A friend linked to this on Facebook and I've been thinking a lot about it:
Understanding Boys, Understanding Girls. « Higher Unlearning
A couple of thought-provoking quotes from the article:
In this one, he talks about what happened during an exercise where he got 8- and 9-year-old boys to write out what they liked and disliked about being boys, and he asked about one item that a boy said he didn't like:
This one was after he asked a group of grade 8 girls about a video he showed (which you can see on the page) of a spoken-word poet performing a piece where he gushes over his love for a woman.
While I was reading all this, my mind kept on leaping back to something else that made the news recently: the video that was in the OP here:
http://www.religiousforums.com/foru...095-should-church-have-tax-exempt-status.html
Now... I don't want to re-hash everything about that video here, but my original thought when I listened to that preacher was revulsion and anger at the idea that he'd hurt and bully a child for "acting gay", but as I read this article, I thought more and more about the more subtle but IMO still serious harm of just enforcing gender roles and stereotypes in the first place.
So... what does everyone think? Personally, I'm glad I'm at a stage of my life where I can act as I please without worrying about fitting into some pre-defined box, and I hope that the kids around me see from my example that they don't have to worry about doing that either.
Understanding Boys, Understanding Girls. « Higher Unlearning
A couple of thought-provoking quotes from the article:
In this one, he talks about what happened during an exercise where he got 8- and 9-year-old boys to write out what they liked and disliked about being boys, and he asked about one item that a boy said he didn't like:
The item on this list which stood out to me that day was the first one: ‘not being able to be a mother’. I asked the student to explain what he meant. A small, articulate Grade 4 boy stood to talk and put his palms on the table, the same boy who said he wanted to ‘be a politician when I grow up’.
“Did you mean that you can’t give birth since you are a boy?” I asked. Usually one of the standard responses from boys of all ages during this exercise is how they like that ‘we don’t have to give birth’. He explained that he thought of it after watching the mash-up exercise which included video of a girl’s commercial for a ‘Baby Alive’ doll. He shared his thoughts on how ‘boys aren’t shown playing with babies’ and aren’t encouraged to raise children. My mind raced as I wondered just how many of these fifty boys were raised by emotionally-present fathers (those who had present fathers) who did a bit more than throw the ball around.
This one was after he asked a group of grade 8 girls about a video he showed (which you can see on the page) of a spoken-word poet performing a piece where he gushes over his love for a woman.
I asked the girls what would happen to a boy who expressed enthusiasm about love in their school hallways, during recess or in the neighborhood: a boy not trying to play it cool and act all hard, but openly enthusiastic and happy? They said he’d be made fun of. I asked If they would laugh at a boy who acted or felt this way, half of them put their hands up. I asked if this was an example of how they would want their partner to feel about love and being in love.
All thirty girls put their hands up.
While I was reading all this, my mind kept on leaping back to something else that made the news recently: the video that was in the OP here:
http://www.religiousforums.com/foru...095-should-church-have-tax-exempt-status.html
Now... I don't want to re-hash everything about that video here, but my original thought when I listened to that preacher was revulsion and anger at the idea that he'd hurt and bully a child for "acting gay", but as I read this article, I thought more and more about the more subtle but IMO still serious harm of just enforcing gender roles and stereotypes in the first place.
So... what does everyone think? Personally, I'm glad I'm at a stage of my life where I can act as I please without worrying about fitting into some pre-defined box, and I hope that the kids around me see from my example that they don't have to worry about doing that either.