Gender.
According to one of my brilliant students it is a sphere.
As a mom....it is freaking stressful.
I, who love all people regardless of sexual orientation (love to my LGBTQ peeps) find myself stressed out about gender roles closer to the holidays than ever.
A few years ago a mom posted about her son being gay (or not) and the internet lit on fire!
This was the adorable image attached:
People were taking sides.
"How dare you let your son do that?!?!"
"You go girl!"
I as an idiot newly wed didn't totally understand. I would support my child.
I still feel that way.
But then....
One of my boys prefers a pink toy over a blue and people say "That is a girl color".
The Little Mermaid or Frozen is playing and they are entranced by the princesses.
My mother in law purchases a high chair with pink flowers and birds and someone says
"Why did you buy a girl one?!?"
I look at things on Amazon for Christmas and the toys I lean toward are a tea set, a purse and a kitchen.
And a panic clenches my stomach
"WHAT WILL PEOPLE THINK".
That is my fear.
I love my boys.
They love to splash in a bird bath that a cat may (or may not have) drank out of,
they love playing in the laundry, they love pink things and they love cars.
Why am I worried?
It is proven that people are born the way they are and are basically nurtured into an environment that teaches them to love themselves or loathe themselves.
(I am paraphrasing a HUGE debate into a sentence)
But...apparently.... that is what I think.
So why then do I say
"Oh, Finley is all boy"
Why don't I just say "Oh, Finley is all Finley"
I hate those stereotypes.
I went to women's college.
I have recently emptied and refilled and reset my water heater.
I know how to drive a fence post, work a table saw, and only shave my legs to the point where they are exposed.
I also like manicures.
Mr. Boo probably spends more time on personal grooming than I do.
Why is that girly?
Why is me liking beer, chicken wings and farting manly?
Who decided this crap?
Why is blue boy and pink girl?
Why are girls supposed to be nurses and teachers and boys pilots, cowboys and doctors?
Why isn't it okay for a man to stay home with the kids?
Why don't girls speak up in STEM classes?
Why don't boys write?
Because we scare them.
I am terrified for my boys.
I am so worried of someone crushing who they are by trying to fit them into a mold.
I have seen it in my friends.
I have seen it in my students.
I am pretty sure Jesus taught us all to love.
For me love is unconditional.
Can't we just love our brothers and sisters for who they are?
For the "content of their character"?
Not for the color of their skin or if they are "male" or "female"?
I just want my children (current and future) to grow up believing in themselves.
Knowing I and the rest of the world love and accept them.
NO. MATTER. WHAT.
I just want them to be kind.
And accepting of others.
And more importantly themselves.
Can't we all try to make their world better than ours?
This is all I wish.
Let it be.
Don't try to fit anyone into a box.
"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you."
John 15:12
Love each other.
