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Gender Roles by KrissieFox

Gender Roles

KrissieFox

About a week or so ago, I was driving to pick up some art supplies for me wifey :iconAshleyFableBlack: and was thinking about this odd, sometimes extreme, misconception I encounter from time to time, that feminism, the lgbt rights movement, "DA LIBRUL AGENDA" (run! hide the children!)...whatever you want to call it..wants to "turn men into sissies" or "shame little girls for liking pink".

The glaring flaw in such a misconception seems to be that people are confusing [i]"you don't need to"[/i] for [i]"you shouldn't"[/i].
Little boys shouldn't have to feel like they [i]need[/i] to like guns, monsters and carss to validate their male identity. But if they DO - there's nothing wrong with that. And the same goes for little girls, regarding puppies and kittens and glitter and floofy dresses and all that fun, cuddly stuff. Those are awesome things, and so are monsters and explosions.

What really does get under my skin then, is when I see things like mothers accosting their son for wanting "a girls cake" at a bakery - simultaneously implying that boys are only allowed to like certain things AND that it's 'wrong' to be into "girly stuff" - the same stuff they'll later happily heap onto their own daughter. It's very harmful to children and most parents don't even think twice about it because they themselves have had these ideas ingrained in them at such a young age. Some may act this way because they fear that their child will be bullied, but even then they're reinforcing that same fear and shame by restricting their child's freedom to explore and express themselves.

I think it's always good to ask yourself " Do I REALLY like this outfit/tv show/hobby/etc? Or am I simply trying to fit into the social construct of my gender?"


a related youtube video that I recommend https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXKuF2vFeQo&t=336s in which I think some great points are made.

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Comments

  • Link

    There is a LOT of cultural and societal pressure to conform to a culture's view of "normality". Even today, we still "enforce" gender stereotypes. We need to understand that, if an young boy likes dresses, that he should be able to explore that safely. Same for a girl who likes to wrestle and be physically active. Our cultural norms are not always "best" or "accurate"; the individual matters too.

  • Link

    I like this. Fun fact: Prior to about 1900, pink was considered a "masculine" color.