As a young kid growing up, I had thick brown hair. Not only was it thick (just what my hairdresser told me) but it was typically kept short because my mom liked it short, which I understood. Grade 6 had come along and one day I walked upstairs with determination after having cinnamon toast crunch for breakfast and said to my mom “can I grow my hair out a little longer than usual”. At first, she was completely opposed to the idea, but she claimed she would consider it. As I got into the car after school that day there was a weird mood in the air. There was me, my brother, my sister and my mom and nobody said a word the whole way home and nobody really knew why, but I did. Upon arriving at home after the mysterious drive home I went straight to my room, expecting my mom to come up and refuse my request from the morning. Five to ten minutes go by and I can hear my parents discussing something downstairs, but I struggle to truly understand what is being said. Then all of a sudden, it is quiet, very quiet. The next thing I heard was footsteps coming up the stairs and towards my room. My dad opens the door and comes in and jokingly says, “you can grow your hair, but you better not look like a girl”. Being a young kid in that moment, I didn’t really think much of it.

Waking up the next day I wanted to pay more attention to the lengths of hair people had at school and which gender they were. As we got in the car to go to school the next day, I was on a mission. But as I got in the car I looked up at my mom, then looked down, but something was different that morning. I looked back up and noticed she had short hair. I had obviously known this prior to that day, but it was intriguing to me. When we arrived at school I got out of the car and immediately was looking around for people to see how long their hair was. It was nice enough to be outside before the bell rang, so there were a few teachers and all the students outside. There was two female teachers and one male teacher. One female teacher had long hair and the other had short. The male teacher had short hair. I found this interesting. Next was the students, there was all the hair lengths and styles one could imagine. When I took the time to truly look, there was all different lengths between males and females. In my head I am thinking “who is my dad to tell me I would look like a girl, and why would that be so bad?”. Just because I am a boy, what does it matter how long my hair is. I was truly blown away by his comment and wow did I ever have some words for my dad when I got home.

This entire scenario has stuck with me since that day and every time a topic comes up about gender it comes back to me. Yes, I am a male and have understood that for a long time, but I also understand how to respect people for which gender they are and not think differently about them for who they are. It is an ongoing topic in the world, and I continue to read and learn about gender equality.