Powerful Video Challenges Gender Roles Often Taught In Latino Households

"Being a man is about challenging the script that was handed down to us."

The importance and rigidity of gender roles in a Latino household are sometimes ingrained at a young age. But Los Angeles-based filmmaker Gloria Morán wants to change that narrative.

In a recent PSA titled “Boys Will Be Boys,” Jorge Diaz (”Elena of Avalor,” “East Los High”) helps deliver a powerful message about the ways men and women experience machismo at a young age. As he washes the dishes, vacuums and organizes the living room he addresses his daughter with anecdotes about how differently he, his sister and his female cousins were raised.

Diaz talks about how angry his father was when he found him playing with his mother’s shoes at age 3; how woman in his family were forced to help around the house while boys were allowed to play; and the double standards that some parents have when it comes to dating.

“I took a backseat to standing up for my cousins or my sister, because everyone else around me assured me that, that was the way things are supposed to be,” Diaz says in the video, which has over 5 million views on Facebook. “It took me some time, but, I know it’s not the way. Being a man is about challenging the script that was handed down to us. And I especially, don’t want you, mi hija, to grow up in a world where you will be told, ‘Boys will be Boys!’”

(H/T Remezcla)

Before You Go

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