Another article recently came out that highlights the rigidity of the male gender role: Parents are OK with girls playing with trucks. Not so much with boys wearing makeup.
“Across the board, women were more willing to let their child defy gender norms than men,” the research said. “While the majority of both genders were OK with allowing their daughters to play with trucks and wear boys’ clothes, the most staunch discrepancies surfaced when it came to sons acting feminine.”
The article references a study by SeniorLiving.org that looked at the ages associated with discussing a range of sensitive topics and how gender plays a role in what parents view as acceptable behavior for their children. The greatest percentage of parents rated gender-identity as the topic they’d most want to avoid talking about to their children.
In sum, what I’ve been looking for rooftops to scream from and what this study found is that while horizons are broadening for our girls, the pressure remains staunch to keep our boys in their narrowly constructed gender role.
In Gloria Steinem’s words: “We’ve begun to raise daughters more like sons … but few have the courage to raise our sons more like our daughters.”
whatsaboymom 