This Halloween, an adorable eight-year-old decided to dress up as Hillary Clinton. The child, who identifies as male, wore a bright yellow coat with an “H” sticker, clip-on earrings, sensible flats, and a homemade briefcase with a larger “H” drawn on crafted out of cardboard. Pictures of the child, which were posted on social media by his parents, show him smiling and waving (I mean he has a bomb ass costume AND is gonna get hella candy today, so he must be pretty happy.)
People online, however, have been writing hateful comments — many of them attacking the child’s parents, who are a lesbian couple. The comments were homophobic and transphobic, and some accused the parents of “indoctrinating their son to become gay”, and said that they were perpetrating “child abuse” for dressing up their “boy” as a “girl”.
Besides the fact that this is a child dressing up for Halloween (and from the looks of the homemade briefcase, in particular, put a lot of time and effort into the costume), these commenters are spewing hate and ignorance. If a child wants to dress up as someone of any gender, it is not going to do them any harm — in fact, it can be very healthy for children to experiment with identity and self-portrayal. There is nothing wrong or harmful about this kid’s costume; and whatever his identity, he has every right to dress exactly how he would like.
Though there are many hateful people commenting on the picture, many are also offering their support. From applauding the child’s parents for their parenting style, to complementing the costume itself and the boy’s sweet hairstyle — there are many positive voices to be heard over the negative.
Photosource: @DebbersGar
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