The reactions the mom heard are not only homophobic, they're also misogynist. As she points out, if a girl had dressed as a male superhero, it would be just as much evidence -- or lack thereof -- that she's gay. She's still be gender bending. But nobody would have thought twice about it.
It has been accepted for as long as I can remember that girls can be "tomboys" and want to imitate boys in pretty much any imaginable way. It might not always be welcomed by parents, but it's considered within the realm of "normal." But boys wanting to be like girls? Oh my god, there's something really really wrong with that. Because who in their right mind would want to be like a girl if they didn't have to be??
Actually, two weeks ago, I would never have thought it would be this big a deal when it involves a 5-year-old. But the uproar on the internet, and apparently on CNN, most of it congratulating the mom but some of it negative, including the concerned fear that she had outed him, proves me wrong. Frankly, even the "You go, girl!" congratulations to the mom, like she was super brave to let her son dress like this or stand up to idiots, makes me uneasy. It really just shouldn't be a big deal, one way or another.
I am really sorry, however, to hear about the abuse that some of my BetterMost friends had to endure in an unenlightened era. Which apparently we're still in.
