"Infanticide is the ultimate forfeiture of our humanity,"

Michael Rowe posted an amazing article in the Huffington Post, sparked by the tragic story of Roy Jones. But Rowe doesn't stop at merely pointing out one extremely sad detail about the case, that the 17-month-old child was beaten to death for being too feminine.

He goes on to explore several examples of "society's discomfort with gender variance" from music videos, advertising, questionnaires amongst some other far more troubling examples.

The article is well worth the read for anyone who thinks gender stereotypes either don't exist, aren't important enough to regard critically or are simply the way things should be.

I would like to add the recent "shocker" from US Magazine regarding Shiloh Jolie-Pitt's "boy shorts." The fact that a girl wearing swim trunks is not only newsworthy, but that it is newsworthy because she is a girl acting like a boy, and nothing being said about the crassness and pseudo-legal posting of a picture of a topless 4-year old girl.
 

Based on the comments section (which are incredibly hard to read... what is up with that font??) gender stereotypes continue to be heralded as "the way people are supposed to behave."

That is far more shocking than any pair of "boy shorts."

Women 2000 and Beyond: The role of men and boys in achieving gender equality

A new publication from the UN Division for the Advancement of Women follows up on the UN Commission on the Status of Women’s 2004 thematic focus on boys and men and gender equality.

At 52 pages it may be a bit daunting for those just getting involved in issues of gender equity and gender-based violence and the importance of men participating in positive change.

I haven't read the full report yet as it seems to have stalled mid-download. Hopefully I can post some thoughts shortly.

You can download the PDF version here (takes a while!)