Broaching the subject of gender roles and stereotypes is still a tough endeavor, especially when it comes to our children. For one Pennsylvania mother, however, she doesn’t shy away from them.
In fact, she actively breaks the stereotype by allowing his son to be his authentic self; she doesn’t care if he likes wearing nail polish or girly clothes. As long as her son is happy, she will be happy for him.
That’s why when she found out that her son is being bullied at school for being who he is, she wrote a heartbreaking post on her Facebook account.
“My six-year-old son likes to wear nail polish,” Devon Berryanne’s post begins. “He likes to wear girls’ clothes and tutus. He tells me about the boys he likes at school. He says he will marry them and adopt babies.”
Maybe he will outgrow it, Devon says. Maybe he won’t. Either way, as her mother, she will love and accept his son for who he is.
“A couple days ago he came home and told me again about kids teasing him at school for his nail polish, and for the first time ever I considered talking him into taking it off,” her post continues. “Into hiding that part of himself.”
This was because for the for time ever, Devon was scared that her son would be gunned down one night when he was out having a good time with his friends.
She wondered if it would be better to stop appeasing her son—then she remembered the reasons why she let him do what he wants in the first place.
It makes him happy.
Nothing hurts more than seeing your child truly sad, Devon says. Pretending to be someone you’re not to please other people only leads to self-loathing, depression and suicide.
Those things, too, made her afraid.
“I want this world to change,” Devon’s post continues. “To be better for him. To DESERVE him. Because he is a wonderful, amazing person. He wants to be president. He thinks he is a ninja. He listens when you explain things and remembers it forever. He notices when you’re sad and tries to cheer you up. He has a light about him that just can’t be put out, no matter how hard some people have tried.”
As scared as Devon is, she knows that fear won’t change the world for the better. What the world needs isn’t more fear, but love and acceptance.
“So yesterday, we went out and bought more nail polish, and today we wore tutus,” the proud mother says. “So here he is world. See my boy for the amazing person he is. Show him love. Show him acceptance. Help us change the world into one that deserves him.”
READ: 10 things you should stop saying to your child – and what to say instead
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