Boards
The show What Would You Do? did something pretty cool that turned out to be really heartbreaking. The series plants controversial scenarios in public places to see how regular people will react. In this episode they used two actors to play a boy and his mom in a Halloween store. The boy wanted to be a princess, but the mom wouldn’t allow it.
The customers’ responses were upsetting to say the least. One mom said, “I have three boys. My older one did that. I told him no.” Customer after customer sided with the mom. Each saying it was wrong for a boy to want to dress like a girl and that it’s a “phase” that they need to put a stop to. No one says the word “gay” but it’s pretty clear that there is a fear that this could mean that he is.
When no one sides with the boy the show did something else pretty cool. They wanted to see if this was a double standard. People seem to believe it’s wrong for a boy to want to look like a girl, but would they feel the same about a girl who wants to be Spider-Man? The answer is just as upsetting as the first scenario. No one seemed to think it was OK for the girl to be Spider-Man! Customers continued to tell the girl she would look better as a princess.
Why not just give her an apron and broom and tell her to be a housewife? What is the point in breaking the heart of someone so young? When you’re young your costume is so important to you because it’s a part of how you choose to shape your identity. Every Halloween I had to be something scary. I never wanted to be anything “pretty” because I just wasn’t into it. When I was nine years old we went to the costume store too late to get any of the good stuff so I had to be a BRIDE. I was so uncomfortable in this big white dress I didn’t speak to anyone on my favorite holiday. Is there anything wrong with a big white dress? No. But it didn’t feel like who I was and I knew that even at nine years old.
Telling a kid they are wrong for harmlessly expressing themselves is awful. I think my worst fear as kid was the possibility that if my parents found out what I was really like they may not love me anymore. A lot of my friends felt the same way.
Only one woman sided with the girl and it was awesome. She tells the girl’s mother, “What encourages her to want to be Spider-Man is that she likes the idea of saving people. It shows that she wants be a strong woman.” The little girl asks, “Do you think I should feel bad about liking boy stuff?” The woman replies, “You’re worried about if people will accept you. But if you’re strong and you know who you are, people will respect you for it. There are more girls like you.”
The host of the show then intervened and told the open-minded woman it was all an act. The woman said, “You could tell that she was so worried about her kid being gay even though she didn’t literally say the word gay. Either way they’re still your child and there are lots of people who will turn their backs on them because of their sexual orientation and that’s something that breaks my heart.”
Watch the heartbreaking video right here.
Would you have sided with the mom or kid? Let us know in the comments!
They may believe that they are protecting their child from bullying, but in actuality they are reaffirming the rigid gender roles of our society that are causing said bullying in the first place. Telling a child that something they enjoy is wrong for their particular sex is not protecting them; it’s protecting and reinforcing the ideology of the bullies.
People really need to grow up. Let your kid dress up like they want to, parents who tell their kids no to stuff like this are breaking their child’s dream. They are going to do stuff and act how their parents want them to. Parents need to stop telling their kids what to do when it come to things like this dont you want your child to have confidence and be an individual? When you say no to these kinda things they are going to think that its bad when they want to do/wear/play something that is a ‘boy’ or ‘girl’ thing
Think about it this way:
She is worried about her son’s future. She’s protecting him. Think about it. If he continues this way, when he gets older, don’t you think the kids at school are going to make fun of him for being gay?
Think about all those stories about gay bullying. This mom is concerned that if she allows her son to continue down this path, he may have to face the extreme cruelty of his peers in the future, which may or may not result in the son’s extreme depression, or even suicide.
Try thinking about it that way.
I think that, in this case, the homosexual force is just looking for a bone to pick with us conservatives. So a mom doesn’t want her son to be a princess? So what?
You can’t always give a child exactly what he or she wants.
9 times out of 10, parents forbid their children from doing certain things just to protect them.
Am I right, moms?
Who cares if he wants to be a princess? Let him wear it, If he’s a princess on the inside, go ahead!! He will be happy in it, so just go with it!
I think that people think too much into things. Let the boy wear the princess costume. It doesn’t mean he will end up being what is considered to be “more girly”.
I would not call this an Americanized stereotype. America is not very strict on gender roles when compared to older, less diverse countries with as much religious devotion as America and similar lands. If you watch the entire episode’s segment of this situation, almost every person mentions that they denied their child certain characters due to bullying. Instead of a stereotype, this is considered prejudice judgement that’s determined by leveled society. The families would not feel that way if they were certain the children would not be picked on. In this episode a young boy even denoted the “princess” outfit as a girls-only dress with parental influence.
i dont mean to be stereotypical, but it seems like this type of stuff is mostly an american thing. i mean, i live in canada and i’ve done quite a few more “boy” type costumes such as harry potter, and this year im charlie brown. i have a friend who was voldemort. no one has a problem with it. my friends think its cool! one time my mom even suggested i be a fireman. so i was surprised some people make such a big deal out of it.
I love that show <3