Gender Norms

Bad Idea: Spas for Tween Girls

Patricia Leavy, PhD | Posted 04.26.2012

Patricia Leavy, PhD

Offering a bikini wax to a young girl serves only to sexualize her and push her towards an adult ideal of the body-beautiful.

Photographer Addresses Gender In 'The Pink And Blue Project'

Posted 04.17.2012

South Korean artist JeongMee Yoon first embarked on "The Pink and Blue Project" when her five-year-old daughter couldn't get enough candy-colored poss...

Swap The Audio Between Boys And Girls Toy Ads, And You Will Be Disturbed

The Huffington Post | Mallika Rao | Posted 03.30.2012

Everyone knows little kids are indoctrinated early. Either they choose pink and Barbies or blue and GI Joes, or they end up getting written about in t...

When The Gender Boxes Don't Fit

Ericka Sokolower-Shain | Posted 05.22.2012

Ericka Sokolower-Shain

What gender-variant youth need are teachers who don't make assumptions, who ask lots of questions and then listen to the answers. Everyone is different. When a kid tells you what's important to them, that's what they want you to do.

That Poor Embattled Y Chromosome

Sherman Yellen | Posted 05.11.2012

Sherman Yellen

In thinking about gender, I had hoped that the New York Times would deal with the recent Chris Christie attack on a law student. Christie is considered a "real man" -- a "regular guy" among his supporters, a future presidential contender.

When Will HRC And GLAAD Go After Miller Lite's Offensive Ads?

David Groshoff | Posted 03.03.2012

David Groshoff

On Christmas I took the day off from researching corporate law and watched whatever programming our cable TV provided. And that programming contained a seemingly disturbing amount of "manliness," whatever that means.

PHOTO: What's Wrong With This Forever 21 Tee?

The Huffington Post | Ellie Krupnick | Posted 11.12.2011

The media world was up in arms over a J.C. Penney girls' tee-shirt that read, "I'm too pretty to do homework so my brother has to do it for me." T...

Truck-Loving Girls And Ballet-Dancing Boys: Why Raising Ungendered Kids Isn’t So Simple

Sarah Buttenwieser | Posted 11.17.2011

Sarah Buttenwieser

Peggy Orenstein, you totally got to me. After reading your book, I feel all the more resolved not to let the cult of Disney Princesses into her life (or mine).

Overcoming Clergy Gender Norms

Joshua Stanton | Posted 05.25.2011

Joshua Stanton

Archetypes for men and women -- and especially clergy -- press us to conform to the norms dictated by our genders. People want religious leaders to look, sound and seem familiar.

Prop 8: Let's Get Rid of Marriage Instead!

Sally Kohn | Posted 05.25.2011

Sally Kohn

For millions of Americans like me -- gay, straight and in the vast hinterlands in between -- the little box of traditional marriage is too constricting for our evolving notions of love and partnership.