Shaming men for not being "manly"

[redqueen]

9. Yes ... we have to break this addiction to trying to associate "girl" with "inferior".

One rationalization I've heard often is that if parents don't prevent their male offspring from demonstrating any 'girly' tendencies at all - speech, clothing, toy or accessory preferences, etc. - that the other kids will make fun of him / beat him up.

But this only sends the message that there's something wrong with so-called 'girly' things.

And to back up what Madras said above, my daughter likes blue clothes and also lots of typically 'boy' things - and she did get shit for it sometimes. Not as much as a boy would, and not as hateful - but it was there.

BUT! And this is a BIG BUT! If I had stopped her from wearing those clothes, she would have interpreted that as reinforcing this gender crap. Instead she learned that some people are fucked in the head when it comes to issues of what girls and boys are 'supposed' to like/do.

Too many kids are having that shit reinforced - at least as far as 'girly' things are concerned.