Question

How do you explain the anxiety, anger and fear Duron describes feeling when C.J. Started playing with girl toys

Answer 1

Duron's feelings of anxiety, anger, and fear are likely due to societal norms and expectations surrounding gender roles. These emotions may stem from concerns about societal backlash or internal conflicts between upholding traditional norms and allowing a child's self-expression.

Step-by-step explanation:

The anxiety, anger, and fear that Duron describes feeling when C.J. started playing with girl toys can be explained through the lens of societal expectations and norms. Duron’s emotions likely stem from a conflict between culturally ingrained beliefs about gender roles and the desire for a child to express themselves freely. Duron might fear societal backlash, feel uncertainty about challenging traditional gender norms, or struggle with his own internalized beliefs about what is considered appropriate behavior for boys and girls.

Similar emotional responses are seen in literature such as the expressed nervousness over children’s playrooms with potentially negative effects on emotional problems, the initial support for psychosexual neutrality, and the character of Joe displaying anxiety over his own sexual orientation. Such anxieties reflect a fear of the unknown, the different, and perhaps a sense of losing control over the expected social trajectory of a child's development.

These examples illustrate the larger societal context in which individual reactions to nonconforming behavior exist and highlight the tension between personal feelings and societal expectations. The fact that children can form deep emotional connections with inanimate objects like toys, which can become extensions of their identity and personal experiences, further complicates parental reactions to their children's unconventional play preferences.

Answer 2

American author Lori Duron and her husband, Matt, have two children, both boys. But she describes more in detail the situation of her younger son C.J because he preferred playing with girl toys instead of with boy toys.

Here we have a quotation from the writer to better understand her feelings of anxiety, anger and fear:

"Initially, the sight of our son playing with girl toys or wearing girl clothes made our chests tighten, forged a lump in our throats, and, at times, made us want to hide him. There was anger, anxiety, and fear." (Duron)

The expressions "tighten chests" and "forged a lump in our throats" define pretty clearly all the desperation and social anxiety they as parents felt for having to rise a son with different preferences to the ones imposed by society. They also felt fear, and the author expresses it clearly by saying: "at times, made us want to hide him"

I think these feelings of anxiety, anger and fear were just part of the initial surprise because they later state that:

"We've evolved as parents as our younger son has evolved into a fascinating, vibrant person who is creative with gender. Sometimes, when I think of how we behaved as parents . . . I'm ashamed and embarrassed. "

Which shows they have learn to accept their son despite social stigma.