Princess Boy

Growing up, there were only girl cousins on my mom's side of the family. My uncles and my dad did not let that stop them from making sure we knew how to play every sport and play it well. No one discouraged me from wearing sporty clothes or always wanting to show up the boys when it came to some active competition, but the story seems to be different for boys who enjoy things that are socially associated with girls.

Cheryl Kilodavis is attempting to bring light to the other side of the tomboy that has not been as accepted. She wrote a book called My Princess Boy based on her son who liked to dress up in dresses. My Princess Boy

has raised a lot of controversy (surprise!) but as a former tomboy I cannot imagine anyone ever telling me that I could not compete with boys. It is small things like "you throw like a girl" that continue to unhealthily divide gender. Cheryl says the breaking point from when she realized she was going about her son's wants to dress up in dresses the wrong way was when he said "Why can't you just let me be happy mom?"

Earlier this year, J. Crew posted an ad in which a little boy is getting his toenails painted pink by his mother. Of course, the ad sparked a lot of controversy as well. Some mothers responded as "who cares?" defying traditional gender stereotypes, and others responded

negatively. As a woman, I can't bring myself to think that it is wrong to allow little boys to figure out who they are and be able to experience thinks like dress up and painting nails if that is what makes them happy. As women, we were once confined to cooking, cleaning, bridge games, and fashion. We were allowed to "cross-over" into traditional male territory, so why can't men?