My partner and I are living in a quiet part of northern Queensland, Cairns. We have three kids, two girls aged 6 and 7, and a 2-and-a-half-year-old son. Somehow we’re known to be a very small family carrying minor difference among us.
Our son likes to wear dresses. And honestly, that has really upset some people. Earlier this year, on May 11, we had our wedding on a lovely island not far from Cairns.
It was the most perfect day, even though the cake came with a huge stingray on top, long story! I wore an ivory dress, my girls wore sweet peach and white dresses, and my son wore a blue flower dress. Yes, a dress.
At first, we planned for him to wear something else. I even got a kilt from Scotland, where I’m from, but he didn’t like it. He cried and ran away every time I showed it to him. Later, Naj got him a matching suit, but he wouldn’t even try it on.
After seeing his sisters dressed up, he wondered where his own dress was. I didn’t hesitate. I got him one, and he beamed with happiness.
Let me tell you about our boy. He’s very energetic he loves to run and walk keeping essentials of balance. He loves painting, cuddles, and chasing his sisters in a game they call “poison baby”, don’t ask me the rules, it’s just chaos and laughter.
He’s still too young to understand what it means to be a boy or girl. Sometimes he wants to appear like her sisters because he is too innocent and shy for all of this.
He wears dresses to daycare, to the shops, anywhere. His clothes don’t define him. Right now, wearing pretty clothes makes him happy, and that’s what matters.
When I posted a photo of him at our wedding, most people were kind. But once it spread online, the judgment came.
Make him wear a costume.
“He’s 2. He doesn’t get to select.
“This is incorrect.
Those remarks hurt. He was happy. He felt beautiful. Isn’t that what we all want when we get dressed up? He’s not making a big statement. He’s 2. He’s just being himself.
Being a parent means letting your child be who they are, not who the world says they should be. It’s to love them as they are. If our son wears a dress, we love him. If our daughter wanted a suit, we’d love her too.
We just want them to feel safe, accepted, and free to be themselves. Guiding them with love and acceptance helps they grow into kind, confident people, which the world desperately needs.
