I’ve just seen this and it made me cross:
Yeah yeah just a meme. Doesn’t harm anyone. Blah blah.
So from my point of view, these are the sort of low level, background messages that are just as harmful to children’s perception of gender roles as girls/boys toy aisles and clothes and so on.
What’s it saying? Boys can’t be nurturing? Females roles are soft and gentle? Bollocks to that!
I have two boys. They love each other so much. I have a photo from when small was 3 days old. The pride and adoration in his brother’s face is greater than the girl in this photo. And it hasn’t diminished (yet) over their 4 years together. They are “best brothers” and I hope it stays that way. They can’t get up in the morning without a hug. Small won’t go to school without a hug & kiss goodbye from his big brother.
Why are we putting gender biased expectations or preconceptions on our young children? I mean really?
Do we want our daughters to grow up believing that if they don’t have an immediate connection with their babies that’s not normal?
Do we want our sons to grow up believing that their role is to tease and muck about, not to be affectionate?
Yeah so that’s a really big conclusion to draw from a couple of photos and a caption.
But I’m not saying it’s absolute. It’s about the little cumulative impacts of the images and adverts and TV shows that teaches our kids what’s expected of then as much as how we treat them as their parents.
So please, don’t be influenced by this or let your kids believe it.
Smelly Socks and Garden Peas 
This is 100% accurate, especially the part about it being seen as “just xyz” that somehow this conditioning is harmless. It isn’t. Anything that reinforces norms based on a set of decided rules or expectations is harmful and it is based on stereotypes. Genders are not monoliths and it should always be challenged. When we were growing up, my sister wanted a telescope and the “girls” ones were pink and had less technical power/spec so she bought the “boys” one — this messaging was clear as day and a huge disappointment. Great post!
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I know right! My boys are currently loving playing families with their teddies, but my 8 yr old wouldn’t dare tell his friends that. Its deeply ingrained already.
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