TQC gender-wank!
*stolen from a mousie on

thequestionclub if it's ok to let her son wear a skirt to school. Most of the answers are *gasp!* reasonable, but there are always a few wankers in the bunch.

redlightlove starts off the party by proclaiming boys only wear skirts if they're fairies. People of course call him on this, and he backpedals with the classic "I was doing it for the LULZ."

redlightlove then makes it to

stupid_free (which stays amazingly free of wank).

Next up, we have

renewedme, proclaiming that the kid needs to go to therapy to find the "root" of his problem. Anyone else having "But I'm a Cheerleader" flashbacks? Continuing on this theme, she states that dressing as the opposite sex could come from "underlying problems" and that she sees "nothing wrong with our society's attitudes toward gender at all." There is another round of "Bitch, plz" from those assembled. There's also a discussion on whether ten year-olds understand sexuality and gender identity, culminating in accusations of repression.

Finally,

supernovacaine gets in on the action, wondering why transsexuals can't just wear goddamn pants like all the other women in the world.

Personally, I'm just in favor of clothing that keeps the naughty bits covered. At least on most people. Jeri Ryan is allowed to wear as little clothing as she likes.

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queencallipygos
2007-01-17 06:24 pm UTC (link)

When my brother was about twelve or thirteen, one of his friends got a mohawk haircut, which caused a little flurry of gossip. At some point soon after, my mother ran into the other boy's mother and they started talking about it, and mom asked what her reaction had been when her son had asked for it. Her response was probably the wisest I've ever heard to "child wants to do something unconventional to their appearance."

She said that well, first of all, it wasn't a tattoo or a piercing -- it was a haircut, so it was going to be temporary, and could be changed later. Second -- she figured that either she could forbid it and run the risk of her kid going behind her back, or she could let him get it; and if he did, he would either get a huge raft of teasing, change his mind, and realize that he had to think about his appearance and how others would perceive it, or he would get a huge raft of teasing, decide not to care about it, and develop a strong sense of self. Either way he reacted to the teasing, he would learn that his actions had consequences, and you need to put a bit of thought into them sometimes, and -- hey, isn't that a good thing for kids to learn?...

I was about fourteen when I heard that this was her opinion, and I just remember thinking, "damn, this woman is WISE."

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	soupspooks 2007-01-17 06:26 pm UTC (link)
	I worship at that woman's feet. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	yaoiko 2007-01-17 06:58 pm UTC (link)
	Best mom EVER. Lady needs a 'round of applause. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	miss_eponine 2007-01-17 07:07 pm UTC (link)
	My best friend knew a guy with a blue mohawk. A little boy who went to their church thought his 'dinosaur hair' was awesome and decided he had to have one too. The kid's mom let him get a mohawk because he was six, and when else was he going to really appreciate having dinosaur hair? (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	doc_lydgate 2007-01-18 10:32 pm UTC (link)
	That also is pretty awesomely awesome. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	iwanttobeasleep 2007-01-17 07:15 pm UTC (link)
	She's completely awesome. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	mmanurere 2007-01-17 08:24 pm UTC (link)
	Y'see, this woman? Knows that "actions have consequences" only works when the "consequences" occur organically rather than being imposed by the parents. Kids are generally smart enough (especially by age 12-13) to make sense of the former and to know that the latter are bullshit. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	some_dude 2007-01-17 10:13 pm UTC (link)
	That reminds me of the multiple times my mom dyed my brother's hair green or blue for him...only in that case the rationale was less about natural consequences and more about "Well, if he's going to do it, at least I can do it for him and it won't look like complete shit." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	shaysdays 2007-01-17 10:34 pm UTC (link)
	Yeah, I dye my 9yo's hair so she won't do it with markers. If she's going to have pink hair, by golly it'll be nice-looking pink hair. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	semirecluse 2007-01-18 06:54 am UTC (link)
	Really? Awwwww. :D (Reply to this)(Parent)

	hallidae 2007-01-18 02:00 am UTC (link)
	That sounds exactly like my mom, right down to the "Well, at least you're not getting a tattoo or putting metal in your face." (Reply to this)(Parent)

	eljuno 2007-01-18 08:48 am UTC (link)
	Sounds like my mother's philosophy. (Reply to this)(Parent)

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