Poll: Father in rural Germany finds his young son likes to wear dresses; does the same to show solidarity.

[Syzygy23]

If, later in life, this kid repeatedly gets the shit kicked out of him for wearing dresses, we'll know who to blame.

Captcha: Face the music.

Yeah kid, you need to face the music and realize not everyone is going to tolerate your personal dress code.

I love this X3.

People seem to think that you don't really develop your gender identity or whatever until you have sexual preferences. My family had an idea that something wasn't quite normal by the time I was 6, and despite many years in school, where being "like the rest" is more important than life itself, I still ended up swapping genders. Nobody knows what this kid will end up becoming, but I admire the father for letting him explore it himself.

Whaaaaat? How did you manage to swap genders? Experimental retrovirus gene therapy? I didn't realize our technology had advanced to that point yet.

 

[Padwolf]

That is an amazing father for doing that for his son.

I would probably be the same way with my son. If he wants to wear a dress he can wear one. I do not see why it would be an issue. Besides, he is only little, it is probably just a harmless phase.

 

[keiji_Maeda]

.

This made me go D'awww

 

[The White Hunter]

Who cares? "Oh no, you shouldn't be wearing that bit of fabric that way!" Pfft. Some cultures are so painfully stupid.

Kilts are probably one of the manliest things you could wear frankly.

OT: I'd encourage my son to do whatever made him comfortable, though I@m not sure I'd wear it myself, prefer jeans frankly.

 

[somethingprofound]

Isn't it weird how we associate gender with clothing...
Actually gender as a concept is rather redundant anyway IMO, oh you care about fashion = girl, ooh you like guns and shooting them to make the bad guys fall down = boy :/
Things make more sense as just Sex and Sexuality (including Transgender in sex, because it's the physicality of what they're doing, and how they prefer to be referred to).

Basically props to the father for deciding that it's just a bit of clothing and supporting his son.
It's what I would do anyway... If I were famous (and some sort of style icon, hah) I would make skirts(kilts, whatever) fashionable for men to wear because really? It's really quite refreshing having that breeze!

 

[excalipoor]

I do however find all the "I have to stop this, so he doesn't get bullied!" replies hilarious, nothing like teaching your kid to succumb to peer pressure, that will never come back and bite you in the ass.

I'm sure this will come as a shock in this place of intellectuals and revolutionaries, but sometimes it's okay to go with the flow instead of fighting absolutely everything. There are other ways to show support for a kid, to make him know that he's loved and accepted unconditionally, while teaching that some behavior isn't socially acceptable. Being accepted by society is going to do him more good than going against their norms ever will. He can make that decision later when he begins to understand the real implications of the choice, but wearing a dress at age 5 does nothing but encourage a child to be different for the sake of being different.

Spoiler: This is the gender equivalent of what is happening here. They don't understand their behavior, they only copy the models given to them. Early sexuality is an imitation, not hormonal activity.

If you try to force change overnight, it's going to leave a mark. On you.

[small]DISCLAIMER: I don't actually know what the fuck I'm talking about.[/small]

 

[Fappy]

I'd let him do it at certain times/places, but not at school or anywhere like that. I wouldn't want my son to be an obvious target for bullying and let him know that when he's old enough, he can make the decision for himself.

 

[Rascarin]

If, later in life, this kid repeatedly gets the shit kicked out of him for wearing dresses, we'll know who to blame.

I would blame the bigots with a world view so narrow that they have to resort to physical violence any time something conflicts with their pathetically outdated and uneducated opinions.

 

[Baron von Blitztank]

As evil as it sounds, I'd probably save the father. Yes it means I just sent a child to its death but with the father still alive he can easily produce another one.

Wait... What thread is this?

 

[Basement Cat]

I'd have the boy put away the dresses and wear boy's clothes until he was old enough to at least begin to have a clue about the world and what his innocent preferences in clothing represent to others---and the grief wearing women's clothes could give him.

I'd simultaneously enroll him in hand to hand self defense classes: "Wax on, grasshoppa. Wax off."

THEN, after he was older, if it turned out that he was a natural cross dresser I'd come to grips that and roll with it.

Putting him in a kilt, like a previous poster suggested, would be an exemplary compromise.

The problem with kilts, I hear, is that they cost a fortune. My sister once priced kilts as potential gifts and they cost hundreds of dollars. OUCH!!! Do we have any Scots who know where you can purchase a poor man's kilt?

 

[Sion_Barzahd]

Dresses suit the dad much more than the kid. That's all I'm throwing in there.

Gotta admit, you're not wrong. Props to the father too, even bothered to pick out a matching dress.

In all seriousness though, i like this story. It's endearing to see a father support his childs choices in life, lets just hope the father doesn't become jaded as the child ages and then turn into a douché like so many do.

 

[Lieju]

To be honest, at 5 he's probably going to grow out of it anyway. It's likely not an expression of his gender so much as it is he likes the breeze.

Maybe. My mom's husband, who is one of the most macho men I know liked to wear pretty dresses when he was little because he liked how it felt. And his mother was totally okay with it, and let him do it.
He is still too young to realise it's a 'girl thing', I guess.

Of course, if he wants to keep dressing up like that when he grows up, let him.
I've never understood why men wearing feminine clothing, or women's clothes would be wrong or gross, or funny.

 

[bojackx]

Should probably add an "other" option.

I'd tell him it's a weird thing to do, but I wouldn't stop him. He'd most likely realise how bizarre it is to other people and stop without my input.