The Grammy winning singer said “our job is just to never shame them” when it comes to children expressing themselves.

Maren Morris speaks out against gender stereotypes in kids: My son doesn’t need to ‘toughen up’

The Grammy winning singer said "our job is just to never shame them" when it comes to children expressing themselves.

By Sharareh Drury

April 7, 2026 2:24 p.m. ET

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Maren Morris in Nashville in May 2025. Credit:

Tibrina Hobson/Getty

Maren Morris is opening up about the impact of gender stereotypes on kids.

The country singer shared in a TikTok video that she recently had a "heated discussion" with a male acquaintance about the stereotypes her son, Hayes Andrew Hurd, might encounter, "especially in the South." Hayes was born on March 23, 2020, and is the child of Morris and her ex-husband, fellow singer-songwriter Ryan Hurd.

Morris, who lives in Nashville, explained how gender stereotypes can start "as the smallest thing" for young children, such as girls only liking pink and not liking Spider-Man. "They hear this s--- at school, like, from another friend, and it's my job as his parent to correct them," Morris explained of how she works to combat such stereotypes.

The "My Church" singer explained how the man she spoke with was "pretty dismissive," going as far as saying, "these boys need to toughen up."

While Morris said her first instinct upon hearing that was to "see red," the Grammy winner said she was able to "emotionally regulate" and explain that her son, as well as other boys, don't "need to toughen up, actually.'"

Morris continued with how her son "has to bust his gums or something to cry but he's also, like, extremely gentle. And he loves baseball. He loves musicals. He's obsessed with *Hamilton *right now. He loves colors. Sometimes we paint his nails. He loves to make jewelry now and friendship bracelets."

"And it's like, he's a person, and our job is just to never shame them for expressing those things. It's the best part about being a kid," Morris said.

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The singer shared how, in the conversation, she made it clear her son in no way needs to be "tough," especially not in the manner suggested by her male acquaintance. According to Morris, her argument eventually prompted the man to storm "very dramatically" out of a party they were both attending.

"My son can emotionally regulate himself better than this man could," Morris said. "My son can say, like, ‘I’m frustrated.’ Or if he’s overwhelmed he can, like, go take a beat in his room. He does that for himself without me even needing to step in now, he just knows how to do it."

Morris with her son Hayes.

Maren Morris/Instagram

She continued by sharing gratitude for the support she has received from the "village" of "women and great men that are safe in their feelings."

Morris added how important it is for men's mental health to understand and process all of their feelings at a young age versus being taught that the only emotion they can show is rage. "It's my job to make a safe environment — that means physically and emotionally — for my son to grow up and be able to have the vernacular and be able to talk about these things," she said.

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Despite the challenges of this recent conversation, Morris said she came away from it with "hope" for the next generation to break away from gender stereotypes and be more open minded.

"It did give me a lot of hope because my son and his friends — girls and boys — like, they are all doing so well, and this generation I have hope for because they’re being raised by communities like us, that are breaking those patterns, and hopefully, you know, it leads to a better life for all of them," Morris shared.

“We have to be able to talk to each other about these things in order for that to progress," Morris emphasized at the end of her video. "I don’t know if that guy storming off learned anything—he was pissed—but, I just felt bad for him. And I felt, like, also I’m really glad to be raising a boy that’s not going to end up in a sort of echo chamber or prison of shame and anger like that."

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