Life is a many gendered thing

My family believes in gender roles. Strongly. Which you think would be a little difficult to do since we are a family of primarily women, but nevertheless true.

The Mucha (my absolutely adorable one and only nephew) is not even two years old yet. Countless times I've heard my grandmother remark "That's the boy in him" when he's done something. He throws his blocks around? "That's the boy in him." If you leave him in a queen size bed, he will have touched every square inch of it before morning. Why, you ask? "That's the boy in him." He pulls the folded laundry off the couch? "That's the boy in him." Really? Now, when the girls in my generation, say, ran around, talking to everybody and trying to take things away from people like my nephew does, no one said "That's the girl in them." Likely, they were labeled busybodies and everyone wished that they would just sit still. The Mucha sleeps much like I used to, yet all I remember is having people shake their heads and tell me how I slept wild.

This all annoys me to no end. I do not appreciate his world being circumscribed. I just don't.

Gender is a strange thing. Based on the appearance of their external genitalia we create these ideas of how babies should be and reinforce and shape their behavior accordingly. I want there to be a world where he feels that being a dainty ballerina is as possible as growling football player (okay, I'd prefer he not set himself up for bodily harm...but theoretically I mean). I'd like the gender police to leave folk alone.

The Bougie Princess of America (that would be The Mucha's mother...I swear I heard her call herself that once. I think she thinks it's a good thing), I'm pretty sure, has never mowed her lawn. She has no idea what yard tools are in her garage. She thinks this is The Way It Is Supposed To Be. Sometimes Princess worries me.

Unfortunately for the dear Mucha, this is not just confined to our family. We are but a symptom of the larger society. Good luck, child.