5-year-old boy likes to dress as a Princess

[IDrinkaRum]

And his mother has written a book called "MY Princess Boy"

Dean and Cheryl Kilodavis were both at first discouraging about having their son, Dyson, wearing dresses and the color pink.

They actually tried to tell him that boys don't wear pink and don't dress as princesses.

The Kilodavis' older son, Dkobe, was the one who told his parents to chill and let their younger son be happy.

I think it's good that Dyson has a family that have let him "be himself". It's not hurting anyone. The boy gets to be creative.

[Gravekeeper]

I was with her until I saw the kid on TV the other day sporting the moniker "Princess Boy". Now you're just fame whoring him out and ensuring theres footage that will haunt him for life. His high school years may be rather miserable depending where he lives. There's nothing wrong with the kid but it doesn't mean people won't tell him there is for years thanks to your need for talk show appearences.

You made your point, now get your child back out of the spotlight and let him grow up in peace. -.-

[telecom_goddess]

I was with her until I saw the kid on TV the other day sporting the moniker "Princess Boy". Now you're just fame whoring him out and ensuring theres footage that will haunt him for life. His high school years may be rather miserable depending where he lives. There's nothing wrong with the kid but it doesn't mean people won't tell him there is for years thanks to your need for talk show appearences.

You made your point, now get your child back out of the spotlight and let him grow up in peace. -.-

I agree....publicity is NOT going to help this kid out in school at any time.

[Rageaholic]

Ditto gravekeeper. This is not worth all the publicity, and with a nickname like "princess boy", I see years of therapy in this boys future.

[Andara Bledin]

I haven't done much digging, but it appears that the boy wants to be a princess. Princess Boy seems about as accurate a description of him as it gets.

I can certainly see her reasons for this.

Her boy wanted to wear frilly pink dresses. At first she told him it wasn't right. Then her other boy (8) asked her why she could let him be happy, and she took a step back and asked herself that.

The reason she's gone so public is because she's trying to change perception. Not so much about her kid, but about bullying and how we need to stop trying to make the victims change and try to fit in. This is to shine a spotlight on bullying as well as to shine a spotlight on our own unfounded prejudices.

^-.-^

[Rageaholic]

If she's trying to speak out against bullying, she could be a little less subtle.

[Andara Bledin]

Subtle?

Here's the entire second half of the article linked:

He thinks it's pretty cool, actually.

"It's not contagious," he tells Today. "He's just like any other kid. He plays checkers, he plays in the trees. He just likes to do it in a dress. Big deal."

It might be a big deal to a bully looking for faces to rearrange. But Cheryl Kilodavis tells the network you can't stop bullies by sacrificing who you are.

"I understand that we all want life to be easy for our children," she tells the network. "I want that, too. But I don't think bullying will stop if my son wears traditional boy clothes. We need a wake-up call. America needs one. The world needs one. We need to start asking ourselves why we are condemning people and things just because they are different and make us feel uncomfortable."

It is the bullies that need to be stopped, she says, not their victims.

"Bullying is taking lives. It is unacceptable. Period," she tells Today. "We must stop standing by while others are being harmed for expressing themselves. Our children are teaching us how to accept them every day. We all want our children to live in a world where they can express themselves without harming anyone else or being harmed."

What does Dyson say about all this?

"I'm a princess boy and I love wearing dresses and I love the colors of pink and red," he tells Today.

I don't see how half the article being about bullying is subtle.

^-.-^

[Gravekeeper]

The reason she's gone so public is because she's trying to change perception. Not so much about her kid, but about bullying and how we need to stop trying to make the victims change and try to fit in.

*She* can go public all she wants. Leave the kid himself off the talk shows. I don't object to her point, only her dragging her child out in front of cameras when he will surely regret it years later but isn't old enough to foresee that right now.

I applaud what she's trying to do, but bullying isn't liable to change any time soon. So he's kinda getting tossed to the wolves in a sense.

[Rageaholic]

I probably should have read the article before commenting.

I'm still siding with gravekeeper here. It's not fair to put the kid in the spotlight when we don't know if he wants to or not. If he wanted to, fine, I'd applaud him for that. But ultimately, the mother is making the decision for the kid (unless there's something saying otherwise?).

Don't get me wrong, I hate bullies just as much as everyone else. I don't think anyone should have to conform just so they won't be harassed, but it should be an individuals choice to go out in the spotlight. This sounds like it could easily backfire and cost the kid a life or torment.