"That's only for..."

“That’s meant for boys.” “That’s meant for girls.” “That’s a girl mask.”

Every single time someone (mostly young kids) says phrases such as the ones above, i say the same response every time: “That’s not a boy notebook, even girls can use and like that!” (Same vise-versa for boys).

This is what i mean when i say we need to expose our kids and young friends to everything.

Just because they are a boy does not mean that they cannot play with dolls. Just because they are a girl it does not mean that they cannot like superheros.

Just because of their gender, why should they be restricted as to what they play with and are exposed to?

In which textbook does it say that pink is only for girls? Where’s it say that a guy’s favorite color can’t be purple?

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So let’s talk where the root of the problem lies. Society? Schools? Our school education system? Yes, yes, and yes.

We’ve got to start off by exposing children to everything - not just the stereotypical objects based on gender. Just like how you would introduce a doll to a little girl, introduce toy trucks to her too. When showing a little boy Superman, also show him Barbie and Frozen.

There is no such thing as “only for boys/girls.”

We’ve got to come together and actually implement this change because this is a major issue which influences kids’ mindsets right from a young age.

And it’s not the child’s fault. It never has been and never will be. But us, being older than these children who know better, can help them understand that there is no such thing as “boy things” and “girl things.”

Taking it a level further, we can even start to prevent growing children from having these stereotypes from the very beginning through exposure of all things.

The next time you hear someone speak about something as only for a specific gender, tell them that all genders can like and use that (Or just save this post and tell them to read this 🤩🤪).

Change starts with us, right?

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