Pink is the colour of ...

Well, came across a rant on how parents enforce gender based stereotypes on their children. You can read it here. Do read the comments that follow.

I agree to most of the factual things that the post says, regarding how people view dressing up and playing with dolls as girlie stuff and not something "little boys do". It is evry hard for the kids who just want to have a nice time and are not really thinking about those gender stereotypes that are reinforced by the people around you - you know those who make all those "gay cracks" around the kid who is playing with dolls.
I also think that kids should be left on their own. They should be allowed to do whatever they enjoy doing and not be forced to stick to an agenda of growing up. But there is a caveat. We need to realise that kids would be influenced by the people around them. If they keep hearing gay jokes made one him (I am talking primarily of male kids), he might start identifying himself so and might be more confused if he is actually not so. I suppose it takes a bit of mentoring and talking to the kid and helping him understand the cruel and stupid world that we live in (sounds too philosophical a discussion to have with a child? Well, sometimes kids surprise us with their sensitivity. Adults' senses have generally become dulled by the process of "living").
I totally blame the society and I get very angry when I see people treat their kids irresponsibly but like quite a few people's experience, as seen in the comments, I could not have done anything as by dint of begetting them, parents get a right of authority over their children that borders on dictatorial. They just do not allow the children to grow on their own. Yes, there is no doubt that some of them love and care for their children but most of them are not mature enough to have kids and usually screw up the child's life more than helping him/her grow.