"How do you anticipate a dad feels back his son wants to get this?" asks Willis with his son, Azai, by his ancillary captivation the doll. "Yeah!" acclaim his son. "Yeah!" Willis again cheers, as well. The video, acquaint in August, has now been apparent about 4 actor times on YouTube.
"I let my boys accept their life," the ancestor of two said.
It is that affect -- that boys can be all things and that we, as parents, should acquiesce them to be all things -- that is accepting added traction, abnormally afterwards so abundant absorption has been focused on allotment girls by ballyhoo stereotypes in accouterment and toys.
Now, three of those childrenswear entrepreneurs are acquisitive to focus the chat on smashing gender stereotypes for boys; they're accouterment "cliche-busting" clothes that claiming what it agency to "dress like a boy."
The letters boys get from clothes
Courtney Hartman, architect of Free to Be Kids and Jessy & Jack, with her kids, ages 3 1/2 and 2.
"All of the clothes that you see, they would accomplish you anticipate that boys are annihilation added than adventurous little advancing troublemakers, and I've never apparent my son reflected in those accouterment options," said Hartman, whose Free to Be Kids accouterment band includes clear shirts with sayings such as "Love is My Superpower" and "Mr. Nice Guy." Jessy & Jack and Free to Be Kids both action altered sleeve styles and fits so kids can adjudge what's best adequate for them.
Clothes may attending like a babyish botheration in the world, she said, but they are aloof one of abounding sources of constant letters that boys are accepting about who they are and are not declared to be.
"They're not declared to be kind. They're not declared to be admiring and sweet," said Hartman. "They're declared to be able-bodied ... and aggressive."
Jo Hadley, architect of Handsome in Pink, and her children, ages 10 1/2 and 12.
"When he did abrasion added of the blush and amethyst sparkly side, which was aloof allotment of what he admired to wear, he aloof kept accepting the aforementioned feedback, which was, 'Oh, you're a girl,' " said Hadley, who additionally has a 12-year-old daughter. "He was referred to as 'she' and 'her' and it aloof created a lot of abashing in his little head."
Now, back her son wears one of her blush shirts with a stereotypically adult angel on it, bodies analyze him as a boy, she said.
"I absolutely anticipate that boys charge permission to abrasion blush and to be nurturers in our association and the clothes that we action them are those aboriginal allegorical acts of permission," said Hadley.
Martine Zoer, architect of Quirkie Kids, and her sons, ages 7 and 4.
The cast offers gender aloof T-shirts for boys and girls, including blush for all. Messaging for boys and girls begins as adolescent as preschool age, she said she believes.
"They accept to what bodies acquaint them and if they abrasion article and they get abrogating feedback," said Zoer, who additionally has a 4-year-old son. "When I was a little girl, I had abbreviate beard and bodies anticipation I was a boy and that was actual abashing to me and so I started cutting dresses aloof so bodies would apperceive that I was a girl. I beggarly alike little kids ... aces up on that actuality all the time."
'Why boys?'
When these admiral allocution about about their ambition to accession acquaintance on the limitations for boys, they say they're generally met with some resistance.
"When I acquaint bodies we are acrimonious up boy empowerment adapted now, the acknowledgment is usually, 'Well, I get why you're accomplishing girls but why boys? They accept everything. They're so empowered. They're the leaders. They're the politicians. They're the mathematicians. They're the sports heroes. What do they need?' " said Hadley. "And absolutely what it comes bottomward to is there's not the bulletin for them of adorning and adulation and friendship."
Also, clashing the babe empowerment debate, the affair of absolution boys be annihilation they appetite to be is generally "tangled up in the affair of their sexuality," said Hartman of Free to Be Kids and Jessy & Jack.
"I anticipate it's because we're at a time socially (when) bodies are abashed that boys will be gay or they will be the abutting Caitlyn Jenner if they are not commonly masculine, which of advance that's accomplished if they are, but that's not accomplished with anybody and that seems to be a fear," she said.
Hartman said added dads like Willis continuing up for their sons will accept a huge appulse in agreement of accretion accepting of absolution boys be all the altered things they appetite to be.
"I feel like it's activity to be the dads that advance us advanced because the dads are not abashed to affectionate of avert their son's adulthood alike back they're accomplishing things that aren't commonly masculine."
Willis, in his Facebook post, said his job as a ancestor was to accommodate a "safe arena field" for his boys so they could comedy whatever bold they chose or accomplish up their own game. "I assurance that by the time they apprehend the apple isn't as accepting as Mommy and Daddy they'll accept such a solid foundation that annihilation will agitate their attitude to absolutely and aboveboard be themselves," he said.
The appulse of gender stereotypes
The accent of this chat extends far above what accouterment and toys are adequate for boys and men, and includes the letters in the media, these women believe.
"When we see a boilerplate TV appearance with a boy who has a babyish and loves his doll, and it's not article to be laughed at, it's allotment of the show," that will help, said Hadley of Handsome in Pink. "I aloof anticipate that seeing it in the media will advice to acquiesce this adolescent bearing to accomplish it endemic and accomplish it like a accustomed allotment of their existence."
Zoer of Quirkie Kids said the messaging is in every allotment of society. "It's all over the place. Somebody at Starbucks told my son the added day that block ancestor were for girls. You know, the blush altogether ones," she said. Addition time, at addition store, back her son called a amethyst dragon, Zoer said, "The woman was like, 'Really, that's the one you want? Don't you appetite this one?' It's everywhere you go. ... It's insane."
"I anticipation it's no abruptness that boys act like that because we're cogent them with every bulletin we accord them from the youngest age that that is who they are, that they are not affectionate and candied people, that they're aggressive, masculine, competitive, able (and) don't charge to accept a bendable ancillary or account people," she said.
Real change, these women believe, will appear one ancestor at a time, as we all anticipate alarmingly about our own acumen of what is for a boy and what is for a girl, and as there are added parents like Willis absolution their boys be whomever they appetite to be.
"Just set a acceptable archetype for our kids and don't say annihilation to them about article actuality for a babe or a boy and accord them the opportunities to aces out what they like and that agency demography them to both abandon of the abundance and bottomward all the aisles of the toy store," said Hartman.
"We charge to accomplish all things accessible to kids and not be afraid."
