Gender
stereotyping a fatal issue for 3-year-old

Trying to turn a 3-year-old boy from a "sissy" into a "real man" may have killed him, a Riverside, Calif., judge declared on Tuesday.

Judge Elisabeth Sichel ruled that there was sufficient evidence to try Alex Mendoza for the murder of his former girlfriend's son, Mikey Vallejo-Seiber. Mendoza referred to the child as a "sissy" who needed to be roughed up. Prosecutors allege Mikey's subsequent death from massive head and internal injuries was due to Mendoza, who was taking care of the child at the time.

"Children pay a high price when parents and caregivers insist on raising boys to be 'real men' or girls to be 'little ladies,'" said Taneika Tayor, director of GenderPAC's Children As They Are program, which advocates raising children without gender stereotypes. "The cost was tragic in this case."

On Monday, Pamela Seiber, Mikey's mother, pleaded guilty to child endangerment charges and was sentenced to six years in prison. (The Advocate)