Why don't we teach girls they can do anything?

Today, as I sat around with my friends doing my homework, one of my friends started talking about not knowing what she wants to do with her life, a problem so many of us college students have. Another friend spouted out that she wants to be a "housewife." Then another said "Yes! It's my dream to be a housewife and have kids." Then there was a pretty collective agreement that this would be really great, to have kids and be a housewife while I sat not saying a word because I honestly was kind of shocked. Now, don't get me wrong, I have major respect for housewives. They do a lot of work and hardly get any credit as evidenced by one friend that said "I want to have kids but I don't want to stay at home because I feel like a respect my mom less because she doesn't do anything at home." That's really sad that just because your mom doesn't work outside the home, which is what our society had deemed appropriate for a woman at the time she became a mother, you don't respect her. That being said, I think it is utter bullshit that girls are still taught that "the dream" is having kids and getting married but we teach boys that their dream is whatever they want it to be.

Why don't we teach boys that getting married is important if that's what we are teaching girls? Why don't we teach girls to aspire to whatever their heart desires if that's what boys are taught? Our society has got to get its shit together on this one. There are a lot of amazing women who could be astronauts, doctors, activists, engineers, and psychologists but because we teach girls that their number one goal is marriage and children, a lot of girls think they can't have both. Their priority is always thought to be others and not themselves so if women do have both, often times others see them as selfish for not giving their full attention to the their families.

My point is not that women shouldn't be stay-at-home moms or explicitly be against having children but that we should listen to what girls and women really want instead of telling them and then foster their ideas. We should teach men that a strong woman isn't something to be afraid of. We should teach boys what feminism is really about instead of teaching them that they are crazy, man-hating bitches who want to overpower them. Girls shouldn't have to feel afraid of hurting other people just by saying what they want. Boys shouldn't feel obligated to have a girlfriend/wife who does what they ask just because she is a girl. Most of all, women shouldn't feel like they are lesser than just because they don't necessarily want marriage and children. We need to stop teaching girls that boys are more important than school and that boys opinions matter more and that boys deserve things just because they are boys. We have to stop people from saying "That's just how it is." It doesn't have to be.