.
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Yeah, I'd back this... if there was a female superstar equivalent to Santa (well, not equivalent, but on the same level) available for me to call on at the young age they are at.
 
Shadow

Shadow

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 28, 2017
4,099
I always saw it as Mrs Clause is taking care of the north poll factory to keep it in order making sure the unpaid elves are not slacking off while Santa delivers presents. Then again my family never brought up Mrs clause other than for movies, and probably movies is the thing that made me think of it that way.
 

Deleted member 35011

User requested account closure
Banned
Dec 1, 2017
2,185
Double down on the vague lore to claim bullshit as canon since there's nothing against it.

Mrs. Claus is actually the general in charge of the North Pole army and her brilliant military strategies are what led to the North Pole being recognized as a sovereign nation, as well as winning her husband(King Claus the Second, also known as Santa Claus) the right to visit countries around the world at will in the negotiations table after defeating other countries in the Second Polar War.

This is actually why Santa is not on the naughty list himself despite trespassing on many foreign countries as well as civilian homes - his actions are a legal concession world leaders have made.

Don't fuck with Mrs. Claus. Hannibal ain't got nothing on her. You think Cannae is some shit, but if you had seen the shit she did with those icebergs...how do you envelop submarines? How do you come up with that? Mrs.Claus man.
 
Big Boy

Big Boy

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,891
Mrs Claus project manages the whole thing. She's a hard-working, educated professional who built the Santa brand around her fat lump of a husband.
 
Khasim

Khasim

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
2,260
Goodlifr said:
Yeah, I'd back this... if there was a female superstar equivalent to Santa (well, not equivalent, but on the same level) available for me to call on at the young age they are at.
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I mean, Santa is entirely fictional and made up, so you can call on dozens of super popular female characters, like Wonder Woman, Disney princesses, or even go for someone real like Queen Elizabeth?
 
Coyote Starrk

Coyote Starrk

The Fallen
Oct 30, 2017
52,774
Velord said:
Double down on the vague lore to claim bullshit as canon since there's nothing against it.

Mrs. Claus is actually the general in charge of the North Pole army and her brilliant military strategies are what led to the North Pole being recognized as a sovereign nation, as well as winning her husband(King Claus the Second, also known as Santa Claus) the right to visit countries around the world at will in the negotiations table after defeating other countries in the Second Polar War.

This is actually why Santa is not on the naughty list himself despite trespassing on many foreign countries as well as civilian homes - his actions are a legal concession world leaders have made.

Don't fuck with Mrs. Claus. Hannibal ain't got nothing on her. You think Cannae is some shit, but if you had seen the shit she did with those icebergs...how do you envelop submarines? How do you come up with that? Mrs.Claus man.
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10/10
 

MarcyPoos

Member
Oct 25, 2017
918
User Warned: Concern Trolling
I mean let's get to the real issue here.. Why should Jesus be a man? What about Einstein and Hitler? Why do men get all these historical figures to themselves?
 
astro

astro

Member
Oct 25, 2017
56,849
Dumb poll designed to rile up idiots and distract from the actual gender conversations
 
RionaaM

RionaaM

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
1,852
Robin64 said:
Just tell her about Santa's true form, Final Claus.

oiSycqT.png
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Mentioning Cookie Clicker should be a bannable offense, just like linking to TV Tropes. Those places ruin your life!

And yes, I'm still sad that I lost my CC save last year. 2 years of (very slow) progress down the drain, it hurt.
 
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