I DON'T want to be a princess, but he can be..

Right?

With Halloween approach in the U.S, little kids, and their over-enthusiastic parents, are preparing their costumes. There are in the U.S, like most countries around the world, set gender roles and rules when choosing a 'socially acceptable' costume. In short, boys can't be princesses.

This is a very interesting video circulating YouTube at the moment, which shows parents' reactions to a young boy wanting to be a princess for Halloween. Sadly, most parents attempted to dissuade the boy from from his costume choice, explaining that he would get bullied for such a costume. The same experiment is shown with a girl wanting to be spider-man, and receives mostly the same reactions.

I never dressed up for Halloween, it's not really celebrated in Australia, but I know that if I had of chosen a costume, it would not have been a princess. And that is OK. Gender roles are social constructions, serving only to restrict and victimise those who differ from the narrow definition of 'male' and 'female'.

What these parents sadly fail to realise is that the bullying they are trying to protect their children from, is caused solely by this projected attitude towards gender, amplified within society. Basically, if no one worried about gender stereotypes, it would not be an issue; stereotypes are not natural, or innate, the issue is created and sustained through these exact actions of reinforcing strict roles and expectations.

While it is easy to dismiss any transgression of the parents in this particular video as being simply protective and worry for their children , this this restrictive attitude is not only present in this situation. Gay rights, feminist concerns and racial issues are simply 'attitude problems'.

It is tragic how easily these momentousness issues facing our society could be changed with a fresh perspective, through people thinking about and questioning the standing stereotypes and marginalisation of certain members of our communities. It really is that easy.

For the record, I would have been a transformer for Halloween. And that, is OK.