Boys Can _____________.

This blog is inspired by a post I saw on instagram by @helloprimary that said “Boys Can”, followed by images of boys being kind, dancing, wearing pink, being scared, and being feminists. It reminded me of something that happened a few weeks ago when I was visiting my dad and some of my cousins came over.

A few weeks ago my 1 year old boy cousin was told to stop acting like a girl.

My immediate reaction was to interrupt and say “hey, don’t.... “ and I got stuck. I couldn’t think of a quick enough word or phrase to express that what they were saying was damaging, and for so many reasons.

Gender and gender norms are indeed a social construct, & when using “like a girl” as an insult it is only reinforcing negative stereotypes against women.

“Like a girl” can be hurtful & harmful for girls, now let’s also think about how that misguided insult can affect boys, their sense of self, how they view & treat women, and their freedom of expression.

How many things can you imagine he could’ve been doing when they said that? Now ask yourself why that is what your assumed? Is there a quick word or phrase for that? Have you experienced something similar? How did/would you disrupt this?