Neutrality is okay in children, but not forever...

     In class the other day we were discussing children and how society forces them into specific gendered roles. During the said discussion several people including Dr. Cook-Huffman gave examples about children who may be of one gender but have qualities or enjoy things that are traditionally perscribed to the other gender. Thinking on these lines I remembered when I was younger and my brother and I used to listen to cassette tapes before we went to bed. On these tapes were two stories that have still stuck with me until today. One was a song that had the lyrics "It's alright to cry, crying gets the sad out of you. It's alright to cry, it might make you feel better." The song was sung by a man and the message that I took from it was that it was in fact okay for men to cry. Another story told of a boy who wanted a doll to play with so he gets a doll and everything is fine and dandy. I as a rule hated dolls but this didn't stop my brother from hearing the song and deciding that he did want one. So that year for Christmas my brother got a doll and we both knew it was okay if he cried. However, as we grew up these things did not last. My brother does not have a doll anymore (actually I'm not sure if he ever liked it in the first place) and my dad makes sure to remind him that it is not alright to shed even a tear on the pitcher's mound. Because when my brother was young, it was okay for him to like dolls and cry now and then. Now that he is older he is expected like everyone else to fit into the nice neat gender box that society has created. What does this teach us? That part of growing up is growing out of gender neutrality, it's simply expected. Right? I don't know. Reality? Yes.