The way to do away with gender bias is to just do away with gender bias. You're paying too much attention to the issue. This will only serve to confuse the boys. I have a beautiful son, he plays with dolls and trucks, he pushes his stroller around, and he kisses and hugs his babies when they fall. I believe in avoiding gender bias. However, I avoid gender bias by refusing to label or call attention to those things one typically associates with gender. This means I don't pay attention to whether or not the activity is usually considered "for girls" or "for boys." If I were to discuss the issue a lot, or if I were to even make a "concerted effort" to avoid the problem I would only be calling attention to the problem I claim to be trying to avoid.

Having said all of that, I'm raising a boy. He's beautiful and loving and caring, and I want to make sure he grows up to be a good husband, father, employee, employer, boyfriend, citizen -- whatever he may want to be. There are some wonderful things about the way men's minds work, and I don't want my son to believe there's something wrong with being a man. I want him to know he only has to be himself - nothing more, nothing less.

Stop making a "concerted effort" to do anything other than help your boys figure out who they are and what they want from themselves. Parenting is not about controlling children or the way their minds work. Parenting is about teaching a child self-control and how to be the best adult he or she can be.

It's not just about the day-to-day (although it's very important not to loose sight of the importance of every moment of every day), its about the end result -- you're not raising a child, you're raising an adult.

Love your children and don't use them to show how open-minded or forward thinking you are, it's not about what you want or believe, it's about the best way to make your boys comfortable in their own skins.