Pilipino Star Ngayon Digital has featured a Facebook post that went viral because of its content — a gender-sensitive coloring sheet. The author of the post, Hannah Chevy Fiel, has shared her statement about her daughter’s activity wherein it contains common gender stereotypes. Blue is for boys, Pink is for girls — this is what society keeps telling us. The concept of gender line is limiting people to explore and express themselves.
Fiel stated on her social media post, “I always say to her, ‘walang pang-girl lang, wala ring pang-boy lang, kahit anong gusto mo, pwede yun sayo.’” At a very young age, children start to explore and they are curious about different things. This preconception about what a gender role should possess or do is creating a harmful space for people’s new discoveries and improvement.
In a news report of Rappler, a grade 1 student named Ayesha encounter a gender stereotype on children’s toys on her school worksheet. Ayesha said, “Ate, ang laruan, laruan kasi. Puwede naman lahat ’yan sa babae at sa lalake eh.” The child knows that regardless of gender identity, people can still do or have what they want. This is similar to Fiel’s facebook post wherein school activities are teaching students about gender expression the other way around — stereotype.
Gender line is one of the many causes of bullying. Boys, when interested in activities done mostly by girls such as playing dolls, will get teased and get called names including "gay." Similarly, girls who are interested in sports such as basketball get called names including "tomboy" or "tibo." Both of these have negative connotations suggesting that being gay or lesbian is a bad thing, which, on the contrary, is not a bad thing at all. Worse, gender line may become the root of gender inequality and oppression.
Perhaps, this can even be seen with driving cars wherein people tend to lean on the idea that cars are for men causing absurd beliefs.
Gender line is an oppressive delegation wherein, primarily, it regulates how women shall act such as not wearing “revealing” clothes and, way before, being treated as persons capable only of doing household chores.
Activities, toys, colors, or whatever it may be shall never be associated with gender as it only confuses children concerning their gender identity as such activities and preferences are not prerogatives exclusive to a certain gender. It is harmful and disgusting gender detachment. To borrow the wise words of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, “Gender line helps to keep women not on the pedestal, but in a cage.”
Children must be taught that there is no policy saying that a certain thing must only be used by girls or boys. Our gender must not be a hindrance for us to do something. We are different people with different choices; if someone is being different, just let them be. There is no such thing that should limit people to explore and choose things they really want.
We should diverge from these nonsense, irrational, and prejudicial gender norms; we shall, whoever drew it, erase the gender line.
Pilipino Star Ngayon Digital. (2022, October 1). 'KAHIT ANONG GUSTO MO, PWEDE YUN SAYO' [Image attached] [Status update]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/psngayondigital/posts/133650332749956
Cartoon by: Nika Navarro
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