This Dad's Superhero Cape Is A Skirt

Galwayguy35

Dovakhin wrote: »

I do know what you're talking about, but I have to wonder are things still like this in schools, ie someone different gets bullied immediately?

I know of a boy where I'm from who regularly wears girls clothes (not in school obviously because they have a uniform, but with friends on weekends etc) and doesn't get any hassle about it at all. My little sister, who is one of his friends, doesn't think anything particular about it.

In the same school, a little girl whose Mam has multiple sclerosis, and who is being raised by her auntie as a result, was very briefly bullied by a boy for "having no parents" (his words). The school came down on it like a tonne of bricks, and the girls in the class (my sister included) told the boy they weren't going to be his friend until he stopped (as far as I know, this was spontaneous, not parent/teacher organised). He stopped, very quickly.

Of course all this is only anecdotal, but are other schools still full of bullies who are unchallenged? As far as I can see, schools seem to take bullying very seriously these days....

Might not be very PC to say it but it probably depends on where someone lives.

I know in the area where I live no boy would show up in a skirt.
Maybe in more well off areas attitudes might be more accepting.

openup

say_who_now? wrote: »

The last few posts pretty much sum up my thinking on this subject, I'm all for encouraging and supporting my child, but I also prefer to teach him that there ARE differences between the sexes and that he should be mindful of those differences and respectful of them, and be respectful of those he perceives as different to him, be those differences based on their gender, race, color, religion, sexuality, whatever.

No one is saying there aren't differences but none of them make it impossible nor indecent for a man to wear a dress. Though of course you should let kids know that some people might think they do.

wrote:

I would hope my child would have more to think about than what color dress he wants to wear today or what color he wants to paint his nails, I would sooner encourage him to go out and kick a ball or read a book and leave exploring his sexuality until he's old enough to understand and fully grasp the concept.

Deciding how he wants to look for the day is not comparable to a pass-time. How long does it take you to get dressed in the morning? And why are you trying to give a sexuality to a 5 year old??? Gender and sexuality are not connected and fashion taste does not play into either of these.

wrote:

I would certainly not wish to parade my child as some sort of social commentary on equality, gender stereotyping, etc. I'd be more concerned that he would be getting good grades in school, that he's able to socialise with other children, that he is contented at least and that he is not held up as a spectacle for ridicule and to forward somebody else's ideals of what society "should" be. The father in this story might have broad shoulders and a hard neck, but in my opinion this is far too much pressure to be putting on a five year old child!

Why do you think this father just wanted publicity? Where does it say he contacted the media? He just wanted his kid to be happy which he's not going to be if he thinks he's a freak and that he should hide away. Now, I'm going out on a limb here but I would imagine if Son said he wanted to wear trousers today his Dad's not gonna go "NO YOU ARE A SOCIAL EXPERIMENT!!" he'd probably just say "Ok, so jeans or shorts?"...but again, that's just a guess.

Dovakhin

Galwayguy35 wrote: »

Might not be very PC to say it but it probably depends on where someone lives.

I know in the area where I live no boy would show up in a skirt.
Maybe in more well off areas attitudes might be more accepting.

Maybe it is something like that. I would have thought the school I'm thinking of is fairly typical - rural school, about 150 pupils, area isn't particularly posh or anything - but maybe it does just vary a lot by region.

say_who_now?

openup wrote: »

Deciding how he wants to look for the day is not comparable to a pass-time. How long does it take you to get dressed in the morning? And why are you trying to give a sexuality to a 5 year old??? Gender and sexuality are not connected and fashion taste does not play into either of these.

Why do you think this father just wanted publicity? Where does it say he contacted the media? He just wanted his kid to be happy which he's not going to be if he thinks he's a freak and that he should hide away. Now, I'm going out on a limb here but I would imagine if Son said he wanted to wear trousers today his Dad's not gonna go "NO YOU ARE A SOCIAL EXPERIMENT!!" he'd probably just say "Ok, so jeans or shorts?"...but again, that's just a guess.

So just so I'm clear on this one-

It's ok for you to "go out on a limb" and make assumptions based on nothing whatsoever contained within the article, but you challenge my "going out on a limb" when I suggest that this might be the child's way of exploring their sexuality, or that the father might have contacted the media (because he certainly must have given them an interview if they were able to publish his opinion!)?

OK then.

One rule for one and another for others, when it suits your point of view of course.

My child is now seven and I'll still dictate what he wears, even when he comes out of his room in jeans that are two sizes too small for him and a vest that looks like a belly top. In MY opinion, certainly he's old enough to decide for himself what he wants to wear, but that doesn't mean he should be allowed to! How often have we all heard the expression "you're not going out in THAT!!", because if I had a daughter and she wanted to wear thongs and padded bra's at five years of age, I'd tell her the same thing- "No fùcking WAY!!", or would you prefer that I pander to her wishes to "express herself"?

As I already mentioned earlier- he'll have plenty of time when he's older to hate me for being so "mean" and not "allowing him to express himself"! Tbh that won't bother me as much as it would now were I to allow him to wear a dress and have to deal with the consequences of little johnny ignorant in school ripping the royal píss out of him, sending him home from school or from town in tears!

I also note how any poster so far in this discussion has avoided my earlier question that was-

Forget the child wearing a dress, if the child wanted to go to school and walk round the neighbourhood naked as nature intended, because this was their way of expressing themselves, would we then be supposed to be ok with that too? After all, clothes are just society's way of protecting our modesty, no shame in the human body, etc.

openup

say_who_now? wrote: »

So just so I'm clear on this one-

It's ok for you to "go out on a limb" and make assumptions based on nothing whatsoever contained within the article, but you challenge my "going out on a limb" when I suggest that this might be the child's way of exploring their sexuality?

OK then.

One rule for one and another for others, when it suits your point of view of course.

No. By admitting that I'm going out on a limb I'm saying I could be wrong (my opinion is based on the impression of the Dad I got from the article and from knowing parents like him), I don't know nor do you. However, you gave no evidence you thought what you said was anything other than fact, which it certainly wasn't.

say_who_now?

openup wrote: »

No. By admitting that I'm going out on a limb I'm saying I could be wrong (my opinion is based on the impression of the Dad I got from the article and from knowing parents like him), I don't know nor do you. However, you gave no evidence you thought what you said was anything other than fact, which it certainly wasn't.

OK then- I'm wrong.

Happy now?

I can say that because I am an adult and I can weigh the opinions of others against my own judgement. A child however, lacks this capacity and therefore is ill informed to be able to judge how their actions might affect the opinions of others. This is why children NEED guidance from their parents, and not a situation where the child calls the shots so to speak. This decision by the child to wear a dress is only one of many they will make on their own that the father will give in to, I wonder what will happen when the child doesn't want to go to school because other students in the school humiliate him for his decision to wear a dress and paint his nails. The teachers can't be everywhere in the yard on supervision duty, and all it takes is two seconds to smack a child upside the head and by then the damage is done, and no amount of quoting school policy is going to undo the fact that the child has just been reminded by another child that they "either fit in, or fùck off!" to put it bluntly!

As for the assertion from another poster that this somehow wouldn't raise an eyebrow in more affluent sections of society (I presume they mean better educated means less ignorant), I can only say from my own personal experience that bullying knows no boundaries, social, economical or otherwise-

Sixth Form Dorm:

"You only got a BMW for your birthday? Oh dear, well mind you don't scratch my Mercedes when you're parking in the school car park!".

Pawwed Rig

If that boy had gone to my primary school he would have been beaten every single day. Hopefully his school is nicer

openup

Look I think we're just going to have to agree to disagree but I just want to to cover a few points.

- A thong is sexual, 5 yr olds shouldn't be dressing sexually and if they want to I would be very worried. A dress is not sexual.

- I'm still not saying that a kid who is different is not going to have a hard time I just think that they will have a harder time if even their family won't support it.

- I would tell my child that being naked is fine but it's socially frowned upon over a certain age and more importantly it's illegal to wander round nude in public but it's fine at home (obviously in a child-appropriate way).

I can tell you from personal experience that one of the few things that makes not fitting in better is the reassurance and support of your loved ones who think there's nothing wrong with you.

say_who_now?

openup wrote: »

Look I think we're just going to have to agree to disagree but I just want to to cover a few points.

Is this your idea of discussion only if we play by your rules and agree with your point of view again- I read the first part and I thought "fair enough", and then came the "but"... so it's a case of- you get your own point across and we'll leave it at that?

OK then. I'm not a fan of shoving my opinions or views down other people's throats either.

BUT:


- A thong is sexual, 5 yr olds shouldn't be dressing sexually and if they want to I would be very worried. A dress is not sexual.

Depending on one's point of view, a thong is just an undergarment like any other, and I know many women who find them more comfortable to wear than knickers. It's only your perception of an undergarment that makes it sexual, many would disagree. By that same token, a dress can be perceived as sexual depending again on one's perception- I direct you to cast your eyes on some dresses worn by young women that leave little to the imagination.

- I'm still not saying that a kid who is different is not going to have a hard time I just think that they will have a harder time if even their family won't support it.

Well at least we see eye to eye on that much, but that's only common sense really, almost refreshing to see some of it displayed in this thread at last. The thing is thought that when it comes to children, they need GUIDANCE, not just support, I have no problem with my child's aspirations to be an astronaut after he witnessed the Mars probe landing, I would however have great difficulty supporting him if his aspirations were to paint his body green and call himself a martian! My point being that it's one thing to encourage and support your child with realistic aspirations, it's quite another to fuel their delusions! This is why I maintain, as I have maintained all along, that children need guidance, not entertainment of their sometimes outrageous folly.

- I would tell my child that being naked is fine but it's socially frowned upon over a certain age and more importantly it's illegal to wander round nude in public but it's fine at home (obviously in a child-appropriate way).

But there you go, in your attempts to set boundaries for the child, you have just turned a simple "no! it's not ok for you to wander around naked!" into something that confuses (it sure confused the hell outta me!) and gives the child mixed messages, when a simple "no!" would have left them no opening to question your authority.


I can tell you from personal experience that one of the few things that makes not fitting in better is the reassurance and support of your loved ones who think there's nothing wrong with you.

Well of course it always makes you feel better when people agree with you, and the more you surround yourself with people that agree with you, the better you feel again. That much is just common sense. But, I would rather (and this is from MY own personal experience) that my loved ones were honest with me if they thought I was deluding myself so that I would not go out in the world making a fool of myself and then get a woeful slap of reality in the face when I'd realise that the rest of the world didn't revolve around me!

mackg

Dovakhin wrote: »

Isn't that exactly what feminists did with the wearing of trousers? Trousers were thought of as being only for men, the women who wore them initially were considered cross-dressing weirdos etc but eventually, when enough women did it, it became the new normal. No one notices women in trousers any more. How is this any different?

Actually by the way, I know a kid down home, aged around 10 I think, who wears girls clothes every so often (he does a mean Princess Leia, but also wears non-dressing up girls clothes every so often too) and who plays with lego aeroplanes, barbie dolls and dinosaurs, in that order. As far as I know (from talking to my little sister who is one of his friends) he has no trouble in school, not bullied, perfectly happy etc (possibly relevant is the fact that the school uniform is a tracksuit, same uniform for girls and boys). His parents take a very relaxed approach to it all, ie whatever he wants to wear is fine.

(This isn't directed at you Say Who) As an aside, isn't it mad how masculinity is so incredibly, rigidly enforced and policed by some people these days? In ways it's way more pressurising than for women/girls.

I'm still unsure about this whole thing although I would be leaning towards the why not side.

Galwayguy said in his area the child would definitely become the target of abuse. Would the people here in favour of what this father did recommend that Galwayguy, if in the same situation put his fears based on his knowledge of where he lives to one side and allow his child to wear a dress?

Now for the highlighted part above. Would you be happy to let your child be the equivalent of those early feminists who wore trousers and were branded weirdos? Would you be happy for him to play the part of the trailblazer knowing his childhood would be negatively effected.

Dovakhin

mackg wrote: »

Now for the highlighted part above. Would you be happy to let your child be the equivalent of those early feminists who wore trousers and were branded weirdos? Would you be happy for him to play the part of the trailblazer knowing his childhood would be negatively effected.

Well, as a general comment, if I had a male child I would certainly try very hard not to impose this weird, over the top masculinity on him that you see sometimes - paranoia if he picks up a barbie doll or doesn't like the GAA for example. This isn't directed at you by the way, just a general comment.

However, to address your specific point, I honestly don't know is the answer. It would depend on a lot of things - what the area I was living in was like, what the school was like and their approach to bullying, how much he wanted to wear dresses or do other stereotypically female things.

It certainly wouldn't be a definite no though - like I said earlier, I know of a little boy (10 years old I think) back home who wears dresses and does other stereotypically female things (plays with dolls, likes make-up and dressing up) and isn't bullied at all. So for example, if I was to be sending my child to that school, I don't think I'd made any effort to change his behaviour, knowing that they take a very serious approach to bullying.

Lyaiera

People might laugh at him.
People might think he's weird.
People might beat him up.
He might be embarrassed when he grows up.
He might not want to go to school if people bully him.
Etc.

That's a whole lot of "mights." All we have to go on at the moment is the boy wants to wear a dress. If people do laugh at him that can be dealt with. It seems people were laughing at him, so the father decided to wear a skirt when he walked around with him to provide a positive role model and show the child that there was nothing wrong with what he was doing.

If he does get beaten up, then isn't it up to the child and his parents to decide what happens. Maybe the child values his individual expression and desire to wear what he wants over other people forcing him to fit into whatever weird notion of the world they have. Isn't it better for the child to have worn the clothes he wants, to realise that other people are being mean because of it and to stop for sake of ease rather than have his own father torment him over something fairly simple?

Some people here can't seem to grasp that the parents of this child are probably entirely aware of all the negatives, and have decided they'd rather be true to their own child than whatever the bullies want to enforce on him. That's a good thing. I'm sure if the child comes home crying every day they'd help him understand that it's because it's "strange" for a boy to wear dresses. I'm also sure they'd let him no that that's only because the world is a strange place and not because there's anything inherently wrong with it. That a lot of kids (and people) are small minded bullies because of their own messed up place in the world rather than anything the bullied has done wrong. That's a much better lesson than, "fit in kiddo! Don't make anything of yourself! Be as small as you can because the whole point of life is to live it without having done or said anything!"

Pawwed Rig

A large amount of people who are bullied suffer for years in silence so his parents most likely will not have the information to do anything about it.

Lyaiera

I think if they've managed to raise a kid who is happy to wear a dress despite all the Negative Nellies in the world then they've probably raised a kid who is happy to tell them if someone is taking the piss out of him for wearing a dress.

But I agree. If I have a child I will spend all my time ensuring that she is bland enough to avoid any attention from the world. I will then regret it on my deathbed when I'm giving bread and water as my last meal from my incredibly boring child.

say_who_now?

Lyaiera wrote: »

I think if they've managed to raise a kid who is happy to wear a dress despite all the Negative Nellies in the world then they've probably raised a kid who is happy to tell them if someone is taking the piss out of him for wearing a dress.

But I agree. If I have a child I will spend all my time ensuring that she is bland enough to avoid any attention from the world. I will then regret it on my deathbed when I'm giving bread and water as my last meal from my incredibly boring child.

This "incredibly weird world" as you call it though, is one in which for the majority in western society, males do not wear dresses and skirts. The majority dictates the norm, so the rest of the world is not weird because they wonder at this child whose parents allow and encourage him to wear what is predominantly understood by the majority of society to be female clothing. The gender stereotypes DO exist, whether one likes it or not, and no amount of trying to brush them under the carpet in order to see your child happy is going to do away with them. What this child's father is doing is called "shielding him from the truth" (actually now it occurs to me I see no mention of the child's mother in the article?). Trousers were good enough for the father for most of his adult lifetime so while I can see where he's coming from, I think he is supporting his child in the wrong way. I never for one second suggested that the child should be told to hide away and made to feel like a freak, but the child SHOULD be told that their indulgences to wear what is normally worn by females, is NOT normal, as defined by the norms of society.

I would suggest that there are other ways in which the child could be encouraged to excel if they want to change the world, like excelling in school, excelling in college, and finding a treatment for a genetic disease perhaps, or maybe excel in sport. This particular story will be a non story by this time next week (remember that this is an Irish discussion site and this article was translated from a German website), so the chances of this child making a relevant contribution to society are somewhere between slim and none.

Lyaiera

say_who_now? wrote: »

This "incredibly weird world" as you call it though, is one in which for the majority in western society, males do not wear dresses and skirts. The majority dictates the norm, so the rest of the world is not weird because they wonder at this child whose parents allow and encourage him to wear what is predominantly understood by the majority of society to be female clothing. The gender stereotypes DO exist, whether one likes it or not, and no amount of trying to brush them under the carpet in order to see your child happy is going to do away with them. What this child's father is doing is called "shielding him from the truth" (actually now it occurs to me I see no mention of the child's mother in the article?). Trousers were good enough for the father for most of his adult lifetime so while I can see where he's coming from, I think he is supporting his child in the wrong way. I never for one second suggested that the child should be told to hide away and made to feel like a freak, but the child SHOULD be told that their indulgences to wear what is normally worn by females, is NOT normal, as defined by the norms of society.

OK. So? You tell the child that most people wear clothes that society deems to be in line with their gender. Then what?

say_who_now?

Lyaiera wrote: »

OK. So? You tell the child that most people wear clothes that society deems to be in line with their gender. Then what?

Then the child kicks up for five minutes because you won't allow them to wear a dress, storms off back into their room, comes back out in trousers, and five minutes later the whole drama is forgotten about and you can both move on until the next time the child decides to push their boundaries with their next crazy idea.

If I bought into every crazy idea my child had and "encouraged and supported" him in his endeavours, I'd not only be broke, but he'd have me driven to the point of insanity. Luckily for me however I have no problem setting boundaries for my child because I do not feel a need to be his "buddy", I'm his father and his parent, I would not let my child see me as a soft touch because then he will just walk all over me and disregard my authority when I tell him at 12 years of age that he's too young to be having sex. He might decide that he's mature enough, but I as his parent am there to give him guidance, not cater to his every whim! And before anyone says "well legally he's too young to be having sex anyway", in an ideal world this would be enough to deter him, but we don't live in an ideal world now, do we?

Lyaiera

say_who_now? wrote: »

Then the child kicks up for five minutes because you won't allow them to wear a dress, storms off back into their room, comes back out in trousers, and five minutes later the whole drama is forgotten about and you can both move on until the next time the child decides to push their boundaries with their next crazy idea.

If I bought into every crazy idea my child had and "encouraged and supported" him in his endeavours, I'd not only be broke, but he'd have me driven to the point of insanity. Luckily for me however I have no problem setting boundaries for my child because I do not feel a need to be his "buddy", I'm his father and his parent, I would not let my child see me as a soft touch because then he will just walk all over me and disregard my authority when I tell him at 12 years of age that he's too young to be having sex. He might decide that he's mature enough, but I as his parent am there to give him guidance, not cater to his every whim! And before anyone says "well legally he's too young to be having sex anyway", in an ideal world this would be enough to deter him, but we don't live in an ideal world now, do we?

Hang on. There's been a beat missed.

You said that it's not nomal for boys to wear dresses.
Then I said you tell the child it's not normal for him to wear dresses and I asked what do you do after that.
You then went off on one about the child goes off in a huff for five minutes because he wasn't let wear dresses.

How did we go from "it's not normal to wear dresses" to "you're not allowed to wear dresses?"

Apparently this is all because a child has decided to "push their boundaries" with a "crazy idea." But I don't think my son wearing a dress would be pushing any boundaries for me, nor do I think it's a crazy idea. You've run ahead with all this based on the idea that it's not normal. Just because it isn't normal doesn't mean it's pushing my child's boundaries or my boundaries, and just because it isn't normal doesn't mean it's crazy. You're the one who went off on that and I don't agree with either assertion.

Let's go back then, it's not normal, you tell your son it isn't normal, and your son doesn't care. What then? Obviously you put the foot down and tell him he can't wear dresses, I don't. And I don't see why this father should either.

say_who_now?

Lyaiera wrote: »

Let's go back then, it's not normal, you tell your son it isn't normal, and your son doesn't care. What then? Obviously you put the foot down and tell him he can't wear dresses, I don't. And I don't see why this father should either.

Well your last post was just a bit vague so I misunderstood what you meant. While you might perhaps see the rest of the world as crazy for being bewildered at the idea of a father allowing a five year old child to make his own decisions, I would consider it more laughable than laudible. This is not ignorance on my part, it is ignorance on the part of the person that actively seeks to two finger society and think the world must conform to THEIR ideals, sorry, not their ideals, but the ideals of their five year old child.

I can tell you now that society isn't going to give much consideration to the ideals of a five year old child. When the child grows up is the father going to go in to his workplace and ask his boss that nobody be allowed to comment on the fact that his son is wearing a skirt and they too should change their dress code policies to accommodate him? This gives "dress down Fridays" a whole new meaning!

Smacks of "the emperor's new clothes" this does. The supporters of this child lauding this father with praise and commenting on how great it is to see it, until somebody says "oh come on, the child is wearing a dress!".

I guess if I wanted to court the attention of the media (who love a good spectacle!), I too would encourage my child to dress in female clothing and paint his nails! But that's already been done now so maybe the next time my son appears out of his bedroom wearing his mother's thong I should support him by donning a thong myself and taking him to play down in the park with the rest of the kids. And so what if other parents stare at me for wearing a thong, that's THEIR problem, right?

I'd nearly do it myself, just to see what would happen, but I wouldn't do it to my child as I'd never want to put them through that humiliation.

the_syco

He’s simply smiling, when other boys (and it’s nearly always boys) want to make fun of him and says: “You only don’t dare to wear skirts and dresses because your dads don’t dare to either.” That’s how broad his own shoulders have become by now. And all thanks to daddy in a skirt.

With a mindset like this, it'll be harder to bully him.

Also, the lone wolves are sometimes the crazy ones; he may throw a few punches at anyone who calls him names, but he'll get away with it.

BigDuffman

People keep using the word "gender divide" like its a bad thing. It's not. Society exists on account of "societal norms". This kid is not being introduced to what is considered normal. If I had my way as a child I'd still of been wearing a bat man costume till I was 12. There is fostering a sense of individuality and there is a laisez faire attitude towards parenting.

As a young fella I dressed up as batman, a soldier, a police man. I also have amusing pictures of me dressed up in my mothers high heels with some self applied lipstick (most of which avoided my lips). I was never told "No, that is evil and for trannys". They laughed and took pictures. I was also told "No you can't wear your batman costume to aunt bernies funeral".

This in my opinion is a shoddy form of parenting, all that freedom is never good for a child. Kids need loose boundaries to prepare them for the world. The problem with hippy type parents is that (brace for a generalization) they bring kids up in their own little world of organic vegan produce, hemp clothing and peace and love for all things...they are failing in their duties as parents to prepare their child for the fact that there is scumbags, peados and ne'erdowells out there who want nothing more to fcuk with someones day.

Lyaiera

I can understand all of what you're saying about other people will laugh at him and berate him for wearing a dress. But to be honest you're the fecking people who seem to be doing that. He doesn't live up to your world, so you berate him. Then you say, "Ah but people will berate him, so he'd better stop." How about you stop berating a child for wearing a bit of fecking fabric? There isn't some mystical out there people who are going to laugh at him, because they aren't mystical or out there, it's you.

The kid wears a dress. All the problems you've created are either your problems or problems you want the world to have. Get over yourselves.

annoyed_grunt

Okay this young lad will likely get picked on for this but consider a few things:

1) He's only 5...no one will remember this in years to come.

2) If he's happy then what else matters?

3) His dad is sound beyond reason.

4) He's a young fella and chances are if someone is gonna pick on him they'll find a reason. Kids can be cruel.

5) Who among us can honestly say that if we eren't so concerned with what people thought/said about us we wouldn't do something that looked "wierd" to others.

Wompa1

Call me a cynic but I'm wondering what the father background is. Does he study psychology by chance? Who contacted the press about this? I call Bullsh!t. Not to say some kid would not rather to wear a dress and paint his nails. I just wonder...

awec

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awec

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sweeney1971

Wrong on all levels. He will be getting him sex change next.

Pawwed Rig

Lyaiera wrote: »

I can understand all of what you're saying about other people will laugh at him and berate him for wearing a dress. But to be honest you're the fecking people who seem to be doing that. He doesn't live up to your world, so you berate him. Then you say, "Ah but people will berate him, so he'd better stop." How about you stop berating a child for wearing a bit of fecking fabric? There isn't some mystical out there people who are going to laugh at him, because they aren't mystical or out there, it's you.

The kid wears a dress. All the problems you've created are either your problems or problems you want the world to have. Get over yourselves.

The majority of posters who have not encouraged this have not berated the child so I am not sure what your point is based on. A few have criticised the father for not setting ground rules for his son. Can you point out any berating the son?

YumCha

Seem to be a lot of 'what ifs' and assumptions being thrown around in this thread...

I'd encourage everyone to read this article from the New York Times: What's So Bad About a Boy Who Wants to Wear a Dress?

(Also make sure to view the slideshow of the camp for gender variant children under Multimedia)

Nothing about the kids or parents seems attention seeking... in fact if anything, the kids sound more grown up than a lot of 'grown ups' I know.

the_syco

When Googleing "Nils Pickert" to try to find his background, I came across this; http://www.datalounge.com/cgi-bin/iowa/ajax.html?t=11899837#page:showThread,11899837 and the 2nd post shows what this could be.