http://www.upworthy.com/they-asked-if-she-had-anything-else-she-wanted-to-say-to-the-audience-thats-when-she-took-it-home
I watched that earlier and hearing Jane Fonda talk about the way boys were criticised for remaining emotionally intact and being 'sissys' as it were made me think about something. When I was younger (I am three years older than my little brother) I used to make fun of him for doing anything slightly effeminate, because 'that's not what boys do'. This only occurred after I started school and learnt 'what boys do' and 'what girls do' and my mum always got so angry when I would say anything to him and I didn't get it. I just thought she wanted him to be a 'mummy's boy' and now I realise that I was the one in the wrong. It isn't fair to criticise boys for being emotional, for wanting to play with toys their big sisters play with and for getting upset about things that I was 'allowed' to get upset about. I am so very sorry that I ever imposed any of this on him because I was wrong. I just want him to know it is always okay to be who you are.
My brothers used to have long hair, well they all still do apart from one (wanted to be Legolas) and it used to embarrass me so much. But at the same time when the one with now short hair cut it off I cried so much, because he didn't want to, but he felt that he had to (and he was sick of having to flash people to prove he was a boy). I remember one particular instance when myself and him were at a soft play area, and a boy had trapped him in a ball pool was forcing him to show his penis to prove he was a boy, I punched him (remember kids, violence doesn't solve thing, it totally is worth it sometimes though). Then when the punched kid went to his father, the father started saying that 'no real boy had long hair' this resulted in my brother actually flashing him and me again punching him (a grown man); we were thrown out of the play area. One of my other brothers used to do ballet, and he was actually very good, but relentless teasing (play ground and from the girls in his class) made him switch to break dancing. But my second brother (the ballet one) has never really cared what people think and has continued to have long hair. And I always try to stop the 'he's such a girl' comment in my home.
Star ballet dancer Sergei Polunin
No comments:
Post a Comment