The societal pressures involved here is why I now prefer having two daughters. Now I get to see lots of kids on a regular basis, being a girl seems to be easier these days than being a boy if you deviate from society's notions of gender norms.<p>My eldest daughter flip flops between playing with dolls to wearing a knight's costume and 'defending' her friend who's dressed as a prince. My daughters oten wear boys clothes and have "boys" toys but can also pull off hot pink, dresses, "girlie" shoes and all the rest. Could a 6 year old boy pull off wearing a pink Barbie top to school in the same way?<p>Intriguingly, there's not a single boy in my daughter's street dancing or gymnastics clubs and they're not gender limited or oriented. The odd one or two have turned up but never lasted more than a single session.. Nor are there any men at my daughter's nursery. Or likely to be at her first school. This is rather sad because it surely must lead to kids becoming even more convinced of gender norms and expectations.
> <i>It’s easy to find news of boys suspended and expelled for growing their hair</i><p>Huh? This one is not just scandalous to me, it's… <i>alien</i>.