I had recently witnessed a seemingly innocent act of a child get blown way out of proportion on social media. I know… expecting a common sense reaction from trolling internet antagonists would be the equivalent of herding cats in the effort of later using them to locate buried treasure. It is both asinine and unlikely. But allow me to continue, her son innocently discovered her make-up kit and proceeded to adorn his face with lipstick (as nearly any child would do). Her mistake was assuming that the world is flourishing with rational and intelligent human beings. Placing said image onto social media with a whimsical caption, something in the vein of: “Look what I walked in on. LOL”.
Now, anyone who has children or has simply ever met a child would see the aforementioned photo, laugh, ‘like’, and go on with their lives. As I did. However, I later went on to find out that she had received multiple sources of criticism from those who claimed to be “concerned” that she may be “fostering homosexual tendencies” in her son. Let me state for the record and with utter seriousness: “What in the flying fuck, people?!”.
Gender Roles Are For Days of Old
Gender roles are an archaic construct of days past when men and women had designated positions within a (dis)functional society. The idea of the “hunter/gatherer” mentality has long since been extinguished (thankfully). We have come to an understanding that all people are created equal and all are individuals by nature. It is 2025, afterall.
We can not place the burden of gender expectations onto the shoulders of our children. We now live in a country that acknowledges diversity as a cornerstone of civilized progress and certainly can’t revert back to the misogynistic, sexist, and homophobic rantings of prior generations. For fuck sake, currently many top-ranked fighters are women and the majority of the leading fashion houses are spear-headed by male designers. We are not in the 50’s any longer and let’s all be grateful for that.
Children Aren’t Defined By Their Private Parts
When you tell a child that their dreams and aspirations are predetermined by their private parts, you are not only perpetuating bigoted stereotypes but, are also doing them and the planet a severe†disservice. As opposed to allowing your child to discover their identity and reinforcing core values such as open-mindedness and acceptance, you are creating yet another obstacle for them to overcome. Not to mention facilitating the spread of the growing contagion of bullying. Yeah, that’s right, if you harbor fanatical views on “what’s what” in the world and proceed to ladle them onto your kids, they become assholes too… something to consider.
Look, I’m not normally this preachy and for those of you who have managed to make it to the end of this rant-filled post, give yourself a round of applause. Because you are the parents who will change the world’s perception of gender limitation through your children. To those of you who hadn’t, on the other hand, I simply hope your children acquire the wisdom to see where you went so dreadfully wrong.