VIEWPOINT
by Anderson Colemon/south news editor

I am less of a man ­­— at least that’s what people told me my whole life growing up because I lacked a father figure.

The thing they didn’t understand is my mother, Michelle Jackson, is both parental figures rolled in a shape of one woman.

When my mom grew up, my grandmother was a single mother who took care of her and my uncle. My grandmother made sure that they lived in a good environment and stayed out of trouble.

Seeing this, my mom made sure that when I was born, she would repeat what my grandmother did for her and break down female stereotypes.

In many ways, I could say my mom has taught me how to defend myself in fights after I was beaten to no end in my first fight. She also taught me how to play countless video games from Mortal Kombat to Street Fighter to toughen me up.

My mom is the general, and I am always happy to learn new things from her. She has a way of being gentle, yet stern, and that was what I had to learn to make it in life.

At a young age, however, I began to feel the lack of a father figure. I would see children’s dads watching their sons at football games, and I would look at my mom cheering from the sideline telling me to run to the end zone. I knew something was different, but it wasn’t until years later that I realized my mom could hang with the guys.

But I think back at what she taught me about women and men: women could be just as important, if not more, as men. Women give birth, give protection and help give a sense of identity.

My mom was the first to introduce me to Wonder Woman, mainly because I grew up  believing that female superheroes played second-fiddle to male heroes like Invisible Woman does to Mr. Fantastic. Wonder Woman stands up for what she believes in, which is tolerance, equality and peace, much like my mom.

If I could have learned anything from my brazen mother, it’s that the world doesn’t expect a young man — one that is charming, considered to have chivalry and class, but yet also firm and strong — to be raised by a woman alone.

That isn’t true. I may be less of a man, but I learned everything I needed from my mom.

I’ve learned to be compassionate, and I learned how to view people equally and not discriminate because of gender or think less of the opposite sex because of society’s expectations of them.