from Gender Identity Disorders
June 20, 2007 - Keri Fisher, a mother of two boys has recently written an essay for the Chicago Sun-Times (June 17, 2007) on her son Declan, who enjoys wearing a girl's pink ballerina outfit.
Writing in "Little Boy Pink": "When he wanted to be a ballerina, I figured it was par for the course." Fisher says Declan first indicated he wanted to dress in girl's clothes when he was two. "Declan has always been quirky. Soon after his younger brother was born, Declar hiked up his shirt and tried to breast-feed a baby doll. ... I don't even get embarrassed any more when we have guests over and Declan runs through the house naked, shouting, 'Look at my penis.' So when he wanted to be a ballerina, I figured it was just par for the course."
Fisher continued: "I've wondered if this means Declan is gay or will be a cross-dresser when he gets older, or if he will come out down the road as transgendered. But experts say probably not. 'Some boys will be more interested than others in dressing up as feminine characters,' says Dr. Robert Lindeman, a pediatrian from Natick, Mass., when I ask. 'This does not mean that they suffer from gender confusion.'
According to Lindeman, "When children 'cross-dress,' they are merely having fun with this new fact that they've learned. If their parents laugh, it reinforces their sense that they're being funny. ... I recommend that parents try to have fun, too."