MUMMY SAYS
Respecting various shades of gender
- Published: 20/12/2011 at 03:33 AM
- Newspaper section: Life
As society seemingly gains more acceptance of the "third" gender, many parents and other well-meaning friends and relatives develop fear that their boys will not grow up to be a man. As a mother of a boy, I have heard countless sentences that shout "Do not [insert a very ordinary action here, like let my 17-month-old boy play with cooking utensils] or he will grow up to be gay!" accompanied by a "horrendous" story about a friend of a friend's neighbour's son who grew up and found himself attracted to the same sex, just because he did the aforementioned thing when he was little.
I have even met a father who got mad at a friend who bought his son a T-shirt with a tiny, almost invisible flower on it. "My son is a boy! Why are you giving him a shirt with a flower? Do you want him to turn gay or something?" and of course that shirt was thrown away, despite the fact that it was otherwise very gender neutral.
I let my son play with whatever he likes, and I believe that at this age, he does not know the difference between toys and kitchenware. If it makes noise, he will play with it. Some of my friends who see him whipping an empty bowl with a whisk warn me I should not let him, because it is a feminine action. Some even laugh that he will make a good "housewife" when he grows up.
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About the author
- Writer: Napamon Roongwitoo
- Position: Outlook Writer
