Boys who wear feminine clothing are often mistaken for girls. While he was quite content to be mistaken for a girl, he grew tired of being called a girl as he grew older. He eventually stopped wearing skirts and most feminine clothes and became more insistent that he be called a boy. As a parent, you have a lot of options for dealing with this situation.
Gender roles are less rigid than they once were. While we’ve all longed for the right to wear a dress, a boy wearing a dress has no corresponding male role. In fact, girls were not the first to wear dresses. The Egyptians, for example, wore wrap-around skirts called schenti. They were usually pleated in front and had belts at the waist.
Whether boys want to wear dresses, make-up, heels, or skirts is a personal choice, and it’s certainly not harmful. As the societal expectations for gender disappear, sexism and homophobia are falling by the wayside. It’s time for men to wear what they want. And why not give men the same rights as women? Just don’t judge them.
In the early years, Alex has been gender-fluid. He is equally interested in superheroes, ballerinas, dinosaurs, glitter rainbows, and soccer players. But his parents’ dress-up ban made him inconsolable. Rob and Susan sought help from their pediatrician and psychologist, as well as other parents of gender-nonconforming children. Then, they sent a few e-mails to friends who had experienced the same dilemma.
