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Tags: children/youthgenderlgbtqsocial constructionsocial mvmts/social change/resistance, masculinity, parenting, childhood socialization, 06 to 10 mins
Year: 2011
Length: 6:07
Access: abcNews

Summary: Dyson is a 5-year-old boy who loves to wear dresses. In this video, Dyson's mother explains Dyson's love for this culturally feminine attire, reactions of friends and teachers to Dyson's wardrobe, and how Dyson's love for dresses led her to write the children's book My Princess Boy and become a spokesperson for transgender tolerance. This video can be used to illustrate various aspects of gender identity development, and it can initiate discussions around "nature versus nurture," specifically whether gender is an innate phenomenon or a social construction. Dyson's mother also runs a blog by the same name as her book, which provides additional resources, including information about Acceptance Play Groups. See also The Sociological Cinema's post, "Policing the Parenting of Boys," which discusses the recent high profile J.Crew advertisement depicting a mother with her young son and his pink toenail polish.

Submitted By: Nihal Celik

 


Comments

07/04/2012 10:21am

Historically men have spent far more time wearing gowns, robes, smocks etc than pants/trousers, indeed, a majority of the world still does; they are more comfortable so naturally Dyson would prefer dresses to the constriction of pants. There is also the question of who dressed him? In this case his mother - my father was dressed as a girl until the age of 5 and suffered immense embarassment from family photos for the rest of his life. Clothes have nothing to do with gender identity but fashion and the dictates of society do. If you are aiming for comfort wear a gown; if you want to break down gender identity then teach your child rather than dressing him/her up.

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Nicola Smith
07/12/2012 1:18am

If your father was forced into the dresses , then that is not right. If he chose the dresses and the rest of the family made fun of him to the point of shame, that's not right either. My nephew always had a favourite dress that he liked to play dress up in - it was blue with white polka dots. His mum never made an issue of it and he doesn't feel embarrassed as an 18 year to acknowledge that. As a young man he doesn't show an inclination to wear dresses. However, he grew up to be a very open-minded person and accepting of others as he was accepted.

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Frank Clark
02/22/2013 9:08pm

This is gender confusion. There is nothing wrong with an interest in a dress, but how a child dresses, as a child, does effect his identity. Boys wear the pants and girls wear the dresses. This seems like a lonely boy, in a somewhat of a fantasy world. Little girls play dress up. Boys play soldier.

I do not believe that a transgendered person is born that way, but it is learned. Where is the father? No male role model. It appears these boys are adopted. This child needs to have a man in his life.
So, as he grows up, he will have the option to choose the lifestyle best suited for him.

"Princess Boy" is confusing. He needs to know what a normal role is for a man, and a normal role is for a woman. Yes, we need to return to defined roles for boys and girls. They can't be both.

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