Target: Kids?

Urp.  Its Wednesday, January 25, 2012, its all my fault, and this is The Side.  Grabbed a drink yesterday morning from the market.  The market has a deli which is pretty much the only lunch option in Sandbridge.  I asked what the special was going to be that day.  The lady asked me what I wanted.  I said hamburgers, because I miss burger day all the time.


Fast forward through me shoveling wet sand for hours.  I head up to the market to grab another drink and a bit to eat.  Sure enough the special was hamburgers.  Big old quarter pounders.  Guy in line in front of me looked at it and said, "Burgers, hunh?"


And then the lady behind the counter replied "That's right..." Then she pointed right at me, "... AND ITS ALL HIS FAULT!"

JERKS!!

This story broke late last week, and when I posted the news story on G+ it led to a few good and pretty heated discussion.  Its about the parents who finally revealed the gender of their five year old.  They parents are all about keeping things gender neutral under the pretense that they don't want their child stifled by gender roles.  On the surface it sounds all enlightened and well meaning.  Really, its something really despicable.

This is a case of parents using their child to push their agenda.


Let's be plain: there's nothing wrong with a little boy having an interest in things that society typically considers a girl's thing, and vice versa.  I've got a little girl who loves trains, Legos, super heroes, and thinks Jackie Chan is really cool.  Got another little girl who like dolls and her little tea set.  That's how they roll.  So if this little boy wants to play with a doll, it seems a little weird to me, but that's how he rolls, and he's not hurting anybody.


But here we have parents who are encouraging the boy to play with dolls, as long as it isn't a Barbie, because she's "horrible".  And they're oh so happy to put him in dresses and a tutu.  I really wonder how much is this kid's choice, or are his folks coaching him into cross dressing.  He's not allowed to wear "hyper masculine" things like shirts with skulls, or cargo pants.


I really need someone to explain the cargo pants thing to me.  Those are "hyper masculine"?  What?


Now the kid's gender is revealed because he's going to school.  Here's the part that really is telling.  They're sending the kid to a school that requires uniforms.  So they're having the boy wear boy's pants, but a girl's shirt.  So, they're looking to have things their way even thought the rules are specific.


The parents are using the boy to make a statement.  Just like when those parents sent their poor kid to confront Michelle Bachmann.  Sure, Bachmann is a kook, but you don't coach your child to confront people like that and then send them out in front of a camera for that "gotcha" moment.  I don't care if you've got he best point in the world.  You could be advocating protecting kittens.  YOU DON'T PUT A BULLSEYE ON YOUR CHILD AND SEND THEM OUT IN PUBLIC JUST TO MAKE A POINT!


I want to say I can't believe that some people are this self absorbed, but here we are again.


We have societal norms.  Those do need to get challenged from time to time.  Some people, like these idiot parents, think there won't be a blowback against a kid.  This is failing to consider all of the other kids, not to mention a serious nutters who have no qualms about hurting a child.  Standing out can easily make you a target of unpleasantness.  As a parent you have to teach your child about the world, and society so they can eventually find his or her own place in it.


Let's say hypothetically that this little boy just likes dolls and dresses all on his own without being pushed in that direction by his parents.  The parents should let the boy know that there's nothing wrong with it, but other little boys don't do that, so wearing a dress out in public might not be a good idea.


Now, I'm sure there are people who are upset by this, and aren't happy with me not going along with the gender neutral thing.  There are those people who view gender roles as a "box" which confines a person, and who would want to do that to a child?  Those boxes label "boy" and "girl" are very large and have plenty of room and company.  That gender neutral box is very small and the label is easily mistaken for one that says "freak".  Kids are going to like what they like, and in couple years they'll like something else.


If those parents really gave a damn about letting their child enjoy what he wants to enjoy then those rules about "hyper masculine" things and barbie wouldn't be their.  I just hope those hypocrites have the money for the mountains of therapy this poor kid will need later.

MUSIC!!

Couldn't resist.  Well, I could have, but I thought it was funny.





That's it for me. I'll see y'all Friday.