Overdue Update
Two years and four months. A lot have things have changed in that amount of time. I have a beautiful, 9 month old daughter and I'm getting married next June. We moved out of the city and rent a condo in Tinley Park. And I have a great job working as a Public Relations Manager at a tattoo shop in my home town.
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On My Mind Right Now
I had an encounter with a person today who was so closed-minded, I wanted to smack him. We were talking about Power Rangers, because my text alert is the Power Rangers Communicator Alert. This man mentioned how his son, roughly two years old, was playing with a pink power ranger and a princess wand. As the boy tried to put these toys in his play chest the man took them away, and gave them back to his daughter. At first I was thinking, 'okay, the kid took his sister's toys.' Until the man continued on to say "no son of mine is going to be playing with those toys." I know people shouldn't get involved in how other people raise their children but I felt like I got slapped in the face. For some reason, I was under the impression that that particular brand of closed minded thinking was behind us. as a society. All I could do was roll my eyes and say, "to each his own" when all I wanted to do was yell him what an ass he was. This situation reminded me of this web comic I came across a couple months ago. It's all about perspective.
I brought this conversation up with a friend of mine and she made a very good point. She recommended to me next time that happens just say "Toys are only gender-specific because adults make it so." I never really thought about it that way but it's totally true. Kids don't think on their own, "this is pink it's for girls. this is blue it's for boys." It's something that is taught to them by their parents, grandparents, teachers, or other influential people in their lives. From the beginning we're taught what's right and wrong about so many things that shouldn't matter. "It's not right for girls to play with toy weapons" or "it's not right for boys to play with barbies." And it's not just what we choose to play with, it's who. 50 years ago children couldn't play with children who were a different color. Nowadays, race can still be an issue, but sexuality is the biggest obstacle. There are children discovering their orientation every day (and mind you, has nothing to do with what kind of toys they play with) and they are afraid of telling people. Their close-minded parents might not love them, their oppressive church may shun them, their classmates may attack them, and their teachers/administrators may not protect them. It's hard out there for kids and there are a lot of adults, especially parents, tend to make things harder on them.
I am lucky. My parents let me play with what ever toys I wanted. I'm straight but if I were gay, I know my parents would still love and accept me. And I sure as hell am going to do anything in my power to make things easier for my daughter, and any other children I may have in the future. I have quite a few friends who have children and I like to think they would be the same way. I know for a fact one of them is. I guess that's all we can really do for the minute. If my friends and I are raising a future generation, we can teach them how to be the better person, how to stand up for what's right, and how to "be the change you wish to see in the world."
Post Title: "Love For A Child" lyrics by Jason Mraz
