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I Can’t Believe I Sang This Creepy Heteronormative Nursery Rhyme As A Kid!
“Come to think of it, there weren’t any real songs for us to sing as little kids that allowed us to explore any possibilities for us to become adults and live our lives the way we see fit.”
While I was taking a walk this afternoon a fond memory popped into my head. I was transported back to my elementary school days when I would join my classmates so we could braid each other’s hair, paint each other’s nails, and of course skip rope and sing nursery rhymes during recess.
As the sun’s rays kissed my dark skin with each and every stride, I tried my best to recall some of the fun rhymes I would skip to. And one of these songs forced me to pause for a second in bewilderment and reflect on the lyrics.
Sanni and Aaron sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G.
First comes love.
Then comes marriage.
Then comes the baby in the baby carriage!
Nobody, and I mean nobody, can tell me that we were not brainwashed as kids!
I first learned this nursery rhyme at church many moons ago, and as an adult the lyrics completely freak me out. For one, it is teaching young kids that only a boy and girl’s name can be used in the song, therefore only heterosexual individuals…
