A few years ago on the Mark 1 version of That Traditional Schoolboy I posted a few things around trends which I felt strongly about.
The right to be addressed as him/he/himself and all other masculine pronouns
The right to have his gender affirmed, being referred to unambiguously as a Boy
The right to single gender spaces
The right to wear shorts, longs or a kilt at school and at work.
The right to adult Male input throughout his life including spending time just with men and other boys in male only activities together to help him grow.
The right not to be discriminated against in any programs and employment opportunities, being assessed purely on his abilities compared to others for the task and nothing else.
Although that Tumblr went and it is unlikely in current conditions anything so forthright could return two years and four months on I still very much feel the same.
Outdoor math lesson by the very kind of man most of us would look up to in flash as boys.
“For boys” is an electric sign we need to be prepared to stand up for because whatever certain usually pre-feminist people say, Boys ARE are Gender distinct from Girls which while individual variations exist, we graduate toward similar hobbies, interests and like the company of fellow males.
To me it is sad that we seem to be going backwards in this regard.
When I was growing up in the 70’s, the goal was to achieve a society in which a male or a female might do or become anything they wanted, without their sexual identity being questioned. Boys could play with dolls, girls could climb trees, anyone could wear anything they wanted or do anything they wanted, without it impacting what we now call “gender.” It was a great goal.
If you want to get a feel for what that movement was about, listen to Marlo Thomas’ , Free to Be You and Me, a famous series of songs recorded to help introduce children to this concept. Boys can cry, girls can compete in races…nothing you say or do changes what you inherently are.
Our conversation about gender appears to have taken a step backwards. Once more we are talking about ‘male’ and ‘female’ behaviours, and suggesting that if one gender does something associated with the other gender, the gender must be wrong. Once more we are creating boxes to define and contain gender identity, and if you step outside the box, it is deemed a denial of that identity.
Some men like to wear women’s clothing. Some girls disdain traditional “feminine” activities. The first group are still men, and the second still girls. We do them a terrible disservice when we read deeper things into that. Not every pair of high heels on a guy is a cry for help.
A trans man feels like he has always been a male, just in a female body. He has always felt like a male, regardless of what he wears. A trans woman has always felt female. Sometimes this manifests in traditional activities, and certainly clothing is used to help present the correct gender, but at its core it is a deeper, more fundamental issue than what toys one plays with or what clothes one is wearing.
I did have a love of flowers and some collectable porcelain dolls of various girls which in that era wasn't very cool to admit to other boys which was a shame but that didn't mean I had a deep seated need to change my sex because I was happy to be a boy and to be a male.
In all other respects as was as rough and tough if not tougher than my peers and having fought attempts to see me as anything other than the boy I am I do feel strongly this message that is getting muddled up by transgender activists needs to be said.
It is personal and no, I won't shut up about it cos it's harming boys who may be as I was a little different from getting on with being the boys they are.
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