Mama was very moved this morning by a beautifully written article that popped up on AOL (along with the T and A dreck that normally pops up!), written by a mother of four sons. “Boys will be girly” is a must-read for every parent, and not only those with little anthros who wish to wear clothes of the opposite gender or little boys who want only pink, sparkly toys, or who wish to take ballet or little girls who want to play football. Our poor, poor world, full of prejudice against tiny children who make unusual personal choices, needs to CHANGE.
Hasn’t anyone seen “Billy Elliot”, for heaven’s sake? And are we so narrow-minded as to label every male dancer as gay? And so what if they are. It’s none of your business!
Papa tells the story of a couple who wanted their children to be treated with equality and for Christmas, gave the boy a doll and the girl a truck. The parents watched bemused as the little boy put the doll on the floor and pulled it along, shouting, “Vroom, vroom” while the little girl rocked her truck to sleep.
Okay, so they chose their paths. But some boys would have loved having the doll.
So what about little boys who adore dolls and dressing in girls’ clothes and who want to take ballet or any other gender-related activity? What about little girls who are suffering under their pink frilled party dresses when all they want is to wear jeans and climb trees? Mama tells me about a friend of hers; the grandmother insisted on dressing her grandchild in little dresses and all the accoutrements of little girl-hood while the child suffered horribly, knowing full well that there was something else that SHE wanted but could not express at such a young age. These kids must go through terrible pain, ostracized by their peers, jeered at in school, and made to feel like freaks when they are simply human beings being human.
Mama thinks the author of the story cited above should get a medal, should go on tour and speak out about prejudice against gender choices.
Even I, a lowly kitty, can understand the word freedom, and you can bet your boots that when I make a choice around here, it is respected. You think I’m weird just because I like to kick a soccer ball around? Or do flying leaps on a whim?
My heart goes out to all little boys who love pink, who love to dress up in Princess clothes, who love an adagio or an arabesque more than being crushed under a heap of bodies in a rugby match. Chances are these lively children will grow into men who soar instead of those who are forever shackled to convention by their prejudices.
Give me a good sauté any day, and I’m grinning like a Cheshire…
This is not yours truly–it is a great photo by Zoran photo, but I am equally capable of THAT leap!
We felines don’t indulge in this gender crushing nonsense! Why do these apes think it’s ok for them to do it? Whilst we ponder, could you show us your arabesque Loulou please?
Luff Mungo
Well, mama is searching around in my pics for my arabesque and she’s just about to find it…