‘Gender Colors’ by Aseel, Palestine

Pink is the color for girls and blue for boys. Dolls for girls, cars for boys. They say that boys prefer cars and the color blue and that girls prefer dolls and pink but they are rather taught from a young age that they should prefer it that way. Little girls and boys are prepared for their gender roles, the roles they’ll need to step into when they grow up.
It is our fault that girl colors and boy colors exist.

That is something I consider as “bad”. Like, who started all that? Colors don’t have genders!  So let’s start there. Or should I say, stop! Stop dressing your baby boy in blue only. Start dressing him in pink or red. Who cares?

I asked my little cousin about what she wants to become when she’ll grow up. She said,” I want to become an astronaut and want to meet the moon bunny! ” Her mother smiled at me and shook her head sideways in a little bit of disbelief. I could see that she was proud of her big dreams but I was afraid my cousin’s dreams would be crushed into fine pieces when she’ll grow up and become yet another victim of gender stereotyping.

People think boys should go to the army or become police officers because they are stronger and more agile and girls should go for medical science, dancing, and teaching because girls are more compassionate and gentle than boys. In my opinion, these prejudices should be broken and parents, as well as children, need to be educated about this.

The world needs people who can do their job well and help it prosper. It shouldn’t be filtered and shaped by this nonsense we keep hearing  ‘girls can’t do it’ or ‘boys can’t do that’.

We, as a society feel an enormous need to put everyone and everything in their own little box to make our lives feel a little more organized. It’s time to step outside of these boxes! You should be able to be who you want to be regardless of whether you are a girl or a boy. You should be able to do things you love, be it playing soccer as a girl or dancing as a boy. You should be able to cry and you should be able to have tears in your eyes from or laughter. Your gender does not define who you are as a person, so why do we keep trying to let it? Scream at the top of your lungs, laugh till your cheeks hurt, text first, listen to music you like, show your emotions and be who you want to be – you’re not defined by the boundaries of your gender.

Say NO To Gender Stereotypes!