“You’ll wear what you’re told to young man!”
Courtesy of Jamie Vesta

“But, I don’t want to wear a dress mum… you know I don’t… and definitely not a pink one!”

“You’re thirteen Peter and you’ll wear what you’re told to young man!” she insisted. “Times are changing and it’s high time you started dressing your gender.” she spouts. “When was the last time you saw a girl wearing a dress?”

“Loads of girl’s wear dresses.” Peter replied as he pondered his mother’s question. “Like er…” he visualised all the girls in his class, “Joanne King.” he said, knowing she was the only girl who still wore a skirt, and the other girls give her grief for it.

“Well she may well still wear a skirt for school, but does she wear dresses too?” his mother asked.

Peter hung his head. “Maybe.”

“Peter.” she said calmly, placing her hands on his shoulders and thumbing the satin sleeves. “I understand that you’re instinctively fighting this… but the fact of the matter is, boys wear dresses these days… you only have to walk in to any department store to work that out.”

Peter slumps on his bed, and is warned by his mother not to crease his dress. He asks if he can take it off and she lets him. He pulls on his pants and t-shirt as his mother puts his dress on a hanger and places it in his wardrobe. From that moment on, Peter dreads his rapidly approaching birthday and the dress he’ll be wearing for the party.
~o(O)o~

On the morning of Peter’s birthday, his mother makes him a special breakfast and lets him open his presents… he gets a book and a DVD, a couple of music CDs, a rather humiliating Hello Kitty bath set, containing bubble bath, shower gel, soap, shampoo, conditioner, a pink puff and a couple of bath bombs. And last but not least, he unwraps another party dress; virtually identical to his pink one only in blue. “Another dress?” he hesitantly asks.

His mother tells him that she’d overheard him in his bedroom, “Wishing that I’d bought you a blue one instead.” she smiles.

Peter tidies up the wrapping paper and takes his frock and other gifts to his room before running the bath. As the tub fills, his mother enters with his Hello Kitty bath set. She removes the lid from the bubble bath and pours a little under the tap. As the bubbles begin to foam a pungent smell fills Peter’s nostrils. “What’s that smell?” he asks.

“It’s it’s nice isn’t it?” she replies as she agitates the surface, creating even more bubbles.

“I don’t like it.” he replies. “It smells like perfume.”

“Well you’d better get used to it Peter because after your bath, you’ll smell exactly the same.” she says as she lines up his new Hello Kitty toiletries on the side of the bath.

“I’m not getting in if I’m going to smell like that.” Peter moans.

“Peter I’m getting a little tired of your constant moaning. If you’re going to act like a child I’ll treat you like one.”

This spurs a minor tantrum from Peter, which his mother counters by threatening to cancel his birthday party. “Instead I’ll take you shopping for a new school skirt which you will be wearing tomorrow and everyday after that.”

With that, Peter concedes and steps into the bubbles. His mother plunges the pink puff into the water before squeezing some of the shower gel onto it. She then proceeds to bath him whilst Peter protests he’s old enough to bath himself. “Like I said Peter, if you’re going to act like a five year old I’m going to treat you like one.” she says as she proceeds to wash his body and hair.

Once his mother is satisfied that he’s clean, she leaves him alone to dry himself off. Peter sniffs his skin and screws his nose up as the fruity scent fills his nostrils. He wraps the towel around himself and returns to his bedroom where his mother and his party dress are waiting for him. She passes him his new ‘nice’ underpants, which for all intents and purposes are a pair of girls knickers with lace trim around the waist and legs. They’re blue to match his dress, as is the vest he pulls on. His mother runs the towel through his hair before brushing it. “Mmm… you smell beautiful Peter.” she says. “Are you ready to try your dress on?”