Man Up!

I saw this video today and thought I would share it with you. Gender stereotyping and stigmatisation works on both sides. As much as I see the ideals and goals and role models for my daughter streamlined for a world of pink and glitter and princesses, I see for my son the ideals, goals and role models suppressed into a fighting, gun touting, emotionless macho.
I feel so blessed to have two kids and a boy and girl, they are such different people, they're their own people, and my relationship with them is so different, they have different needs and different desires and I as a parent need to respond to them differently.

If I had to pigeonhole them as the world tries to make me, I would say 100% that my son is the "weaker" he is the "girl" he is extremely sensitive, he sometimes has a sad thought and will burst into tears, we were listening to the soundtrack to Les Miserables the other day and I was narrating the story and at the end when Jean Valjean dies he cried because he was moved by the music. He lay down on the floor of the cinema last year beating his fists and covering his eyes shouting why did I want to watch this film, both in Star Wars and the Jungle Book when a character dies. My daughter is also sensitive (Poor them... they both inherited that from me...) But she seems to have an inbuilt support system within herself where she can rationalise, she can compartmentalise, she can move through her emotions, he just hits a wall at full speed.

These are just my kids they're individuals, but the fact that already my son is being told by exterior forces that he should 'man up' he shouldn't cry, that he's 8 1/2 that that's not what 'boys' do. That he should like watch, play certain things breaks my heart..!
SO as much as me being a women I am hypersensitive to all the BS my daughter will face, that, I witness and feel and battle against these stigmas my daughter will face day in day out...
My son, i've got your back and you can always cry and have a hug x