My Princess Boy

[JohnMichael]

I wanted to supply this link to anyone who works with children or knows someone who does. I have never been a parent but I know parents who have had to struggle with their child who is just different.

http://www.myprincessboy.com/

I was impressed by the family who had the courage to find a way to encourage their childs sense of security and mental health.

There was a time my father came to visit and he brought my sister a plastic make-up kit and I was given a bag of soldiers. My sister could not open the toy compact and asked me for help. I was holding the compact and opening it when my father walked back in the room. He saw the compact in my hands and began beating me while my sister screamed that I was helping her. He did not stop. The father in this video is incredible.

[noddin0ff]

There was a time my father came to visit and he brought my sister a plastic make-up kit and I was given a bag of soldiers. My sister could not open the toy compact and asked me for help. I was holding the compact and opening it when my father walked back in the room. He saw the compact in my hands and began beating me while my sister screamed that I was helping her. He did not stop. The father in this video is incredible.

...speechless.

[ForeverAutumn]

There was a time my father came to visit and he brought my sister a plastic make-up kit and I was given a bag of soldiers. My sister could not open the toy compact and asked me for help. I was holding the compact and opening it when my father walked back in the room. He saw the compact in my hands and began beating me while my sister screamed that I was helping her. He did not stop. The father in this video is incredible.

John, the more that I learn about you the more I realize how special you are.

(and I don't mean that in a "be kind to cousin Johnny he was dropped on his head and he's special" kind of way ).

Unfortunately, I can't watch a 10 minute video at work, so I'll have to wait until I have time to watch it at home. But I absolutely love the premise of the book!

[budgetaudio76]

the boy is going to die from being bullied when he is older...and that is a good thing?...the mother should be ashamed of her self...Imagine high school for him, and he is dancing in a tutu?!

[JohnMichael]

the boy is going to die from being bullied when he is older...and that is a good thing?...the mother should be ashamed of her self...Imagine high school for him, and he is dancing in a tutu?!

You missed the whole point. First who knows what willl be of interest to him when he is older. Secondly if he is loved and accepted he will love and accept himself which will make him stronger. Lastly the movement is teaching others how to act and understand a boy outside of societies narrow range of acceptable boy behaviors. Yes he may carry a magic wand instead of a baseball bat.

The mother and the father are incredible people. I was not a Princess Boy but I was not good at sports or had any interest. I can only imagine what my father would have done to me if I was found in a dress. I knew how disappointed he was that I did not like sports and he showed his upset physically. Parents, society and others who are wanting the boy to change need to be educated so bullying at home or in school does not happen. Funny we are accepting of girls we call Tomboys we shun and ridicule a Princess Boy.

[budgetaudio76]

i see your point john. The part about girls being tomboys and being accepted did actually cross my mind when i watched it. Sorry if my post sounded argumentative or some such.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

Wow....my post just disappeared. How puzzling....

[JohnMichael]

Wow....my post just disappeared. How puzzling....

Wow I never saw it. Try again.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

Okay, I have recovered from the trauma of having my emotionally wrought post erased by an over active server.

I inherited several gifts from my Grandmother. The gift of a great voice, and the ability to play any keyboard. She was an expert at both, and constantly worked with my cousins and I on developing a church singing group.. As a kid I could sing a true soprano, and that lasted all the way up to puberty. When I reached puberty, my singing voice dropped, but not all that much(my speaking voice dropped a lot though). While the other guys began moving over to tenor parts, I moved to the alto section with the ladies. When my dad attended church and found my still singing with the women, he began pressuring me to move to the tenor section with all of the other young men. When I told him their parts were too low for me to sing with power and projection, he didn't seem to care, he just wanted me out of the alto section of the choir. His pressure was relentless because he thought that singing alto made me gay(how weird is that!). It did not matter that he knew I had girlfriends and there was no sign that I was gay, he just saw me singing with the ladies and that was all the evidence he needed. His relentless pressure caused me to go into a mild depression, and I quit singing altogether just so I didn't have to hear the his drag. My grandmother was furious to say the least. I have never seen my grandmother so mad at my dad for anything, but when she was finished with him, he came back and apologized for what he did, and told me that no matter what part I sung in the choir, he was proud of me, and envious of my talent. When I went back to singing, I had a new confidence because I had his support. I don't know what my grandmother told him, but the humility he exhibited when he apologized was very palpable.

The moral of this story is that you can ruin a person if you are trying to change what is natural to THEM. There are some things that kids grow out of, and other things that are as much apart of them as the nose and eyes. My singing voice is high for a male, and a gay man or woman sexuality is as natural to them as my voice is to me. These parents of the princess boy are doing the right thing, because any attempt to change the kid can result in depression and ultimate lead to suicide. Suicide among gay teens is three times higher than straight teens, and our intolerance and lack of acceptance is fueling this.

[JohnMichael]

Sir T, thank you for an incredible post. I can understand what it would feel like to have an important aspect of yourself criticized. My last roommate is straight and when he was three he saw a purple and pink shirt and his grandmother decided at that point he must be gay. His family bullied him and told him so many times that he was gay he was afraid to come out as a straight man.

I am glad your grandmother intervened on your behalf with your father. Sing loud!

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

Sir T, thank you for an incredible post. I can understand what it would feel like to have an important aspect of yourself criticized. My last roommate is straight and when he was three he saw a purple and pink shirt and his grandmother decided at that point he must be gay. His family bullied him and told him so many times that he was gay he was afraid to come out as a straight man.

I am glad your grandmother intervened on your behalf with your father. Sing loud!

JM,
I think what really got my dads attention was when Patti Labelle and Stephanie Mills asked my parents if I could sing background for them on tour(I was just 17 y/o). My dad was blown away at this, and just could not believe his son's voice caught the attention of these great artists(though I would never work for Stephanie Mills again at any capacity).

[ForeverAutumn]

Along the same lines as My Princess Boy, this is an awesome blog! http://nerdyapplebottom.com/2010/11/02/my-son-is-gay/

[JohnMichael]

Along the same lines as My Princess Boy, this is an awesome blog! http://nerdyapplebottom.com/2010/11/02/my-son-is-gay/

Thanks for posting that link. Cheers to all the mothers who can love their children unconditionally.