Gender issues? That’s a different twist on the story. If I hadn’t wanted him baking cakes I wouldn’t have bought him the kit and spent all those hours with him doing it. But believe me, teaching someone the discipline to study an hour and 45 minutes a day so they can keep from failing school did not diminish his time to do other things. On the contrary, his improving grades gave him more confidence and opened up more opportunities. Middle schoolers and people in general frequently become avidly interested in something, then over time lose interest. That’s what happened with the cakes. He was also interested in cross country, art and selling stuff, and found time and encouragement from us to pursue them all. If you ever have kids you will discover they gain and lose interest in a variety of things before adulthood.