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Original poster

Would you ok your son wearing a dress?

686 replies

KristinaJup · 12/12/2020 18:46

Candace Owens recently tweeted (in response to Harry Styles wearing a dress on a magazine cover) "Bring Back Manly Men".. amongst other things.

Who really cares if a guy wears tutus and glittery dresses? Prince was hot af in his heels and Makeup.

Imo I would have no problem with it at all if my son wanted to put on a skirt but the tweet gained a lot of traction and I saw quite a few memes and lots of fingers pointed at feminism for "ruining men"

If we carry on this way the next thing will be....women should not be wearing trousers! What do you think?

OP posts:
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midgebabe · 12/12/2020 21:58

And to be fair, women's trousers are often shaped to be alluring rather than practical, which is a cultural expectation not a practical requirement

certainly many of my climbing trousers are from the men's section, more sturdy and less tight fitting , although I am quite slim

Savourysenorita · 12/12/2020 21:56

@ReeseWitherfork

I didn’t realise so many people still saw this as wrong. I’m shocked by the responses. I can’t imagine not letting your young sons don an Elsa dress to a cinema showing of Frozen 3 when it inevitably comes out.
Please tell me this is tongue in cheek 🙈
midgebabe · 12/12/2020 21:56

The OP was about boys and girls I thought?

Savourysenorita · 12/12/2020 21:55

@TeenyTinyDustinHoffman

Who are trousers designed for? *@Savourysenorita*
Men and women. Women's trousers are shaped entirely different from mens however.
ReeseWitherfork · 12/12/2020 21:55

I didn’t realise so many people still saw this as wrong. I’m shocked by the responses. I can’t imagine not letting your young sons don an Elsa dress to a cinema showing of Frozen 3 when it inevitably comes out.

midgebabe · 12/12/2020 21:54

A tattoo is not removable, a dress is
Don't you ever put yours in the wash?

midgebabe · 12/12/2020 21:54

It certainly did when I was a child, what with being a girl.i was bullied by both teachers and pupils.

Even today, something like half of senior schools have no girls doing a level physics

DidoLamenting · 12/12/2020 21:53

@jj1968

Ta *@DidoLamenting*

I also think where it did happen, with a couple of exceptions, it wasn't really about men being feminine, it was more about dandyism, in many ways another kind of performance of masculinity. They were the 'lovers not fighters', often aggresively heterosexual and in a lot of cases very misogynist. Bands like Duran Duran and the american big hair glam bands may have adopted a certain form of aggresive androgyny, but their music videos were full of half naked women writhing around. It was as if for man to present that way then he had to double up on toxic masculinity to compensate.

Obviously there were a couple of exceptions mostly on the London gay scene like Boy George, but I think people forget just how much he was despised by many people, especially the older generation of men. Any boy who'd admitted to liking Boy George or Marilyn at my school would have been relentlessly bullied. Even Wham or Adam Ant made you a bit suspect. The reality of the streets of Northern cities was very different to the Soho nightclubs the new romantics favoured.

Absolutely spot on analysis. You're right about Boy George too. He caused a tremendous fuss at the time. He looked gorgeous but his look never became mainstream.
Savourysenorita · 12/12/2020 21:52

@buckeejit

Most of these responses are really depressing. Everyone who thinks their son would get bullied, have you discussed with him that people should be able to wear what they like without ridicule or judgement? Ask him what would happen if his mate turned up in a dress & what he &!others would say?

Be part of the change if you acknowledge that society is the problem.

Would you let your 4 year old get a tattoo because they wanted 'to express themselves'?? Exactly. Why? Because they're not old enough to understand the consequences of that decision
Awarethebear · 12/12/2020 21:51

If that was the case they'd be selling dresses in the boys section of the shop. Which they don't because they are designed for girls.

midgebabe · 12/12/2020 21:50

And try Wikipedia

Savourysenorita · 12/12/2020 21:49

@midgebabe

Children get ridiculed for being good at maths, should I have been advised not to do maths? Should my parents have encouraged me to toe the gender line?
Does being good at maths break a societal accepted basic 'norm'?
Original poster
KristinaJup · 12/12/2020 21:49

Heartbreaking that a lot of comments mention fear for their sons safety should he go out in a dress etc.

OP posts:
midgebabe · 12/12/2020 21:48

There is no difference between a young girls body and a young boys body so dresses for children are not designed for girls any more than they are designed for boys

Clearly they are designed for people who think In regressive stereotypes

TeenyTinyDustinHoffman · 12/12/2020 21:48

Who are trousers designed for? @Savourysenorita

Awarethebear · 12/12/2020 21:47

@midgebabe are you a member of parliament.

midgebabe · 12/12/2020 21:46

[quote Awarethebear]@crazytoast here in the UK it is considered a religious attire ie a Muslim one.[/quote]
By people who don't know any better

midgebabe · 12/12/2020 21:46

Children get ridiculed for being good at maths, should I have been advised not to do maths? Should my parents have encouraged me to toe the gender line?

CrazyToast · 12/12/2020 21:45

I didnt think there was anything feminine about Harry Styles in his dresses. Same with Kurt Cobain and all the goth guys I used to party with. There is a difference between a masculine guy wearing dresses, eyeliner, nail varnish etc and feminine guys being feminine. Both are fine. I would be fine with my son wearing dresses etc but would be concerned he would be bullied. I'd get him to keep it to the house until he was older.

Awarethebear · 12/12/2020 21:45

@crazytoast here in the UK it is considered a religious attire ie a Muslim one.

buckeejit · 12/12/2020 21:45

Most of these responses are really depressing. Everyone who thinks their son would get bullied, have you discussed with him that people should be able to wear what they like without ridicule or judgement? Ask him what would happen if his mate turned up in a dress & what he &!others would say?

Be part of the change if you acknowledge that society is the problem.

Savourysenorita · 12/12/2020 21:44

@midgebabe

How the hell is wear8ng a dress anything like wearing a condom? One requires a dick, which only men have. The other requires a body which both men and women possess !
Condoms are designed for men. Dresses are designed for girls. It's no more strange to ask a woman to Don a condom than it is to ask a man to Don a dress. Both are designed for the opposite sex. Fact.
midgebabe · 12/12/2020 21:44

Yourhairiswinterfire...hear hear

Awarethebear · 12/12/2020 21:42

@yourhairiswinterfire thankyou for your opinion.

CrazyToast · 12/12/2020 21:42

@Awarethebear Shalwar are not relgious attire. It's cultural. They are worn widely by Christians and Hindus and Muslims who are from a desi culture.

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