Tender is the new strong for boys
How to raise “tender boys” in this new, tough world.
I love the idea that girls and women are as strong, vibrant and powerful as any male. Yet as the mother of three young boys, the Girl Power push that has been around for quite a while allows me to ponder the role of gender and our perceptions of strength and beauty.
What if boys were seen as being less than manly? Do people applaud boys being soft and gentle in the same way they applaud girls being strong, confident, boisterous and full of life?
If you peek past the sports, the wrestling and the wild testosterone, my boys are not your average little men. They do not always behave how society expects them to behave. When they were 13, my twins loved to sit quietly on the lawn and read, play in a cubby house built for toddlers, delight on spending time baking cakes (not only licking the spoon!) and they actually enjoy shopping.
When mothers of girls make the inevitable annoying comment, “Poor you. You miss out on having a daughter to go shopping with,” I always reply, “My boys love to shop!” Not typical teenage-boy stuff. (I also point out that shopping is a small part of our lives and there are plenty of other bonding moments to be had with sons.)
