Anyone who works in foster care will know that every parent has a preference; and more often than not, whether the adoptive parent is straight, gay, lesbian, coupled up or single, that preference is usually for girls, particularly white girls. And so the boys, especially black boys, are left in care, often spending their entire life without a family to love them; with many such boys going into secure children’s homes, and even young offenders institutions. No child, of any racial group or gender, should start life in this way. All children deserve a home and a family to love them. Behind these preferences are stereotypes that boys are more difficult to raise, more troublesome, and less likely to care for parents in old age; and so begins a self-fulfilling prophecy, consigning boys to a fate they hold no autonomy over, and will often gravitate toward. My girlfriend and I adopted a boy not long ago. But this boy has four legs, rather than two, a waggy tail, big floppy ears, and can run at 40 mp/h. He was harder to raise than our girl dog; he was boisterous, naughty, energetic, had no decorum, and was exhausting. But in time he’s become the softest, sweetest, most loving and loyal dog I’ve ever known. I am sure similar lessons can be learnt about our human boys, as well as our canine ones, and so let’s discuss it. Who will care for our boys? And does every child, not deserve a home? What do you think? ~ Source: ONS, https://tinyurl.com/y58avbda

2026-03-26