So imagine my confusion when at the age of two, my son Henry rejected T-shirts and trousers in favour of dresses. By the age of three, he was calling himself Miss Argentina and rushing home from nursery to squeeze into something Liz Hurley would wear for cocktails. I am a liberal-minded parent — I don’t set rigid boundaries and force my children to conform — so I am happy to indulge his cross-dressing in the same way I indulge his need to wrestle me to the ground shouting ‘Who’s in charge now?’, or his love of football and riding his scooter so fast only Usain Bolt could keep up.
—Lorraine Candy, a British mother, says she was completely willing to let 4-year-old son Harry wear girls’ clothes until she heard about fellow cross-dressing youngster Dyson Kilodavis: “[T]he attention Dyson is getting worldwide makes me nervous writing this piece about Henry, whose blurred wardrobe is, by all accounts (and according to every child psychology book I’ve consulted), normal — to be expected, even. What is to be gained from forcing acceptance of this kind of innocent eccentricity?” Because it’s completely normal, and we gain an understanding of normal childhood behavior, and we teach other parents and kids and siblings that there’s nothing to fear or laugh at. That’s what.
Francis
The thing that needs to be asked in these situations is, what exactly is unacceptable about a young kid wearing a dress? Or being more fem at 5 compared to his other male peers? What EXACTLY is unacceptable? That’s the main issue here, these people cannot answer that, because there isn’t an answer. It isn’t unacceptable for a kid to wear a dress or experiment with certain things, that’s what kids do. What’s unacceptable is trying to condemn it, pretend it doesn’t exist, or hide your kid from everyone and anyone because of your own shame as a parent. I don’t think kids should be used as tools for acceptance or condemnation in any way, however, the stories of these children bring visibility and open communication to an issue most wouldn’t speak on, and that’s extremely important.
Steve
Young boys wearing dresses used to be the norm:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breeching_%28boys%29
Disgusted Gay American
Francis you hit the nail on the head! Children are a Clean slate….its adults who poison thier minds.