This is my son, Chester, who is nearly 4. He was invited to his friend Chloe’s birthday party today, the theme was prince and princesses. He asked if he could go as Sleeping Beauty, so I bought him a dress and put a clip in his hair.
We arrived at the party to the following comments from the adults present:
“Oh that is just cruel.”
“Why did you make him wear a dress?”
“Poor little man, what’s your mummy playing at?”
“He’s going to hate you when he grows up.”
“No way I’d let my son dress like a girl.”
The fact is, Chester is completely gender neutral. I let him wear what he wants, be it boys or girls clothes, and he plays with whatever toys he likes.
When my husband arrived at the party later on, the other dads present made fun of him. My husband pointed out that the boy was happy.
Interestingly enough, not one kid said anything negative toward him about it, other than to compliment Chester on his cool costume.
What does it say about society when a group of adults could stand to take a lesson in humanity from a class of preschoolers?