Why Can't Boys Be Like Girls? | Teen Ink

Why Can't Boys Be Like Girls?

April 28, 2016
By destielrises BRONZE, Chesterfield, New Jersey
destielrises BRONZE, Chesterfield, New Jersey
3 articles 0 photos 3 comments

The day of her birth started with the pink binkie and pink blanket.  The day of his birth started with the blue binkie and the blue blanket.  Even from when we are younger than 2 minutes, our gender stereotypes are defined for us.
Gender roles and stereotypes are quite easy to identify in our society today if you pay attention.  As the New York Times article “Boys and Girls, Constrained by Toys and Costumes” by Claire Cain Miller mentions, if you search the internet for nurse Halloween costumes, only girls in skirts with stethoscopes show up.  It also mentions how kids’ toys also fall into this stereotype with blue “boy” toolboxes, and pink “girl” kitchen sets.  Also, in  the article, “Why Are We Gender-Stereotyping Our Children?” written by Kate Tuttle for Dame Magazine, it is mentioned how NASA used to reply to little girls expressing their want to become astronauts.  What did these letters say? They expressed how the company was not planning to ever employ women.  Granted, this was the 1960s, but it still shows how the gender roles were set and were not made for changing, which was, and still is, unfair for everyone of every gender. 


As acknowledged earlier, gender stereotypes are defined before we’re even a day old.  Granted, it is easier to just give a baby a blanket no matter the color because they won’t notice, right? Well, many Americans cherish their childhood blankets and/or stuffies.  This means that if you define a child’s gender roles when they’re younger then it will impact them throughout their lives, no matter how young they start out with the stereotypes. 


Many people think that boys cannot wear skirts or dresses, and girls cannot wear suits or ties.  This is ridiculous because they are just clothes.  People are telling other people which clothing pieces they can and cannot wear over their body; that these pieces of cloth define who you are.  This is kind of really ridiculous, honestly. 


It might be difficult to change the point of view of people. Some people just don’t want to change.  But, just because they don’t want to, it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. 


Many people suffer every day because of the roles, especially boys.  Many boys who wear skirts or dresses to school get sent home because of it.  Our society needs to change.  People are more than their clothes, and their expression of themselves shouldn’t be predetermined.  Gender stereotypes are unacceptable for everybody.



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on May. 14 2016 at 6:52 pm
SalemKarr BRONZE, Texarkana, Texas
1 article 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
Always be yourself because you are unique and awesome, and no one can tell you different!

Great article. I completely agree with you on the gender stereotyping topic. You did an amazing job explaining your opinions about the topic. Hopefully, one day there will be no more stereotyping,