Nailed It

I've been seething since the weekend. A parent of one of Pickle's friends told him "you'll have to stop Mummy painting your nails in a few years". I turned around and politely told this man that Pickle actually asks me to paint his nails and chooses the colour each time.

The "offending" toes - outrageous!

I'm allowing Pickle to express his individuality as he wants. He wants to put the pretty colours on his toes, like Mummy does. Is he likely to want to conform to gender norms down the track? Probably. But it will be his choice, not something I'm going to force on him.

Pickle has a tea set, he has a baby doll he nurtures, along with a myriad of stuffed toys.  Not to mention Lulu and Hermes, who are subjected to his attentions he also adores. He also has a Buzz Lightyear, dinosaurs, light sabers, laser guns and a train set. He plays with the lot, in fact the dinosaurs often have tea parties.

As a society we're (still) figuring out that girls/women are as capable boys/men - if I had a girl, I'd be buying her Goldieblox.  If you don't know what they are, there are some excellent videos on YouTube here and here, and a fantastic TEDtalk.

Can we do the same for our boys/men please? (But in reverse, if that makes any sense?) They can be - and indeed are - loving, caring and nurturing.

Picture from Stonewall UK - a great resource site

And what about Rainbow individuals? As a counsellor, I particularly want to work with children, young people and their families. The risk figures around mental health and suicide sky-rockets for Rainbow youth. By raising Pickle to be accepting of all people, I hope he'll be an influencer in his generation on acceptance of all people.

If I painted that man's toe nails, would it change his sexuality or preferred gender? I promise to get off my soapbox soon, but would really love it if you watched this video that asks the question gay people get asked all the time... and this mind-expanding TEDtalk about transgender youth.

As a girl, I think I had the best of both worlds, I had dolls (and cats) I dressed up, but I also climbed trees, and rode both a bike and a skateboard... I'd like for Pickle to have the same opportunities.

Do your boys paint their toe nails or play with tea sets? Do you allow your girls to build with blocks or train sets? 

Cheers, KangaRue :)

PS. Thanks for allowing me my rant!

What if being straight was frowned upon instead?

I've mentioned before that I'm an advocate of the LGBT community, especially around youth support. As someone who empathises with the LGBT (GLBTQI) community, I thought I "got it". That is, until I saw the Love is all you need? video (below) earlier this week. It affected me so deeply, I was a sobbing mess by the end of it. And I'm not even hormonal at the moment. 

I almost didn't watch it, the premise is a little cheesy and it is quite long. But I'm really glad I stuck with it, as it is beautifully rendered. A simple concept, the genuineness displayed through both the writing and acting, allows this to avoid the cheddar territory.

So I'll take this opportunity to give you an early heads-up that WEAR IT PURPLE DAY 2013 is FRIDAY, AUGUST 30th. The last Friday in August is set aside to support rainbow young people, as everyone has a right to be proud of who they are.  Register your interest, be kept up-to-date or get involved by clicking here. Rest assured, I'll be making future posts closer to the date to remind you.

I'd love to know what you thought of the video? Will you wear purple on 30th August? Any ideas about hosting a Wear It Purple day?

Cheers, KangaRue :)

This is not a sponsored post, just something I believe in passionately.