He's his son's hero, that's for sure! :)
If more parents supported their kids & differences, than tried to force"normal" down their throat for fright of what society might think, it would be a far more beautiful world.
I think he is a truly wonderful father.
Meh. I don't think joining his son in the behavior and holding his hand is teaching him to have a thick skin when making a controversial choice.
I used to live in Germany (small town near air force base), and I presume Berlin is like NYC (used to live in NYC too)-some artsy hipster boys with trendy parents wear dresses and pigtails etc, and lots of people think it's dumb. In our current small town, people wouldn't care for encouraging the kid to wear a dress, but a hipster transplant may try it anyway (haven't seen any hipsters here though since we got here 6 years ago).
So. If my son wanted to wear dresses, I'd say, "Son, I love you no matter what you wear. It's not socially the norm for boys to wear dresses and lots of people will be upset. Here is why______. Are they morally right? No. Lots of social norms are simply old fashioned customs. If you still want to wear the dress, I won't stop you. You'll need bravery to defend many of your future life's actions as a free thinker. I know I did. So get ready to use your Tae Kwon Do skills to defend yourself. See ya later."
And no, talkstotrees, I never bullied anyone nor do my kids. Also, we're an unconventional family full of kooks. I don't care if guys wear dresses. I always dated freaky-fashion boys when I was younger.
I think this isn’t so much about either the father or the son wearing a skirt. I think it’s about the father showing the son that no matter what, he’s got his back and he’s there for him. By putting on a skirt, the father not just told the son, but showed him, “Son, no matter what happens in your life, I’m here for you and I’ll help you through it.” For that I think he deserves the father of the year award.
As far as either of them wearing a skirt: the father said he used to wear them in Berlin, then they moved to a much smaller town and he stopped. I don’t know what the social norms are in Germany, so I can’t say if it’s normal in parts of Germany, and this town is backwards in their thinking compared to the rest of the country or what. It’s their prerogative to wear dresses or skirts if they want.
(Oh, and to the mothers who said something about a kilt. I find men in kilts sexy. Not sure what it is, but I think most men can pull it off.)