There are some pretty antiquated ideas about what makes a "real man," and a lot of them are extremely damaging not only to little boys but to women as well. The notion that men can't be emotional is one of the most dangerous stereotypes of all — and one recent Facebook post pointed out that "rule" isn't just perpetuated by men.
Lyra Balearica recently witnessed such gender stereotyping first hand.
The post reads:
"The way our culture treats boys sickens me. I had an 11 year-old-boy in my room to have blood drawn today. He was crying. Not bawling or throwing a fit, just a few nervous tears. His guardian kept telling him to 'man up' and 'stop asking like a sissy.' Then she threatened to record him crying to show it to all his friends, which made him cry more. I told her we had a strict no recording/photo policy and she got mad at me for 'ruining the joke.'
When this woman went to the bathroom I told the kid it was okay to express his emotions however he needed to and even grown men are scared of needles. That everyone is scared of something and he was brave for doing it even though he was scared.
Stop. Telling. Boys. They. Aren't. Really. Boys. For expressing emotion.
You know why women and femmes have to fear violent men? Because of this sh*t that represses boys and men. Crying doesn't make you weak. Fear doesn't make you weak. But berating a child for showing those things make you one weak ass adult."
Her message really resonated with people, who were thankful she had that talk with the young man.
They also noted how damaging it could have been had she not stepped in.
We need more people advocating for our young boys like this.
They are people and deserve to have emotions too.
