Would you ok your son wearing a dress?

[KristinaJup]

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?

No I wouldn't OK it. Its confusing them and sticking them directly in the firing line for being bullied. We can all pretend a dress is 'just material' but we all know it is a female item of clothing. Some things are still attributed to gender and that's not such a terrible thing. We don't permenently have to challenge absolutely everything that separates male and female all of the time. Would I let my 18 Yr old son wear a dress? Yes. If that's what he wanted. He's an adult and old enough to understand what he is doing and why he is doing and has the ability to balance counter arguments about his choices if needs be. The maturity is there. Would I allow my 5 year old to wear a dress for school? Absolutely not. It's all parents with their own agendas impressing it on to their kids. It's borderline abusive imo.

Why should women have more choice in clothe styles then men and boys? There is no justification. Surely letting boys and men express themselves in different ways would be good? Why should men not want pretty dresses and make up? You want equality except you want men to stick to a rigid and harmful masculine role? Pathetic

Btw, I totally get the concern about potential bullying

@user131426479642

boys - as children - wearing dresses its just not right

Why?

Oh ffs. Stop feigning ignorance do you REALLY have to ask that? It's like insisting a women wears a male condom.

I have let my son wear a dress along with a flower in his hair, out in public, but he's only 4. I hate that boy's clothes increasingly seem only to be available in various shades of blue, grey or mud. He loves bright colours and glitter and I'll continue to support his choice of clothes.

If only we lived in a world where both boys and girls could dress in whatever clothes they liked, play with whatever toys they liked, have whatever career aspirations they liked, without being pigeon-holed by stereotypes.

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 !

yeah, why not?

now they're of an age to make their own decisions and anticipate consequences, sure. id happily go out with them wearing most things.

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.

@Awarethebear

Yes Simon you go tell your imaginary shalwar kameez wearing Christian friends whatever it is you would like to tell them. Don't forget to take your meds while you're there lol.

God, you're obnoxious. Implying someone has a mental health issue and then mocking them for it is out of order.

@LeglessGiraffe

I have let my son wear a dress along with a flower in his hair, out in public, but he's only 4. I hate that boy's clothes increasingly seem only to be available in various shades of blue, grey or mud. He loves bright colours and glitter and I'll continue to support his choice of clothes.

If only we lived in a world where both boys and girls could dress in whatever clothes they liked, play with whatever toys they liked, have whatever career aspirations they liked, without being pigeon-holed by stereotypes.

Are you not concerned that by allowing your son to dress on girls clothes in public that you're making him a potential target for ridicule? Fair or unfair it is the way it is. You might be big enough and wise enough to shake it off. But your 4year old isn't. It'll become very confusing when he starts to get odd comments and comes home crying all for you to make a very adult point of equality in gender. I don't mean this to you personally but I can't help but see it as a lack of parental guidance for the protection of your child. If they're 13,14 they're old enough to start having discussions with that's a, little different. But at 4 - just because you think the works Should accept it doesn't mean they DO. A boy dressing up as a 'girl' (which is how it'll be viewed) is not the 'norm' for a young child and he just hasn't got the wisdom to shield the criticism.

@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.

@yourhairiswinterfire thankyou for your opinion.

Yourhairiswinterfire...hear hear

@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.

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.

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

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.

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?

[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 are you a member of parliament.

Who are trousers designed for? @Savourysenorita

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

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

@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'?