@midgebabe
So you would not allow them to wear what they like out of fear ( supporting and therefore reinforces gender stereotypes which are harmful to boys and girls )
What about encouraging them when their interests are technical ( because despite what some people here want to believe, I did get bullied at school because I was good and loved maths and physics ) should my parents have steered me gently to other subjects just for my own safety ( I was good all rounder ) ?
Where would you draw that line ?
This is the whole ‘agenda pushing’, ‘bandwagon’ jumping, ‘point proving’ type of thing, that others are explaining the negative implications of!
Should it matter what type of cloth, whether it be cotton, nylon, Lycra... and how it’s shaped, ie trousers, skirts, bow ties, hats whatever.... anyone wears? No it shouldn’t.
At its basic level it’s to protect our modesty and prevent all and sundry seeing our Crown Jewels and the like.
Over time fashions change for both men and women. (Before I continue, I reiterate I absolutely understand the argument put forward saying why does it matter what fabric we chose to cover out bodies, eg skirt/trousers. The concept that it should define us is ridiculous, I agree, it shouldn’t matter really)
However, we live in a society where there are norms. It’s not debatable whether they exist or not- they absolutely categorically do. It’s a fact. Cultural norms, social norms inclusive. This is across the board, certainly not just here in Britain. There norms are world wide.
Whether you agree with it or not, at this present moment in time, it is not the norm for a boy to wear a dress outside. Once again, should it matter really the shape of fabric covering us? No - but it’s either the norm or it isn’t. I can say that it isn’t currently the norm for boys to wear dresses to school (not to say I agree that it should be like that)
It’s like women shaving their heads. You rarely see it, yet every 5th man has a shaven head. Why do more women chose to have longer hair? It’s the social norm here for women to not shave their heads.
I imagine some women would love to shave their heads (and I’m sure they’d look gorgeous if they did) but you rarely see it, because they know they’ll get stared at, as it’s very unusual. So it’s easier to just go along with it and carry on with the norms.
Again, should it be like that? Well no but it is
(Sadly really)
As parents we have two choices. Either try to get your child to conform to the general guidelines of what the current norm is or to chose to throw caution to the wind and say ‘fuck scat others think’.
That’s fine if it’s the adult dealing with the backlash and negative comments but many parents don’t want to put their children in a position they (the child) won’t anticipate could happen - getting the piss taken out of them.
It’s not a matter of right or wrong. I’d applaud anyone that had the guts (because I’d think it would take guts) to send their 8 year old boy to school in a dress. I wound sincerely hope that they had the best day and the next day some of the other boys also wore dresses. That would be great.
Sadly, I imagine that would be very much the exception. The boy would get picked on, laughed at and come home in tears. I know that I couldn’t put him through that.
It’s all very well saying ‘you need to instil to him about bullies and he shouldn’t need to change etc’, but wearing a dress doesn’t define a person. If he’s happy and he doesn’t care what other people say then great, but many kids want to fit in with their peers, it’s a normal part of growing up.
Clothing doesn’t define a person to the extent some people thing it does.