Seth Menachem’s story about accepting his son’s desire to wear dresses has been seen by many, and most people are grateful and proud to see a father standing up for his little boy’s freedom to wear a dress instead of shorts.
But one radio host, Jesse Lee Peterson, is not such a fan.
Seth joined him on his show, and got a bit more than anybody expected when the host drilled the father of two about his failures as a parent in not protecting his son.
Peterson goes even further off the rails when he gets into race theory, and normally we don’t like to highlight the acts of people who espouse such values.
But Seth’s calm, cool and collected demeanor is so admirable, his devotion to his son’s autonomy, and his quick wit are a fantastic example for parents everywhere who are facing critics of their kids’ gender expression or clothing choices.
Great work, Seth, and if you ask us, you should be hosting a radio show of your own!
Thanks! What a great video. Well done, Seth!
I loved how he stayed so calm and reasonable and how, confronted with calmness and reason, Jesse had nothing to say.
I also loved how Jesse was forced, by his own arguments to admit to being on the side of slaveholders, racists and Nazis! When your arguments lead to conclusions like that, you need to re-evaluate them.
i have a longer comment im finishing up, im quite surprised at the lack of awareness as to how unacceptable it was for women in the west to wear bifurcated clothing, and how a woman who did was viewed -‘degenerate, or manly’ etc. women wearing trouser caricatures, 19th n early 20th ce http://www.victorianlondon.org/punch/cartoon17.htm http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Turks-in-Gotham-1851-Bloomer-parody.jpg note the eye region, now it is considered feminine(culturally feminine, but actually biologically masculine) then it was masculine. mrs oaks-smith was portrayed that way and with a cigar, to show how ‘manly’ she was. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1856-Republican-party-Fremont-isms-caricature.jpg http://www.cartoonstock.com/vintage/directory/w/women_s_clothing.asp the victoedwardians would have considered modern man as ‘effeminate sissies’,… Read more »
What a F$*king judgmental, ignorant, homophobe; how does shit like this even make the airwaves and why is THIS dress thing even an ‘issue’??? FACTS: ● He said, and I paraphrase, “Your STRAIGHT friends? Not the weird ones?” (ie: There are Straight people and “Weird” people) ● Women 100 years ago could NOT wear pants… never, under any circumstances. ● American Children (Boys even) used to wear nothing BUT dresses… and then “short Pants” ● Today In most of the world (and 100 years ago in America) NO men wear ‘shorts’… they are for little kids only. I’m angry that… Read more »
“But Seth’s calm, cool and collected demeanor is so admirable, his devotion to his son’s autonomy” – See more at: https://goodmenproject.com/families/watch-this-dad-take-on-a-closed-minded-radio-host-who-is-mad-about-boys-wearing-dresses-hesaid/#sthash.eBjdKISM.dpuf autonomy is defined as: Autonomy is an individual’s capacity for self-determination or self-governance. Hey guess, 2-year olds don’t get autonomy. If the kid wants to pour a can of blue paint over his head, is he given the autonomy to do it. 2 year old need guidance. What the boy is doing will ultimately subject him to ridicule and he is copying his older sister. He doesn’t know what he likes or doesn’t like and the influence of the… Read more »
Courage the cowardly dog, my heterosexual brother use to try on my Mom’s bras when he was a kid. She would find them in his room. He was just curious. I use to only wear clothes with puffy animals and fake rhinestones on them. I went through a period where I refused to wear pants and only wanted to wear dresses. I certainly grew out of that. Even if Seth’s son wants to wear dresses as an adult, how does that determine his worth? There are a few cultures where it’s totally okay for men to wear something similar to… Read more »
This was hard to watch. If I had been in Seth’s position I would have been shaking with anger.
This guy is something else!! Does he know that ALL children, until they were 4-5 years old, wore dresses back in the day?
The only one confused here is the host. He comes across as someone who does not reflect on his thoughts and behaviors, which prohibits growth as a person. Instead of feeling sorry for boys wearing dresses, he should feel sorry for himself for limiting his understanding of the world around him. I feel this world is an amazing place because we have conservative people and liberal people; a diversity of beliefs makes for interesting conversations. However, it upsets me when either side refuses to try to understand the other.
Hats off Seth, and thank you for your inspiring debate. As an actor, let’s for a moment step back just a few generations and remember that men legitimately and “normally” wore tights, capes, cloaks, dresses, wigs and makeup, and as you mentioned, women were forbidden to wear pants. How about crossing a few borders in present day and remembering that around the world, men still wear kaftans (loose fitting dresses), skirts (kilt anyone?), and toga like wraps – just for a start… The radio presenter if anything pointed out through the propagation of his own “learned behavior” that the essential… Read more »
Seth is not confused. His son is not confused. The radio guy is not only confused, but he’s deliberately refusing to understand. Seth is one of the coolest cats I’ve seen in a situation like this. Would his son have not worn dresses if the sister had not dressed him in them? Who knows? I think the more interesting question is, how many other boys would be wearing dresses if someone had told them it was ok, or not fussed at them when they did. Also, radio guy has no idea what drag is. This child is wearing dresses, not… Read more »