Beating a dead horse!

[Judy-Somthing]

I was just thinking, who decides what guys and girls wear or want to wear?

I see little children everyday and girls wearing dresses and boys wearing pants.

Did the children pick their own cloths? I think it would be so cool if children could wear whatever they wanted.

I think way in the past most people got beat up for not fitting in!

[JenniferMBlack]

I think the parents decide, and since most of tjem think boys don't wear dresses they don't buy them for their boys. I know when I was growing up you would have been beat up if you came to school in a dress unless it was a special day.

[Dana44]

Back when I grew up we had to be men. Even if we did not feel like one. So nobody would ever wear a skirt. Today, I don't think parents would let their kids wear a skirt either. But it is better and a few may do it. But only of the parent knew and supported them.

[Tracii G]

Judy you are sounding like deebra she is always beating that horse.

[Gillian Gigs]

In my youth men who wore dresses, or skirts were thought to be gay, and there was nothing positive about that. We now know that just isn't true. The other reason was to get out of the army, and we know the war mongers are always looking for fresh meat. Don't get me wrong we all need to stand and fight for what is fight, but who decides what is right! The TV show M.A.S.H. actor Max Klinger may have been comic humour, but he did a lot to get people to see that CD'ers are just people.

[Lindajane]

We decide kid, our parents decided it for us and we decide it for our children.and As time passes and more choose what is outside the norm, the more it will change. I compare it to the new marijuana culture of today compared to what it was 30 years ago.
Funny, i thought i hated dead horses...

[Lydianne]

Although beating a dead horse is one perspective, there are new members arriving all the time, and they might bring some new input worth reading :) .

The search function is a great thing for finding out stuff passively, but one feels inclined not to respond to a "dead" thread because it is generally frowned upon ( not necessarily here, though ). Plus, our own views on the topic might change over time.

And I agree that it would be great to be able to wear whatever we wanted if it is presentable enough for the occasion.

[Teresa]

Judy ,
As an adult my wife usually sends for male clothes or drags me to the shops to update me if we are going on holiday, she knows I'm not interested anymore.
As a child I either wore a school uniform or some beaten up old clothes because most of the time we were out playing. Mostly the clothes just appeared and we were coerced to try them on.

Of course it all changed when my CDing started at the age of 8-9 but as it was sexual almost from the start I wasn't going to be seen by anyone because of feeling guilty . The only time I enjoyed male clothes was after I left school and had my own money to choose my own things, I wanted to look good for the girls .

On the whole today kids get to wear what they want . In my day people got beaten up for all sorts of reasons .

[Rachelakld]

Parents by example (boys will generally follow examples from males they admire)
TV heroes by example (who doesn't want to be Elsa from Frozen or Lara Croft even, and boys get Ironman outfits or whatever Tom Cruise wears)

[mbmeen12]

Although beating a dead horse is one perspective, there are new members arriving all the time, and they might bring some new input worth reading

I second the motion because the only thing that is constant in this world is; change.

[Krea]

Yes, i reckon parents generally tell their children what to wear & almost always reinforce gender stereotypes.

Recently however several schools in England have introduced new rules meaning that boys & girls will be able to wear their uniform with either trousers or skirt as they prefer.
It will be interesting to see how many boys wish to take up this option and how their parents/friends react. Hopefully they will not suffer victimisation as a result.

Maybe the start of a significant change in attitudes? We can only hope so...

Nic :)

[sara66]

From observation most little girls around 3 to 7ish will go to their closet and put on all of their favorites usually all at the same time. Most boys will go for shorts and tshirts. I don't think they even consider "gender" when they pickout clothing. I think that most of us tried on mom's or sister's clothing out of curiosity not because of gender. I think we try to read too much into things so we can answer the questions WHY.
Sara :2c:

[Rachelish]

There have been boys who have taken up the skirt option in the few (so far) schools that have adopted gender-neutral school uniform policies in the UK. It will be long haul but should make a big difference to attitudes in later life.

[CarlaWestin]

From observation most little girls around 3 to 7ish will go to their closet and put on all of their favorites usually all at the same time.

Wife and I think it's the cutest thing when we see a young lady that has decided to wear cowgirl boots, princess dress, wonder woman cape and a tiara all at the same time.

[Kate Simmons]

You make a good point Judy. When I was young, I always wanted to wear girl clothes. I had to wait until I grew up to actually do it. :battingeyelashes::)

[Tracii G]

Parents sure we get that but I think a lot is driven by what your friends are wearing as we grow up.
Growing up in the 50's and 60's most guys wore dress pants and a button up shirt or polo style shirt to school that was normal.
I hated the style and still do so I don't wear that style now.

[Nikkilovesdresses]

I think way in the past most people got beat up for not fitting in!

Plenty still do, in every country and in every part of society. Some of the bruises are physical, most are mental/emotional.

As a species we have a long way to go.

[Angie G]

I don't know who decides but I'd like to punch him in the nose. On real hot day men should wear skirts why not.:hugs:
Angie

[Tina_gm]

I was just thinking, who decides what guys and girls wear or want to wear?

I see little children everyday and girls wearing dresses and boys wearing pants.

Did the children pick their own cloths? I think it would be so cool if children could wear whatever they wanted.

I think way in the past most people got beat up for not fitting in!

Well of course the parents are going to choose their kids clothing early on, and to little surprise they are going to match the clothing to the kids born gender. And news flash.... Most kids are going to be perfectly comfortable with that match and prefer it.

We of course are different, but at a very young age, our parents are just going to dress us as we were born. 40 or so years ago especially, and in some places and some parents even today will shame their kids, or physically abuse them for cding.

Who gets to choose, ultimately we do. We also choose to deal or not to with the consequences. NO ONE is stopping any of us from cding. Wives may protest and leave us, but that doesn't stop us unless we choose to based on their actions or their telling us what those actions will be if we do. Some jobs may fire us.... Or maybe some have a certain uni or other dress code. Again, our choice to work there and abide by our employers rules.

We could choose to go to an interview crossdressed, and they can choose whether or not to hire us. There are places to work where cding is likely not verboten... nail salons, hair salons.... we can choose a job where we work from home. Or, own our own business. Then our customers can choose to frequent our establishment, or not. The choice is ours, and theirs.

[Stephanie47]

There are interesting articles and photographs showing President Franklin D. Roosevelt attired at age 2 1/2 in a pink dress. That was around 1884. Back then it was the custom for boys to wear dresses until age 6-7 which was also when boys had their first hair cut. It wasn't until around World War I that colors started to be gender specific. "Google" the subject. There's a lot of material out there.

When I was a young boy in the early 1950's girls wore dresses or skirts and blouses. Even in zero degree weather they had to wear dresses at school. To accomplish this they wore snow pants under their dresses and took them off at school. In the summer girls rode bikes in dresses. The women's baseball league during World War II had to wear dresses. Now? Girls can wear almost anything. At least there is progress for girls.

[sometimes_miss]

Judy you are sounding like deebra she is always beating that horse.

Be nice, she's only trying to be more girly. You know, talk endlessly about the same things over and over, just to keep some conversation going. Women bond through talking to each other, men, over shared activities (like actively avoiding listening to the women in their lives!).

[JMO2]

I have pondered many times the thoughts of kids choosing their own clothes and what they would choose. Now as I get older I know that most is chosen by the parents because if it wasn't (boys wearing boys clothes and girls wearing girls clothes) that the other parents/onlookers would scream child abuse if they saw a boy in a dress. It now has to be chosen by the child and emphasized by the child and the parent that they did choose those clothes and they have to "look" the part in order for society itself to not cry "fowl".
That being said wouldn't society be great if no one judged anyone for any actions (legal) that weren't hurting anyone and we were free to do as we pleased?
Clothes are an issue that has bugged me for years. (not only because I crossdress)
The phobias and accuzations of such actions puts people in such a judgemental state that no one steps outside the "norm" because of those phobias (hope I spelled that right)
Life and society and our country has become close minded even though we have come so far as to become independent from every other country but as a person you can not enjoy that independence unless we step outside that "norm" that everyone else wants to see.
I hope you understand what I just wrote. (I live for my partner and son, not for the way I want to live. I love them too much to put them through that.)

[Judy-Somthing]

What I'm thinking is if people could chose what ever they wanted to wear and it was totally normal I think some guys would dress more fem.

[jennifer0918]

I once rode a horse with no name through the dessert.

[Krea]

What I'm thinking is if people could chose what ever they wanted to wear and it was totally normal I think some guys would dress more fem.

I think you're right Judy. The clothes are generally so much nicer. It would be a simple choice for me.

[Alice Torn]

I have seen some very old photos of little boys in dresses, about the 1890's or 1900, or so. At that time, toddlers of both sexes sometimes were dresses in skirts or dresses, sometimes. At some point, they were called pantywaists. Thats where that awful slur came from.