We have got to start being comfortable with letting boys express their feelings.

We want boyfriends and husbands who can be vulnerable with us, who can open up to us, who can tolerate listening to us, who can cry in front of us...

We want our girls to one day meet men who are emotionally available, who aren’t closed up, who aren’t afraid to feel things fully and can be honest about who they truly are...

Yet, when they are little, boys are so often told

that they’re “fine” when they’re hurt,

and to stop crying when they‘re upset, or that playing house is for girls,

and that the best superheroes are all boys.

They’re told they are brave and strong

and reminded to “toughen up” in moments of weakness.

They’re told they are powerful and mighty,

and often shielded against sensitivity.

They hear “boys will be boys,”

when they’re boisterous and rowdy,

but aren’t so often reminded that

boys can also be kind and gentle and calm.

We want to see a change in the world and our words and our actions matter.

Boys need to be seen. Heard. Validated. Acknowledged.

They need gentleness and acceptance of who they are and how they feel.

They need to learn to trust their intuition and sense of self.

They need to break the cycle passed down through the generations so they can really show up in this life and give that gift to their own sons one day.

They need us to meet them where they are, not where we think they should be.

They need us to let them express themselves—

and to love them through it all, no matter what.

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