I would suggest they read about transsexual people's experiences with gender norms and being shoved into boxes but I expect they don't "believe in" transgender so what's the point really.
Someone asked about whether or not I suffered from being "forced to play with dolls" and I was like. I played with whatever the fuck I wanted and no one in my life said anything, but I never talked about my experience because this isn't about me.
I'm always amazed at how crows demonstrate a robust theory of mind but some humans still haven't figured out that different people have different experiences and motivations.
I had a mother that didn't care whatever we wanted to do, wear, etc. etc. so long as we weren't hurting ourselves or anyone else. If I'd been transgender I would probably have been fine.
People say that kids will just play with whatever they want, without considering that what they want might have been formed by outside influences over the years.
But of course they think that criticising gender norms means implying that parents teach their kids that boys are better than girls and that it is just THE WORST for a boy to play with a doll, which isn't always how it goes down.
That's probably where the issue lies. They don't want to understand the nuances. They don't want to thing that anyone has done anything that might be harmful in the long run.
People in Sweden got SO MAD when they came with a suggestion for an actual gender neutral word bc they were like AAAAAAAAA THERE ARE ONLY TWO GENDERS MAN AND WOMAN!!!1!!1!111
Swedish has han, hon and hen. Yes it is pronounced as the English word hen and Swedish people also love trying to use that argument for why the pronoun hen is stupid.
Me: WE'RE NOT FUCKING HENS.
Me: YOU CAN'T CALL A PERSON AN IT OH MY GOD.