In class today we talked a lot about men needing to maintain their "masculinity", having a lot of this pressure come from parents. It reminded me of this article I read a while back about this 5 year old boy who wanted to dress as Daphne from scooby doo for halloween (a female) *gasp*.
When entering school, a lot of the parents were highly offended about the whole ordeal, creating a huge scene about it.. but why?! For one, he's FIVE. And who really cares if he is gay or not (talked about more in the link). And why is it okay for girls to dress like men characters (superheroes, etc) and not the other way around?
Anyway, the article - actually it is a blog written by his mother - is below.. it's interesting and quite funny how she pokes fun at other peoples idiocy.
Yeah, that's a pretty funny way of writing about that, even though it is kind of serious. The one thing is was curious about though, is why wearing women's clothing makes a man gay. Transgender and gay are totally different things, and I was wondering why they are so commonly associated together. The mother clearly is beyond this kind of thinking, but what is perpetuating that kind of connection between transgenders and gays? I think it has lot to do with how gays are portrayed in movies and tv. Anybody have any examples?
ReplyDeleteI am not sure exactly how to answer Dave's question. Though homosexuality and transgender are two different ways of identifying oneself, they both have to do with sexuality, sexual orientation, and a "different than normal" was of presenting yourself.
ReplyDeleteThe article/blog post made me think of a movie called "Kinky Boots". It deals with transgender issues as well as issues of homosexuality. It's about a shoe factory that makes boots and shoes for transvestites, crossdressers, and transgendered people. Even though it deals with serious themes, it is mostly a light and funny movie.
http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi1440678169/
My specific feelings on the original post, are:
First and foremost, creativity and self-expression are a key part to childhood development, as is exploration. A 5 year old kid is not thinking in terms of sexual orientation, and if he is questioning his gender identity, then so be it - let him figure out who he is. More importantly, however, I think this is simply a case of monkey-see-monkey-do. If he watches Scooby Doo cartoons all the time and begins to look up to daphne, then it is completely understandable why he would want to dress up like her.
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-april-13-2011/toemageddon-2011---this-little-piggy-went-to-hell
ReplyDeleteThis I think is a classic example of how society forces us into prescribed categories. Is there a way for us to get out of them? Should we maybe all paint our toenails, or otherwise defy gender norms as children, so that we're not so constricted when we grow up?