Oh boy, we’re back here again!

You know, for the most part, I love me some Dr. Phil. My first experience with Phil McGraw was interviewing him as an anchor in Dallas. He had a company that, among other things, helped lawyers pick jurors and Oprah had just hired him to help her after Texas cattle ranchers sued her in 1996. I’ve interviewed Phil several times since then and appreciate his “tell it like it is” style. But not this time!

Recently on his website, Dr. Phil addressed a question from Ronny, a mother whose son likes to play with Barbies and wear girls’ clothes. I love what Phil says initially, telling the mother that none of her son’s behavior telegraphs in anyway his sexuality but it’s what the Dr says next that I don’t quite get. Phil tells Ronny to direct her son in an “unconfusing” way toward boy’s toys and clothes. But wait, I thought him playing with Barbies was just that, playing. So why try to steer him in another direction?

As regular Good Enough Mother followers know we’ve dealt with this topic many times before – and I’m sure we will again. Remember when I posted about the mother whose son dressed as Daphne from Scooby Doo for Halloween? I talked about how my son, Cole, used to like to wear nail polish when he was around the same age and how I let him. You know why? Because it was a phase he was going through, and knew that, like his love of camouflage and Jamaican beef patties, this, too, would pass. And it did, without me ever saying a single word or keeping my nail polish under lock and key.

Maybe Robby’s son just likes the way girl’s clothes feel? Have you ever shopped for boys and girls clothes? Hands down the girls have more selection! Maybe her son hates brown corduroy. Maybe he likes Barbie’s flaxen hair. Maybe he’s secretly taking off her top and ogling her plastic boobies. Whatever the case, I don’t see the harm in letting him play with what he wants to play with. Do we have to, at such a young age, start saddling kids with all of this baggage? What about the budding individual? And what if the boy, upon discovering his sexuality, does happen to be gay? Won’t this set the scene for shame and self-hate? And what of Dr. Phil? Does this answer sound like he’s talking out of both sides of his mouth? So many questions…

Let me reiterate that I am NOT a psychologist, just a mom dong the best she can but I am curious enough about your thoughts to make this the GEM debate today. So the question is:

How would you react if your five-year-old son wanted to play with Barbies and wear girl’s clothes? Would you let him? Or take them away, as Dr Phil advises…

I’ve given you my take but I’d love to hear your thoughts – so feel free to disagree. Let’s get it going! What say you?