Editor’s note: We’d like to welcome our newest contributor to Bent Alaska: Taylor — who like me, is a woman with very short hair. Welcome, Taylor! — Mel

P.S. The hair in the photo is mine.

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The Honesty of Five

by Taylor

So, the other day, the most interesting thing happened to me. It wasn’t the first time, nor will it likely be the last, but it outlined something I’ve been trying to tell people about human nature all along.

I was waiting on my friend’s front stoop; we were getting together to talk and have drinks. It turned out to be a prolonged waiting period, in excess of thirty minutes. During this time, I entertained myself by playing with a cat through a window, watching a bird, and listening to children tell each other tales during their play in the adjacent park.

Out of the blue, a little girl, perhaps four or five years old, scooted up to me on her bike, as close to the fence as she could get, and asked, “Excuse me! Are you a GIRL?”

Somewhat startled, I smiled and answered “Yes, I am”, to which the youngster replied, “Oh. Why’s your hair short?”

“Because I like it that way.”

“Oh. My teacher’s hair is short, too, but she wears a wig. Do you have a wig?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t like wigs.”

“Oh. Okay!”

With that, the little girl scooted off – I say ‘scooted’ because it was a gravel lot, and she couldn’t quite ‘pedal’ without falling over.

What amazed me about this entire exchange was there were no recriminations, no names slung…just curiosity. The point is, a child — who, according to many I’ve talked to, is not perceptive enough to pick up on differences, nor practiced enough in speech to handle any social matter with any sort of delicacy, CAN and WILL handle the issue of gender difference far better than most adults I know. The child in question might not know to call it that, but they are far more honest and far less malicious than their adult counterparts in satiating their curiosity. In my honest opinion, we could all learn a little bit from five-year-olds.