# Parents raising their sons as daughters **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 16, 2015, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-raising-their-sons-as-daughters/722652 "2015-06-16T05:31:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2015, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-raising-their-sons-as-daughters/722652/1 "2015-06-16T05:31:20Z")
> [@](#): > > However, the father revealed that the boy (let’s call him Daniel) is being raised as a girl for two years as a “project” so he’ll be a more enlightened adult. The ballet lesson experience was to include dressing him in a pink tutu and calling him Danielle. [Parents forcing boy to be a girl for gender enlightment](http://www.slate.com/articles/life/dear_prudence/2015/06/dear_prudence_parents_forcing_a_boy_to_be_a_girl_for_gender_enlightenment.html) - parents (provided it’s true) raising their son as a girl for several years as part of some project, need to be taken outside and hanged from the nearst lamppost. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2015, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-raising-their-sons-as-daughters/722652/2 "2015-06-16T10:58:18Z")
> [@Rune](#): > > - parents (provided it’s true) raising their son as a girl for several years as part of some project, need to be taken outside and hanged from the nearst lamppost. Anyone suggesting hanging people from lampposts for any reason should be gelded with a dull spoon. ---
**Author:** ![Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ac8455/32.png) [@Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Your_Great_Darsh_Face)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2015, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-raising-their-sons-as-daughters/722652/3 "2015-06-16T11:40:58Z")
> [@naita](#): > > Anyone suggesting hanging people from lampposts for any reason should be gelded with a dull spoon. Anyone suggesting gelding people with a dull spoon for any reason should be +++ WARNING RECURSION DETECTED +++ ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2015, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-raising-their-sons-as-daughters/722652/4 "2015-06-16T11:42:32Z")
> [@naita](#): > > Anyone suggesting hanging people from lampposts for any reason should be gelded with a dull spoon. Anyone suggesting gelding a person with a dull spoon should be locked in a refrigerator near a nuclear test…😛 That said, I have to agree that the parents (if the story is true; it is a husband reporting about what his wife heard on a onlne chat board, so I think I may wait for further confirmation) are slighty (erase slightly and make that full-blown) wackos. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2015, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-raising-their-sons-as-daughters/722652/5 "2015-06-16T12:07:06Z")
"…And if I ever have a son, I’m gonna name him… Bill! or George! or any damn’ thing but Sue!" ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2015, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-raising-their-sons-as-daughters/722652/6 "2015-06-16T12:21:27Z")
My daughter took dance lessons when she was a kid. A few years of ballet and a year of tap. In her tap class was a little boy who was miserable. His parents wanted him to take tap dancing lessons because . . . something. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2015, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-raising-their-sons-as-daughters/722652/7 "2015-06-16T13:41:32Z")
It they keep going, the boy will grow up to be a chapter president of NOW. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2015, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-raising-their-sons-as-daughters/722652/8 "2015-06-16T13:46:46Z")
> [@Rune](#): > > [Parents forcing boy to be a girl for gender enlightment](http://www.slate.com/articles/life/dear_prudence/2015/06/dear_prudence_parents_forcing_a_boy_to_be_a_girl_for_gender_enlightenment.html) > > - parents (provided it’s true) raising their son as a girl for several years as part of some project, need to be taken outside and hanged from the nearst lamppost. If the story is true, that’s one of the worst cases of child abuse I can imagine. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2015, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-raising-their-sons-as-daughters/722652/9 "2015-06-16T13:50:48Z")
If this is one of the worst cases of child abuse you can imagine, you have deep-seated issues and should see a therapist. Seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Double\_Foolscap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85e7bf/32.png) [@Double\_Foolscap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Double_Foolscap)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2015, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-raising-their-sons-as-daughters/722652/10 "2015-06-16T13:51:14Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > If this is one of the worst cases of child abuse you can imagine, you have deep-seated issues and should see a therapist. Seriously. Could be she’s got a terrible imagination. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2015, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-raising-their-sons-as-daughters/722652/11 "2015-06-16T13:55:31Z")
> [@Double\_Foolscap](#): > > Could be she’s got a terrible imagination. That would be tragic. On the plus side, the Make-a-Wish foundation would have a pretty easy job for victims of imagination loss. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2015, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-raising-their-sons-as-daughters/722652/12 "2015-06-16T13:56:44Z")
Aren’t most of those advice column letters invented anyway? No names, no pack drill… ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2015, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-raising-their-sons-as-daughters/722652/13 "2015-06-16T13:58:01Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > If the story is true, that’s one of the worst cases of child abuse I can imagine. Don’t worry, it isn’t. The only question is whether the troll who wrote it also posts here. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2015, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-raising-their-sons-as-daughters/722652/14 "2015-06-16T14:05:50Z")
I’d hope the instance referred to in the OP is made up but unfortunately there is no shortage of whackadoodles and abusers in the world. Assuming the story is as stated - cisboy being forced to live as a girl - that is abusive and damaging. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2015, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-raising-their-sons-as-daughters/722652/15 "2015-06-16T14:07:03Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > If this is one of the worst cases of child abuse you can imagine, you have deep-seated issues and should see a therapist. Seriously. Seriously. He must not have heard about the woman who cooked her baby to death in her microwave. Now that’s some abuse. ---
**Author:** ![Trion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Trion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trion)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2015, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-raising-their-sons-as-daughters/722652/16 "2015-06-16T14:16:01Z")
> [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#): > > Seriously. He must not have heard about the woman who cooked her baby to death in her microwave. > > Now that’s some abuse. Well, sure. Some. Now if she had used a rotisserie, THAT would have been the worst abuse I can imagine. Also, delicious. I’m gonna get banned, aren’t I? ---
**Author:** ![FuriousGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecae2f/32.png) [@FuriousGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuriousGeorge)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2015, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-raising-their-sons-as-daughters/722652/17 "2015-06-16T14:17:06Z")
> [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#): > > Seriously. He must not have heard about the woman who cooked her baby to death in her microwave. > > Now that’s some abuse. Microwaves, bah, you kids and your new fangled toys… In my day we had to abuse our children in cook pots over an open flame… and we liked it that way. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2015, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-raising-their-sons-as-daughters/722652/18 "2015-06-16T14:32:51Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > Aren’t most of those advice column letters invented anyway? No names, no pack drill… But it was printed, so it must be true! ---
**Author:** ![Double\_Foolscap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85e7bf/32.png) [@Double\_Foolscap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Double_Foolscap)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2015, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-raising-their-sons-as-daughters/722652/19 "2015-06-16T14:40:32Z")
I wonder if this whole thing is going to end up being somebody making a point about forcing transgender kids to live as their assigned-at-birth gender? ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2015, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-raising-their-sons-as-daughters/722652/20 "2015-06-16T14:43:00Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I’d hope the instance referred to in the OP is made up but unfortunately there is no shortage of whackadoodles and abusers in the world. > > Assuming the story is as stated - cisboy being forced to live as a girl - that is abusive and damaging. I hope it’s made up too. I don’t think it will help with empathy, it will just confuse the kid and everyone else. And I worry about what I’m guessing the next project will be, having the boy wear blackface to teach racial empathy. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-raising-their-sons-as-daughters/722652.md?page=2)