She’s Such A Geek, an anthology of essays by women on science, is out. I haven’t read it yet, but there’s an excellent blog. The post Subversive Gifts For Girls is especially appropriate to the season.

I’ve noticed that many feminist parents of daughters feel that they should push their daughters towards science–daughters who are passionate about history or art or writing. While I do think it’s important for everyone to be comfortable with basic science and math, I think it’s a fine line to walk when you have daughters who are interested in more “acceptable” areas: encouraging them to take more interest in science while also supporting their other interests. Gifts that combine science and art or science and history are always nice–too many people grow up thinking that disciplines are neatly segregated from each other, without any connections between them.

My favorite gift source kids is actually very focused on crafts and art supplies and traditional toys, although they do have a selection of science toys (not the best source for science toys, in my opinion): Hearthsong. Their products are very gender-neutral and encourage creativity, and there’s something there for almost every kid.