The other day I was in a face painting line with my son. There was a sheet on the table illustrating several choices kids could pick from. The little boy in front of us excitedly picked a butterfly. When the face painter asked what he wanted, the boy’s father responded with “Batman.” My heart sank.
This happens all of the time. In Give Him Something For Boys a face-painter shares her experience and a telling twitter thread ensues. The article starts with:
“From a young age, many boys are encouraged to like only typically “masculine” things like action figures, toy guns, and sports. They’re shamed for crying, showing love, and showing affection because those things are considered “weak.” Strict gender rules are enforced on their appearance, too. When it comes to the clothes they wear and the way they wear their hair, little boys are often expected to adhere to certain stereotypes and not show interest in anything deemed “feminine.”
Apparently, even getting their face painted is policed to the extreme, as illuminated by a brilliant Twitter thread that went viral this weekend. In a series of very powerful tweets, Twitter user “Sanduhruh” laid out exactly how enforcing these harmful gender stereotypes on little boys could be a driving force behind the male violence problem we have in America.”
Later that day I opened a package that arrived in my mailbox. I had purchased a pair of pre-owned cords for my son. The note from the seller included in the package told me she hoped my little girl likes the pants.
We assign everything from colors to food to animals to either boys or girls. When we do this, we are assigning the traits associated with these things to either boys or girls and sending a clear message to our little ones. This creates boys who are hurting and as Sanduhruh says, a driving force behind the male violence problem we have in America.
whatsaboymom 