When will we finally let children be who they are?

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NAIRA MANZOOR

We all grew up hearing it: “Don’t cry like a girl,” “Man up,” “Sit properly, you’re a girl,” “Boys don’t play with dolls,” “Sports aren’t for girls,” and the classic “If he teases you, it means he likes you.” We throw these lines around like confetti, without stopping to think how damaging they are. They are not just words. They are conditioning. They are tiny scripts we install into children’s minds about how to behave, feel, dream, and exist.

Boys get the first punch. A boy hesitates before jumping off the slide? Stop being scared, be a man. A boy wants to wear pink shoes? People will laugh, that’s a girl’s color. He gets hurt and cries? Tears are for girls. So he learns the golden rule: hide everything that isn’t aggressive or “masculine.” Then later, when