A mother from Memphis, Tenn., has been jailed Tuesday after allegedly punching her own son in the face because she said he is gay and "too feminine," Memphis' ABC-affiliate station WPVI-TV reports.

Jacqueline Alexander was charged with domestic assault for beating her son after neighbors called police around 11 p.m. on Feb. 17. According to police, Alexander's son was lying in bed when she accused him of being "too feminine and gay." Cops said they found bruises on his face when they arrived at the scene.

"We certainly have lots of kids and adults that come into the center and talk about being abused or hurt in some way by the people that are supposed to be the ones that care most about them," Will Batts, human rights advocate, told WPVI-TV. "We live with these really strict rules about how people should act or dress or talk or behave, and life is so much more complicated than that."

According to reports, the child's name and age have not been released.

"I don't see how you could do that to your own child, first of all. And second of all, because of how that person, that they are or because what that person is... that's terrible," Memphis resident Michael Hennaghan told the news station.

Alexander is currently being held on a $1,000 bond.

From our media partner EDGE