To see where this dad is coming from? RE little boy wearing make up

[Earlyrisers0]

It's on a parenting group on Facebook. I'm happy to post it to squash any concerns that I'm trolling, but I will have to blur out the boys face for obvious reasons.

A mum has made a post showing a heated exchange with her ex. Their 9 year old son went to his dad's wearing make up and nail varnish and the dad told him to remove it all. Not that it makes much of a difference but the make up wasn't applied properly, think red lipstick smeared around his mouth and chin and what looks like black eyeshadow smudged around his eyebrows.

The mum also attatched to the post a handful of pictures of their son wearing dresses, pink pyjamas with pink dummys in his mouth and my littly pony onesies.

The mum said if her ex continued to tell him he can't express himself then he'll grow to hate his dad. The dad said she shouldn't be imposing her values and beliefs onto him and he will parent his child how he sees fit when he has him. The dad clearly thinks the boy is far too young to be experimenting with gender identity and I have to say I agree with him.

I'm clearly old fashioned but am I unreasonable?

[HappyPunky]

Either sex child with red lipstick, filled in eyebrows and a dummy is a bit iffy. Child drag springs to mind

Nail polish and pink on either sex child is fine.

[Shoxfordian]

He isn't experimenting with gender, he's playing dress up

Yabu

[Tadpolesandfroglets]

Maybe he’s just playing ‘dress up’ and it means nothing? In what way is mother imposing her views on him? Just wondering....

[Soubriquet]

Why on Earth is a 9 year old having dummies anyway?

A small amount of make up on boys or girls is fine

It’s when you get them, usually boys saying they are girls, with huge thick drag queen styled make up is when I object

[Doyoumind]

I personally don't think any 9yo should be wearing make up or using a dummy regardless of their sex.

[Love51]

They both need to drop the rope on this one. The child will be damaged by his parents arguing about him. Make up wipes off much more easily than emotional scars.

[Di11y]

If he'd badly painted himself to look like a clown or batman or whatever id want to clean it off. How he has his hair or clothes as long as they are seasonally appropriate is how to express himself.

[Earlyrisers0]

By imposing her views onto the son I assume he means she's encouraging him to be feminine.

Given the text exchange it's clear there's a big back story and this is a big issue between the parents.

[CurtainWitcher]

Dummy for a 9 year old?

[AlwaysCheddar]

9 year old don’t play dress up!!

[Soubriquet]

@Doyoumind

I personally don't think any 9yo should be wearing make up or using a dummy regardless of their sex.

To me, makeup is like face paint

It’s ok on occasions but you wouldn’t wear face paint every day, so a child doesn’t need to wear make up every day.

My dd has worn make up since she was 4, but that was only because she was in ballet shows and it’s encouraged for 3 days a year during the big show.

Apart from that, she never wears make up

[Earlyrisers0]

If he'd badly painted himself to look like a clown or batman or whatever id want to clean it off

Unfortunately this is pretty much how it looked.

Coupled with his hair tied into a straight pony tail sticking up at the front of his hair.

It looked awful.

[IdblowJonSnow]

Whatever is going on it sounds very undignified being dragged out all over facebook. Poor kid.
That seems potentially more damaging than anything else.

[HasaDigaEebowai]

9 year old don’t play dress up!!

- of course some do. I think it very much depends on the child.

[HasaDigaEebowai]

It sounds like the mother has the issues

[Tadpolesandfroglets]

My 9 year old still has an extensive dressing up box!

[Soubriquet]

I think a good rule of thumb is,

“If I won’t let a little girl wear it, why can a boy a wear it”

[liaun]

Wearing make up is nothing to do with gender identity!

[contrmary]

YANBU, the mother shouldn't be coaching her child to be a particular way with regard to gender. It sounds like the father is right to call her out, the child should choose it's own path when the time is right.

[Louise0701]

YANBU OP

[Hazelnutlatteplease]

At 9 my DD would have had make up and nail polish removed as a matter of priority if she'd come home from the other parent with it on. She wouldn't have had it at home

[totalitarian]

The child wearing dressing up clothes/pink etc doesn't bother me.

What sticks out as very wrong-

1. Dummy? Wtf? At age 9. The damage that will do to his teeth
2. Make up on a 9 year old. Surely can't be good for their skin
3. Why is this plastered all over FB.? Poor wee soul

[laudete]

It sounds like the parents love to argue. The child plays dress-up with his mom's makeup and is a Brony. He may outgrow both interests soon enough. The child is old for a dummy/soother, though. Hopefully, he's just playing with an old one.

[MistyGreenAndBlue]

Firstly, he's nine. He doesn't have a "gender identity". He's too old for a dummy and too young for makeup regardless of sex.

Having said that, I would be far more concerned about this in the current climate than I would have been say ten years ago. Today you will get: "oh he's cleanly trans" etc. Whereas in the past this would have been seen as what it is. A kid playing dress up.
Maybe he'll be a feminine guy when he gets older, maybe not. Maybe he'll be gay - or not it's irrelevant at the moment anyway.
But if dad is switched on to what's currently going on in schools etc. I can see why he's concerned. The sad thing is, he shouldn't have to be.

[goose1964]

Did he do it himself or did he do it after encouragement. My grandson has long hair and wears dresses if he wants to. He also wears jeans t-shirts and is into sharks. Funnily enough he doesn't get bullied in school, in fact the opposite.

We're all supportive of him, and to be honest the dress wearing is now more fancy dress. No one is bothered if he might be gay.