Expectations

Last night I listened to "This American Life" on my new iPod. The stories on the show were Valentine themed, of course, but one really struck me. It was about the friendship between two young children who are transgender. Both are boys, physically, but they dress as girls, and see themselves as girls.

The parents of one of the boys spoke about how their son enjoyed playing with dolls at a very young age. He was always very flamboyant, and enjoyed dressing up. Being caring parents, they encouraged him to be who he wanted to be. Now their son is asking to be called their daughter.

My heart aches for these two young men. The other kids at school are brutal. They have very few friends. My heart also goes out to the parents. They want their children to be happy - to be comfortable in who they are.

And yet, these two children are boys. They may wish they were girls and feel more comfortable acting and dressing like girls, but ultimately, they are not girls.

What put this idea in the heads of these kids that they are inwardly girls despite the outward evidence to the contrary? Societal expectations. Boys don't like playing with dolls, right? Boys are tough and rough, right? Boys don't cry. Boys aren't sensitive. Boys like sports. Boys wear blue, not pink. Boys have short hair. Boys like guns and killing stuff.

To me it is so clear that there is evil here. Isn't it evil that a young man who doesn't fit our societal mold of man-ness is then convinced that despite his physical appearance he is somehow woman? At this young age, this child has been set on the path to be an outcast for the rest of his life, all because he doesn't fit into the mold our society has made for him.