I want to tell you a tale. A tale of a little six year old boy named Brandon. Brandon wasn't like most boys. He didn't care for He-Man, G.I. Joe, Transformers, or other "typical" 80's young boy's toy and cartoon fare. He didn't care for violence, wrestling, or other "macho" boy activities. He didn't even care to hang around other boys! Did this make him strange? Maybe, but he never even thought about things like "Am I normal?", "Do I fit in?", or "I shouldn't be liking this; I should be liking that." He was too occupied with his busy little days of just simply enjoying things that he enjoyed just for the sheer fact that he enjoyed them! One day in class, there was an art project for Mother's Day. The project consisted of taking a black and white photo of yourself, putting it in a clear plastic heart, and gluing a bow on the front. Seemed simple and sweet enough. The bow was also offered in two pastel choices; baby blue and pretty pink! Simple, right?! As the other members of Brandon's class finished their mothers' gifts, they all took to a single file line to get the ribbon put on since they were too young to handle a hot-glue gun. Brandon knew exactly which one he wanted from the start; pink! He thought it was WAY more 'rad' than blue and also thought his mother would enjoy it more as well! He noticed as the other children were picking out their bows, they were falling into a pattern; boys chose blue, girls chose pink. He thought to himself for a very brief moment, "Should I be getting blue because I'm a boy?!", but he quickly shooed it away like a pesky fly. As he approached the teacher, she asked, "What color would you like, Brandon? You want the blue one?" to which he replied with an enthusiastic, "Nope! I want the pink one!" The teacher paused for a moment as other children overheard his answer. Various random snickering was heard, but he payed it no mind. Even the teacher gave a coy grin, "Pink? Are you sure?" Brandon just stood his ground and remained resilient in his choice, "Yep! Pink! Mama will like that better!" "Oh!", the teacher sighed in relief, "Okay. Pink... for your mama...", and she hot-glued the blushing bow to the plastic frame.
Brandon took his present back from the teacher and gave a huge beaming grin knowing that when he gave this to his mother, she'd be tickled... well.... PINK! ^_^
That heart, although a bit faded, is still residing on Mama's fridge.
A boy chose pink. In this day and age, if this happens, people automatically jump the gun and assume he MUST be gay. Yes, I am a grown gay male, now, but that is not why six year old Brandon chose pink nor did it have any basis on the person he was to become. He didn't know what "gay" was let alone what sex even was! He was six! He just liked it better than blue! It seemed more interesting! He was also thinking of his mother since ultimately this item would be hers after all. This decision was the purest form of an innocent, selfless, and loving gesture. There was no hidden meaning behind it. He didn't want to BE a girl. He didn't know about the preestablished, sexist guidelines to being a boy. He was just being himself; he was just being a child. I long for the day when people don't try to find the hidden meaning behind things like this. I say, if you like pink, like pink! Like blue! Like lavender! Like maroon! Don't worry about what others might think about your choices!
This is your life, and if you wanna live it pink, I say, "Rad!"
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