So most days my son is dressed like Sofia the First, or some Disney princess, or -- my favorite -- rocking a multi-colored Ralph Lauren spaghetti strap sundress. Taking all social mores out of it, he looks good in dresses. And on an 80 degree summer day in LA, it's probably the most practical choice.
It used to embarrass me slightly when he wore a dress in public. And it wasn't because I cared about people who thought it was weird that my son was wearing a dress. It was because I cared that they thought I had chosen to put him in a dress. As if there was an agenda on my part to use my son as a way to break societal norms, or as my friend's mom said to me -- a religious Sephardic Jew -- "You wanted another daughter?"
This was at a birthday party for my friend's daughter and before I left my house I had tried to convince Asher to change into "boy clothes." I knew that if he showed up in a dress, it would be an endless series of questions and judgments, and I just didn't feel like dealing with it.
But Asher was stronger than ever that morning. He had a huge tantrum as I tried to force his legs into a pair of shorts. His nose was running into his mouth as he cried and protested and I suddenly realized I was fighting for something I didn't even believe in. I was making my kid feel badly for something he shouldn't be ashamed of. And I stopped. And I gave him a hug and I apologized. And then I put back on the purple princess dress with his sister's sparkly Tom's shoes.
And I stayed calm. And I explained to them the best I could that there is no correlation between kids cross-dressing and being gay. And if he is gay, it's not because of anything I did. It's because he's gay. And maybe it's a stage. And maybe it's not. But either way, I don't want him to ever feel like he wasn't able to express himself because his parents didn't support him. And some understood. And some, trapped by religion or ignorance, gave us the stank face.
Plenty of people are supportive. They'll see my kids -- Sydney with her long dirty blonde hair, and Asher with his short dark hair, and say, "I love your daughter's pixie cut." When I tell them he's my son, they smile and say, "I love it." They also apologize for confusing his gender, but I tell them, "Don't apologize. He's in a purple dress with sparkly shoes. How would you know?" I know there are parents who get worked up when you confuse their kids' gender -- but I'm not one of them.
The saddest thing about the exchange was learning how my friend felt about being gay. As if it were a curse -- and not the awesome, endless dude party it really is. Then again, he's married now. He probably forgot.
I get home before my wife most nights, so I was taking the kids out to walk our dog. They were dressing up in different outfits -- my daughter treating Asher like her doll, as she tried various dresses, shoes, and headbands on him. And then Sydney told me she wanted me to wear a dress, too -- "Oh my god, it will be so funny."
I said, "No." But she kept begging. I said, "People will laugh at me." She said, "If they do, I'll tell them to go away." And I couldn't argue with that, as I squeezed myself into Carrie's most flexible dress. We walked the dog on our block, and the pleasure my kids took in seeing their dad go out of his comfort zone, trumped the humiliation I felt.
Carrie pulled up to the house, and I saw her slack-jawed from the end of the street. She laughed. She took a picture. And she told me I better not rip her dress. And then we all went for a pizza.