If a parent encounters a request like that from a son I would think an inquiry should be made. The worst thing a parent could do is rail against any sexual minority. Putting down any sexual minority does not but foster hatred or disapproval. If a son has sexual identity issues, fostering a negative attitude will drive him into a closet from which he may never escape. The days of beating a kid into a societal mold are over.
There is a saying a friend a long time ago used: "You protest too much!" If the coworker is so against her son wearing the attire of a cartoon young woman, what's really bothering her? Her husband is a cross dresser? Her mother's marriage was destroyed by cross dressing?
