The mummies on the bus go ...

I used to take GrandDaughter2 to a singing session at the local library; I now take GrandDaughter3 to a similar event at a different library.

I got to know the librarian leading the first group - she was a friend of Nuora's - and felt feisty enough to grumble about some of the songs we sang. 'Why do gentlemen ride like this (fast fun) while ladies ride like this (demure and calm)? And why do grannies on the bus knit?'

The librarian agreed and changed the words, sometimes changing granny's activity every week.

Now I am an irregular visitor to the new library sessions and don't yet feel confident enough to make a similar protest. But if we keep singing along to the words, 'the mummies on the bus go chatter, chatter, chatter,' and 'the daddies on the bus go shush, shush, shush,' (not to the wives but to the noisy children) I am going to have to speak up on behalf of quiet women, and men who don't mind children having fun everywhere.

I am far from a strident feminist but even I can see that little things compound to make big stereotypes.