Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
If gender has no meaning, then why does anyone get "reassigned?
If gender is no big deal, why did Chastity become Chaz through artificial means?
Obviously gender is important, otherwise the above would not be an issue and it is an issue - you can't have it both ways - either it means nothing or it means something.
And clothes or "cloths" are cultural artifacts that people use to make a statement about gender - so they too have lots of implied meaning.
Few people want to think of their baby boys wearing frilly dresses. If you do want that, what does that say about you?
I have a picture of my husband as a baby from the mid-1940s where he is wearing what could be construed as exactly that - a "frilly dress."
It used to be perfectly common for baby boys to wear what we now consider to be dresses just as it has been common for grown men to not wear pants for most of human history - togas, robes, gowns, kilts, however one refers to them, they sure were not pants.
Clothing is not 'fixed' and says more about the mores of a particular time than they do about the people wearing them.
As for the OP: Personally, I see nothing wrong with a nice pink or purple sweatshirt on a girl or a boy and wouldn't discourage my child if that was his choice.
I understand what you're asking, and not to be too serious, but the two aren't mutually exclusive. Your question is answered earlier in the thread, a few posts up.
Right. My youngest son is in orchestra. He also plays football, wrestles and plays lacrosse.
My middle son plays 3 instruments. He also plays lacrosse.
I remember years ago I was with my parents and we were getting ready to go to some family cookout or something. The only clean pair of pants i had were these multicolored hideous things that could only be matched with one color: pink. For some reason, the color pink was the only color that looked decent with these pants. Not even black or white worked with these things. Thing was I couldnt find my pink shirt (was actually a victim of a red shirt in the wash) so I asked my Mom if she had a decent pink shirt anywhere. You shouldve seen my dad. he hung his head low and shook it like id just asked my Mom to bring me a frilly dress and heels to wear. Of course, i didnt care. It was a pair of pants that required a certain color and there was nothing I could do about it. And yes, Ive since tossed those pants out.
My son is an awesome funeral specialist, he arranges flowers, coordinates "parties" (wakes), fixes hair and make-up of the "guests of honor"...it is the perfect job for him, he loves it, and does awesome. He is currently working on his MBA while working full time as a funeral coordinator. Go figure it...and he is always busy.
"Sure, you can wear girl's clothes, just expect other kids to make fun of you, laugh at you, and you might even get beat up. But, if you really want to wear girl's clothes, it is up to you."
Just inform your child of the consequences.
Putting all the future sexuality issues aside, I agree that you need to guide a child that might be naive on social norms. A kid might love Elmo for way too long, I'm not buying him a shirt to wear to second grade, or let my daughter wear a Hannah Montana shirt to high school. If they haven't picked up on social cues, its just a nice thing to do to give them a clue.
I read a story once about a couple of high school kids that were semi-strip searched for something. As outrageous as the story was, what stuck to me was that one of the boys was wearing spiderman underwear, and his humiliation. Really... those parents couldn't buy him some appropriate undergarments.
what stuck to me was that one of the boys was wearing spiderman underwear, and his humiliation. Really... those parents couldn't buy him some appropriate undergarments.
Ah, but if that was his parents decision that's one thing, if it had been his own decision and he was a self confident kid I doubt he would have cared what anyone thought of his choice of undergarments.
Putting all the future sexuality issues aside, I agree that you need to guide a child that might be naive on social norms. A kid might love Elmo for way too long, I'm not buying him a shirt to wear to second grade, or let my daughter wear a Hannah Montana shirt to high school. If they haven't picked up on social cues, its just a nice thing to do to give them a clue.
I read a story once about a couple of high school kids that were semi-strip searched for something. As outrageous as the story was, what stuck to me was that one of the boys was wearing spiderman underwear, and his humiliation. Really... those parents couldn't buy him some appropriate undergarments.
My high schoolers still like character underwear. Not Spiderman, but they like Halo, Guitar Hero, Family Guy, and Sponge Bob underwear. I think lots of high school boys wear stuff like that. It might not be as humiliating as you think.
My son is an awesome funeral specialist, he arranges flowers, coordinates "parties" (wakes), fixes hair and make-up of the "guests of honor"...it is the perfect job for him, he loves it, and does awesome. He is currently working on his MBA while working full time as a funeral coordinator. Go figure it...and he is always busy.
And he's probably making a nice, tidy sum doing it. Good for him.
Putting all the future sexuality issues aside, I agree that you need to guide a child that might be naive on social norms. A kid might love Elmo for way too long, I'm not buying him a shirt to wear to second grade, or let my daughter wear a Hannah Montana shirt to high school. If they haven't picked up on social cues, its just a nice thing to do to give them a clue.
I read a story once about a couple of high school kids that were semi-strip searched for something. As outrageous as the story was, what stuck to me was that one of the boys was wearing spiderman underwear, and his humiliation. Really... those parents couldn't buy him some appropriate undergarments.
Now we have the essence of the problem.
High school boy ===> we expect mom to buy the underwear.
High school girl ===> would not be caught dead in underwear bought by her mom.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
.
