Today Meredith Vieira, author of “My Princess Boy” appeared today on the Today Show alongside Dyson her son (aka Princess Boy) , who is the inspiration his book. Dyson loves wearing dresses and likes pink color. Why? Well, according to Dyson:

“because it makes me feel happy!”

According to the book description:

“Dyson loves pink, sparkly things. Sometimes he wears dresses. Sometimes he wears jeans. He likes to wear his princess tiara, even when climbing trees. He’s a Princess Boy.

Inspired by the author’s son, and by her own initial struggles to understand, this is a heart-warming book about unconditional love and one remarkable family. It is also a call for tolerance and an end to bullying and judgments. The world is a brighter place when we accept everyone for who they are.”

What do you think about this? Many people think it is bad letting a boy dress like a girl, while others say it is better to just let the boy be the way he is and accept that everyone is different.

I think his family is awesome... very progressive.

I read an article about this in People at the nail salon. Interesting, not sure how I feel about it tho.

Good for him. Good for his family. I would volunteer to beat up anyone that fucks with him, too.

Good for them. I like that they're allowing him to be different, and that they acknowledge that it's different. This is sweet.

it's a shame that dressing pink and sparkly makes men's nuts shrivel up, they should try it sometime, it really DOES make you feel happy

He's adorable; I want to pinch him up.

Its nice when you are allowed to just be without judgement. What I like the most is that his mother is so open to it. A good boost to his self esteem. Too many kids are afraid to be who they are for fear of criticism. I love this.

So, nobody thinks this is the least bit exploitative, making a 5 year old boy the posterchild for something he may not fully understand? His parents could have fully supported his choice to dress like a princess and written the book without putting him on national television or in magazines. That's not protecting him IMO.

SCNDLS said:

So, nobody thinks this is the least bit exploitative, making a 5 year old boy the posterchild for something he may not fully understand? His parents could have fully supported his choice to dress like a princess and written the book without putting him on national television or in magazines. That's not protecting him IMO.

I see your point. I was just thinking about him being allowed to dress how he wants. It maybe a bit exploitive for the books sake which is cheesy. I'm sure he's not the only little boy who likes dresses and purses. Working in daycare I've seen hundreds

heybaby said:

SCNDLS said:

So, nobody thinks this is the least bit exploitative, making a 5 year old boy the posterchild for something he may not fully understand? His parents could have fully supported his choice to dress like a princess and written the book without putting him on national television or in magazines. That's not protecting him IMO.

I see your point. I was just thinking about him being allowed to dress how he wants. It maybe a bit exploitive for the books sake which is cheesy. I'm sure he's not the only little boy who likes dresses and purses. Working in daycare I've seen hundreds

Exactly, he's not the first boy to do this. Write the book to help folks but WHY put his real name and likeness out there??? What happens if and when he outgrows this phase and wants to play football or date girls? He's gonna be exposed to all kinds of unnecessary ridicule and possibly worse because his PARENTS decided to make him a public spectacle at 5. He's not choosing this, they are.

He's fine the way he is. If he stays like this forever or later changes his mind, I see nothing wrong with it.

The problem is not who he is, or that this might be a phase, or that his parents are so called "exploiting" him to try to teach acceptance and understanding in regards to gender roles, it's the assholes that ridicule him that are the real problem.

Keep these stories coming, keep showing the assholes that they are assholes. Keep showing them that they are the problem and why. Keep preaching tolerance and understanding.

People can and eventually will change, it's not a losing battle...that's for sure.

C'mon. Boys are boys and girls are girls and I have a hard time believing they should dress like each other.

Really.

RodeoSchro said:

C'mon. Boys are boys and girls are girls and I have a hard time believing they should dress like each other.

Really.

there is clearly NOT enough pink and sparkle in YOUR wardrobe

ZombieKitten said:

RodeoSchro said:

C'mon. Boys are boys and girls are girls and I have a hard time believing they should dress like each other.

Really.

there is clearly NOT enough pink and sparkle in YOUR wardrobe

heybaby said:

SCNDLS said:

So, nobody thinks this is the least bit exploitative, making a 5 year old boy the posterchild for something he may not fully understand? His parents could have fully supported his choice to dress like a princess and written the book without putting him on national television or in magazines. That's not protecting him IMO.

I see your point. I was just thinking about him being allowed to dress how he wants. It maybe a bit exploitive for the books sake which is cheesy. I'm sure he's not the only little boy who likes dresses and purses. Working in daycare I've seen hundreds

so true- but ive also seen parents tell their little girls that they cant play with tools and fire trucks...and their little boys to put the doll baby down and come out of the kitchen area. I had a girl choose spider man for her gift and that was ok-but if a boy had chosen tinkerbell because he loves purple- the parents would have had words with me. All that to say-ok -this one kid may be a sacrifice for the thousands who have no voice and bring understanding to parents whose bias makes their children unhappy.

RodeoSchro said:

C'mon. Boys are boys and girls are girls and I have a hard time believing they should dress like each other.

Really.

Well in all sincerity Ro, as the resident (self-proclaimed ) fashion historian on the site, it's only been in the last century that such strong gender lines have been drawn between color and sillouhette in small children's clothing, starting about after World War I.

Until the early 20th century, children's clothing was much more unisex, and pink, blue, and yellow were used interchangebly for children regardless of gender,with babies generally all starting in white dresses.

Even sewing patterns for small children were unisex dresses and cloaks:

Interestingly enough, once sexual color coding was introduced in the West after WW1, pink was the color designated for boys, and blue was for girls. That was because pink was presented as a paler version of it's big brother red- the color associated with masculinity and strength in Christian tradition. The color blue was associated with the Virgin Mary and thus considered to be effeminate. The tradition of using pink for boys and blue for girls continued until about the end of WW2, when blue, being the main color used for soldiers uniforms, began to represent males as dominant protectors of home and hearth. So by 1950, the color roles reversed for gender stereotyping and we saw less of boys running around in pink or having rooms decorated in pink. Some historians have also theorized that Hitler's use of pink to identify homosexuals during WW2 may have had a limited influence on public perception of pink as no longer representing masculinity by the time we reached mid-century.

I say maybe the kid just has an old soul and is going old skool.

But I do agree with SCNDLS that it's a little worrisome that his mom is thrusting him out there as the poster child for this. Something just doesn't feel right to me because I don't believe he is old enough to make a conscious decision to be paraded around on these television shows for a "Cause Célèbre". I think little dude just likes his pink dresses the same way some kids like PB&J sandwiches and time will tell whether or not he's not feeling it anymore.

But yeah, part of me does take the way he dresses with a grain of salt. I guess because we have only been conditioned to dictate what consitutes feminine and what constitutes masculine dress for children for such a short time in history...heck 50 years from now maybe boys will be designated polka dots and girls stripes. Who knows. We humans are a fickle bunch, changing our mind on what societal and aesthetic norms should be every 5 minutes. Heck, they just started phasing out wigs and black dresses in some court systems for lawyers and judges...until that came about these dudes were running around with more weave hair for work than Beyonce

Oddly, I'm inclined to give a a little more pause to how the mom will be handling this. Can't put my finger on it, but I have my doubts for some reason...

ZombieKitten said:

RodeoSchro said:

C'mon. Boys are boys and girls are girls and I have a hard time believing they should dress like each other.

Really.

there is clearly NOT enough pink and sparkle in YOUR wardrobe

LOL, maybe not, but there is SOME!

OH JUST LET a cashier ask me "Are you really gonna buy this for him??". Gurrrrrrl.

There goes my idea for a book named "Pretty" about how I used to play dress up in my mom's clothes. GOOD FOR THEM!

My only hesitations would come from trying to protect him from others, but I would much rather my child have happiness and have to find a way to protect them, than them be depressed and self-destructive.

My only other issue about this whole thing is when she said "his face or his name are not in the book" in case he changes his mind or is later embarassed. Well...umm...you're on the Today show with him, Lady. His parents might have true good intention of changing views in mind, this I understand. I might have put the book out and tried to promote it differently but it's a really double edged sword because if you promoted "There's nothing wrong with this" but didn't show the child then you couldn't truly sell that message.

Anyone who has a problem with them allowing him to dress this way has a problem themselves. Period.

[Edited 1/4/11 6:33am]

johnart said:

OH JUST LET a cashier ask me "Are you really gonna buy this for him??". Gurrrrrrl.

There goes my idea for a book named "Pretty" about how I used to play dress up in my mom's clothes. GOOD FOR THEM!

My only hesitation would be trying to protect him from others, but I would much rather my child have happiness and have to find a way to protect them, than them be depressed and self-destructive.

Anyone who has a problem with this has a problem themselves. Period.

I think I just realized what's bothering me about the mom! I get the feeling that she's doing all of this public brouhaha to make herself feel better about her initial reaction... I feel sorta like looking at her interviews and saying "um the only one who was really having an issue about this was you, big mama"...I feel like I can't figure out if she's doing all of this for her son's benefit, or sub-consciously as a panacea for herself. It reminds me of a person that makes a flower arrangement...all mixed flowers, but feels the need to point out whatever non-standard bloom is in the there, then they hammer on about why the arrangement is beautiful and why the unexpected bloom adds dimension to the whole bunch...when you hadn't even noticed that the flower arrangement was all that unusual to begin with...

..but then, if it's a helpful coping mechanism for her to suit up against the jackasses of the world I guess that's a good thing too

of fer f**k's ake, I have no train of thought on this. I'm going to go eat a piece of ham

RodeoSchro said:

ZombieKitten said:

there is clearly NOT enough pink and sparkle in YOUR wardrobe

LOL, maybe not, but there is SOME!

See! Old Skool! Old skool has it's charm!

Ottensen said:

johnart said:

OH JUST LET a cashier ask me "Are you really gonna buy this for him??". Gurrrrrrl.

There goes my idea for a book named "Pretty" about how I used to play dress up in my mom's clothes. GOOD FOR THEM!

My only hesitation would be trying to protect him from others, but I would much rather my child have happiness and have to find a way to protect them, than them be depressed and self-destructive.

Anyone who has a problem with this has a problem themselves. Period.

I think I just realized what's bothering me about the mom! I get the feeling that she's doing all of this public brouhaha to make herself feel better about her initial reaction... I feel sorta like looking at her interviews and saying "um the only one who was really having an issue about this was you, big mama"...I feel like I can't figure out if she's doing all of this for her son's benefit, or sub-consciously as a panacea for herself. It reminds me of a person that makes a flower arrangement...all mixed flowers, but feels the need to point out whatever non-standard bloom is in the there, then they hammer on about why the arrangement is beautiful and why the unexpected bloom adds dimension to the whole bunch...when you hadn't even noticed that the flower arrangement was all that unusual to begin with...

..but then, if it's a helpful coping mechanism for her to suit up against the jackasses of the world I guess that's a good thing too

of fer f**k's ake, I have no train of thought on this. I'm going to go eat a piece of ham

Ham is pink.

Ottensen said:

RodeoSchro said:

C'mon. Boys are boys and girls are girls and I have a hard time believing they should dress like each other.

Really.

Well in all sincerity Ro, as the resident (self-proclaimed ) fashion historian on the site, it's only been in the last century that such strong gender lines have been drawn between color and sillouhette in small children's clothing, starting about after World War I.

Until the early 20th century, children's clothing was much more unisex, and pink, blue, and yellow were used interchangebly for children regardless of gender,with babies generally all starting in white dresses.

Even sewing patterns for small children were unisex dresses and cloaks:

Interestingly enough, once sexual color coding was introduced in the West after WW1, pink was the color designated for boys, and blue was for girls. That was because pink was presented as a paler version of it's big brother red- the color associated with masculinity and strength in Christian tradition. The color blue was associated with the Virgin Mary and thus considered to be effeminate. The tradition of using pink for boys and blue for girls continued until about the end of WW2, when blue, being the main color used for soldiers uniforms, began to represent males as dominant protectors of home and hearth. So by 1950, the color roles reversed for gender stereotyping and we saw less of boys running around in pink or having rooms decorated in pink. Some historians have also theorized that Hitler's use of pink to identify homosexuals during WW2 may have had a limited influence on public perception of pink as no longer representing masculinity by the time we reached mid-century.

I say maybe the kid just has an old soul and is going old skool.

But I do agree with SCNDLS that it's a little worrisome that his mom is thrusting him out there as the poster child for this. Something just doesn't feel right to me because I don't believe he is old enough to make a conscious decision to be paraded around on these television shows for a "Cause Célèbre". I think little dude just likes his pink dresses the same way some kids like PB&J sandwiches and time will tell whether or not he's not feeling it anymore.

But yeah, part of me does take the way he dresses with a grain of salt. I guess because we have only been conditioned to dictate what consitutes feminine and what constitutes masculine dress for children for such a short time in history...heck 50 years from now maybe boys will be designated polka dots and girls stripes. Who knows. We humans are a fickle bunch, changing our mind on what societal and aesthetic norms should be every 5 minutes. Heck, they just started phasing out wigs and black dresses in some court systems for lawyers and judges...until that came about these dudes were running around with more weave hair for work than Beyonce

Oddly, I'm inclined to give a a little more pause to how the mom will be handling this. Can't put my finger on it, but I have my doubts for some reason...

Great post, Ottie.

Like I said, my issue is not with how he dresses or how his parents responded by writing a book to address the situation. My problem is that he's 5 years old and this could just be something he likes to do as a precocious 5 year old. However, why is his name and face plastered on tv, youtube, and People? That has nothing to do with him doing HIS thing. Mom coulda did the same publicity and even discussed HER experience as his mother without sitting him on a couch in a tutu with sequined shoes on.

If her goal was to protect him, I think making him a public figure for this when he can't make a rational, informed decision of how doing so will impact him for the rest of HIS life is dangerous. Not to mention these nutcases out here who could target him in some way. I think his parents are being downright irresponsible.

I bet Balloon Boy's parents are piiiiiiiiiiiissed.

Ottensen said:

RodeoSchro said:

C'mon. Boys are boys and girls are girls and I have a hard time believing they should dress like each other.

Really.

Well in all sincerity Ro, as the resident (self-proclaimed ) fashion historian on the site, it's only been in the last century that such strong gender lines have been drawn between color and sillouhette in small children's clothing, starting about after World War I.

Until the early 20th century, children's clothing was much more unisex, and pink, blue, and yellow were used interchangebly for children regardless of gender,with babies generally all starting in white dresses.

Even sewing patterns for small children were unisex dresses and cloaks:

Interestingly enough, once sexual color coding was introduced in the West after WW1, pink was the color designated for boys, and blue was for girls. That was because pink was presented as a paler version of it's big brother red- the color associated with masculinity and strength in Christian tradition. The color blue was associated with the Virgin Mary and thus considered to be effeminate. The tradition of using pink for boys and blue for girls continued until about the end of WW2, when blue, being the main color used for soldiers uniforms, began to represent males as dominant protectors of home and hearth. So by 1950, the color roles reversed for gender stereotyping and we saw less of boys running around in pink or having rooms decorated in pink. Some historians have also theorized that Hitler's use of pink to identify homosexuals during WW2 may have had a limited influence on public perception of pink as no longer representing masculinity by the time we reached mid-century.

I say maybe the kid just has an old soul and is going old skool.

But I do agree with SCNDLS that it's a little worrisome that his mom is thrusting him out there as the poster child for this. Something just doesn't feel right to me because I don't believe he is old enough to make a conscious decision to be paraded around on these television shows for a "Cause Célèbre". I think little dude just likes his pink dresses the same way some kids like PB&J sandwiches and time will tell whether or not he's not feeling it anymore.

But yeah, part of me does take the way he dresses with a grain of salt. I guess because we have only been conditioned to dictate what consitutes feminine and what constitutes masculine dress for children for such a short time in history...heck 50 years from now maybe boys will be designated polka dots and girls stripes. Who knows. We humans are a fickle bunch, changing our mind on what societal and aesthetic norms should be every 5 minutes. Heck, they just started phasing out wigs and black dresses in some court systems for lawyers and judges...until that came about these dudes were running around with more weave hair for work than Beyonce

Oddly, I'm inclined to give a a little more pause to how the mom will be handling this. Can't put my finger on it, but I have my doubts for some reason...

Actually, back when, both boys and girls wore dresses at least until they were toilet trained. (Baby clothes didn't have those nifty snap crotches back in the day.)

I have a photo of my dad from the mid-1930s in which he is 2 or 3 years old and is - yes - wearing a dress.

johnart said:

I bet Balloon Boy's parents are piiiiiiiiiiiissed.

Ha! That's funny; for some reason, I thought of them too in relation to this.

they started making the rounds last year (summer/fall 2010).. that they're still promoting it, and giving a voice to those who are "different"

-- I figure, the more exposure, the less "different" ppl will be (and, hopefuly, there'll be less bullying)

If that's what he feels comfortable in, then cool.