I was walking back to our apartment this afternoon when I ran into one of the leasing agents for our building management. The last time we had spoken, I had shared that I was pregnant, so she asked me how I was feeling and how much longer I had to go.

“Okay, let me guess! You’re having a BOY!” she exclaimed excitedly, her eyes wide open and her smile even wider.

“No,” I said, laughing. “I’m having a girl. What makes you think that I’m having a boy?”

“Well, for one thing, you’re carrying very low, and I’ve been told that girls tend to sit very high while boys are very low,” she started. “And you are absolutely vibrant and glowing, and I’d heard that when you are carrying a girl, the girl will suck all the beauty out of you and you’ll have no color in your face and look tired all the time!”

“Wendy, you realize that’s all sexist bs, right?” I said to her, chuckling. “There’s no way to tell whether someone is carrying a boy or a girl just from how good their skin looks!! And not only that, I better be carrying low now and have the baby drop further down because we’re already at 37 weeks!”

It doesn’t seem to matter how recent or far back in time you go, or what culture you are referring to. So many sexist, misogynistic old wives’ tales are always being shared about girls… pretty much from the moment of conception. I am not a fan of perpetuating any of these terrible, outdated stereotypes and will call out the bullshit whenever and wherever I can to try to get people to stop repeating such garbage.