This label of being a boy resulted in my parents treating me according to my gender.
This meant my parents buying clothing and toys that were in America considered socially acceptable for a boy. My parents threw me sport themed birthday parties and always made sure my hair never passed my shoulders. As a child, my parents enjoyed dressing me up in fancy suits with most of my wardrobe comprising of the color black and blue. I was given blue pants and shirts with depictions of racing cars on the fabric. As far as I can remember, I was told by my parents and grandparents that I should be tough and never show my emotions because of my gender.
This lesson was practiced when a boy in my class in middle school came towards me and started to bully me. Like myself, this boy must have been taught he needed to act tough and bullying may have been a way for him to be manly. I was a perfect target and was pushed and teased for being too small and not manly for not chasing girls.
The first day this bullying happened I cried to my father, and he would tell me to man-up and fight back and I did. The next day I comforted my bully and raised my voice and punched him. The bully did not simply accept my fist and we had a skirmish until a teacher broke up the fight and later sent us to the principal’s office. Our parents were called in to have a group meeting together to discuss what happened. When each party was present they began to discuss and agree that the bully and I were, “boys being boys”. The adults had us
