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“Do you want to be a boy?” My aunt has asked my ten year old cousin, Mia, this for the past few years. You might ask why has she been asking this question? It’s actually quite simple. For around three years my cousin has been asking for, what she classifies as, ‘boy’ clothes. My cousin thinks that sweatshirts are just for boys. She actually has quite a few qualms about stores, and how they market clothing to children. As she recently went into a Disney store, she realized only the boys’ section sold sweatshirts. The girls’ section only had the option of princess dresses. Normally she would have just settled for a sweatshirt out of the boys’ section, but she didn’t want StarWars or Avengers merch, she wanted a hoodie with a princess on it. On the one hand, society has evolved so much, but on the other, we’re still pushing old fashion stereotypes onto boys and girls. Societal norms are something that affects our lives from the get go. As kids grow up they are told that pink is for girls, and blue is for boys. Girls are classified as tomboys if they want to play with trucks, and not wear dresses; boys are seen as not manly enough if they play with Barbies. What we as a society regard to be ‘acceptable’ conduct for individuals as well as groups is very limiting. For years many people have been arguing that societal norms are harmful, yet we still perpetuate them. Saying that, I do believe that in the past decade things have changed dramatically and in a short span of time. After gay marriage was legalized in America, 28 // BGQ // April 2020
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there was a big shift towards PC culture, aka Politically Correct culture. We started talking about things deemed ‘socially unacceptable’ in the past in a much more open way, which is a drastic shift to make when you’ve grown up thinking the opposite. When it comes to controversial topics, it always goes back to those generational shifts and political power. Most people who are a part of Generation Z (19952012) grew up under the Obama administration: The first black president, a very anti-bullying, accepting presidency. Baby Boomers (1946-1964) grew up in a society where racism and homophobia were the norm. Those are two completely opposite mindsets that reside in the same social environment. The younger generations are pushing towards open-mindedness, while the baby boomers are still in positions of power. On top of that we have Generation X (1961-1981) and Millennials (1981-1996) who are in the middle. Millennials are, much like Gen Z, more inclined, and accepting towards PC culture. My aunt is a good example of Gen X, and the conflict they face with PC culture. It’s overwhelming, and they don’t fully understand, and people aren’t explaining it to them. Instead they get attacked online for something they did ten years ago. But on the flip side of that coin, younger people now just assume it’s common sense that it’s okay for boys to play with Barbies, because most people just don’t care What was acceptable 20 years ago, isn’t anymore. Norms are constantly changing. We, as a society
