A look at the many ways girls are breaking the mold, each and every day. (Photo: Elise Schreier/Laura Kine/Lori Grow)
An earlier version of this story was published in September 2017.
We at HuffPost Parenting value a girl’s ability to be multidimensional and to be passionate about what she loves, whether that means adoring princesses, loving dinosaurs, worshipping superheroes or all of the above.
We asked members of our parenting community to send in photos of their daughters proving that girls are more than what’s often marketed to them in the toy aisle and what’s demonstrated to them through sometimes limiting societal norms.
Here are 44 photos of girls who want nothing to do with gender stereotypes:
"My 11-year-old daughter; she's strong and tough and proud!"
"My girls love science and have so much fun with our experiments!"
"My 11-year-old daughter fencing with her coach. She is strong, fierce and competes in a sport dominated by boys. I am so amazed by her."
"My little golfer girl has a great swing at 3 years old! She sinks putts left and right, and wants to hit her drives as far as Mommy and Daddy someday!"
"My 5-year-old loves to skateboard."
"We are a family of four who live on a sailboat currently in the South Pacific. Our daughters know more about how to fish than most grown men. They're keen on which lures to use, line to put out, how to properly gaff a fish (go for the eyeball) and how to 'nicely' kill a fish. Pictured here is their double hook up on the way to the Cook Islands. Our youngest daughter doesn't look too thrilled as her fish had just slapped her in the face. I love watching them give tips and advice to 'real' fishermen at port who have heard about their success. Teach your daughters to fish and they will provide."
"Because girls want to be astronauts, too! Got this on the 'boy' costume rack at Costco...sigh."
"I have a daughter that does both and am proud of her for being able to be a tomboy when she wants or a girly girl."
"My daughter is 4 now and has always broken the stereotypes. She loves superheroes and was Spider-Man for Halloween (muscles and all). Her favorite color is green and her snuggle buddy is Hulk."
"I love coaching my 7-year-old daughter through lifting with her own child-sized barbell."
"My first-grader. The only girl on her Pop Warner team. She's my hero."
"Our 5-year-old is a strong, smart, and confident girl! She loves Legos, Star Wars, bike riding and skateboarding, but still also enjoys playing dolls, dress-up, and the color pink! She adores building, creating, and using her wild imagination when playing with Legos. She takes pride in completing sets 'all by herself' in addition to coming up with new, creative ideas." (Dress by PDP Studio on Etsy.)
"Girls like building robots and coding, too!"
"My daughter is 5 and loves anything that has to do with outer space: 'Star Wars,' rocket ships, etc. She loves superheroes and has no interest in dolls or princesses. When she grows up she wants to be an astronaut and a police officer."
"This kid rocks a vest like it's her job!"
"My daughter had to be Iron Man for Halloween. She didn't want frill or tutus or anything else because Iron Man doesn't have them."
"My 4-year-old daughter defies gender stereotypes because she is agentic, confidently expresses her ideas and thoughts, and as her preschool teacher identified, she is both 'tough and strong.' She's the kid who relentlessly asks to go to the 'Body Worlds: Pulse' exhibit she sees on banners on the way to preschool (and who asks to return after visiting the exhibit). She loves all things Halloween and spooky, and is always up for an adventure, like kid friendly bungee jumping. When she has a project that is too easy, she says, 'Mama, I need a more challenging (x).' She is willing to stand out when conforming may be easier. She's setting a powerful example for her baby sister, and other girls and boys. Simply put, she's our amazing stereotype-defier!"
"My strong girls at their last karate tournament. My youngest leads her class and my oldest helps teach weapons. So proud of them!"
"My daughter is a 'princess who can save herself!'"
"This is my daughter. She was 10 at the time of this photo, taken last December. We live in a VERY small town, less than 1,000 people, in the Midwest and it took a bunch of courage for her to cut her hair like this. She caught a bunch of flack for it at school and from family. Most was from my dad and it makes me really sad, but I'm so proud of her for being so independent and marching to the beat of her own drum. I was not excited about her cutting her hair this way but I wasn't about to stomp all over her freedom of expression!"
"There are women golfers, but there aren't many African-American women golfers and I'm proud of her for giving it a go!"
"She's smart and determined. She doesn't back down."
"My 2-year-old likes to build things with her Papa."
"This is my daughter. She is 4 years old and her interests include everything scaly or creepy! She particularly loves her lizard Pascal who is a 1-year-old bearded dragon. She loves sharing him with people, but most of her little girl friends are less than enthused."
"My 15-year-old daughter jams a mean long-scale bass, ukulele and guitar. She enjoys playing with makeup, being an ally for underrepresented minorities and learning Iron Maiden songs."
"Mad scientist in the making!"
"My short hair-wearing, baseball-playing, 'Star Wars'-loving, math and science smarty pants, fierce, beautiful and all-around fantastic oldest daughter!"
"My 7-year-old at a peaceful protest because she will not be quiet!"
"My 6-year-old girl who loves slithery reptiles with a passion and thought this python encounter was the best thing ever!"
"My 10-year-old daughter; she's all about anything with a motor."
"Here's my little girl. Five years old and obsessed with bugs of all kinds. She especially likes spiders and will care for the spiders she finds at home."
"Here's our 11-year-old daughter getting down and dirty during softball practice this year."
"Adrenaline junkie 3-year-old. Born with a rare heart defect and a need for speed. Prefers Mickey over Minnie, and wants Daddy to repaint her dirt bike red."
"One of my favorite photos of my 5-year-old daughter. She enjoys (pretend) samurai swords and dressing up as superheroes and wants to be a pilot one day. She was born with a few congenital heart defects and has a midline scar on her chest from open heart surgery that she is very proud of. Nothing stops her from kicking butt."
"This is from last year when my daughter played defensive end. This year she's in the running for quarterback on her middle school football team. She's persisted and put in more effort than I would ever have expected from a 12-year-old girl and hopefully it will pay off and get her the position she wants."
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