Introduction to the Ethical Dilemma
The term cross dressing is the act of wearing clothing items that are associated with the opposite gender. Generally it is used for the purpose of disguise, comfort, and self -discovery in present times the culture has been accepted in many parts of the world, however, there are a few sections in the society who has not accepted this culture readily in their culture. The general norm for dressing has been maintained since the early period of time (Flanagan, 2013). However the modern time has come up with a new strand of dressing culture that involves an exchange in the dressing of an individual with the dress culture of their opposite gender.
The study will discuss about the ethical dilemma seen in the mentality of the section of society that still believes in the back dated and orthodox thinking of not changing the dressing style of the individual with respect to their gender.
If considered form the children point of view then it can be considered to be absolutely fine too dress up as a person who is opposite the gender the person belong to. The tendency to wear a mismatched combination that might not be an exact suit for the particular gender cannot be considered to be a wrong decision or something unethical. There are incidents where the child might get attracted to dressing style that might not be of his/her gender supportive. However this cannot conclude that the child is facing some sever issue regarding identifying their gender difference. Many times it can be seen that there are children who prefer different dressing style but at the end of the day they know their gender. The growing period of a child might face many reasons and scope for attraction for different style that includes a change in their dressing style too. Jake decided to dress like a girl as he might have felt interested and attracted to the attire of a princess. As it is known being a child the attraction for colourful and pretty things are natural and the time might have happened for him too. The child should have been encourage to wear the same dress and at the same time he could have been explained the difference between the two genders who wear the dress generally and why is he wearing it on that day.
Instead of making him understand the father reacted to his decision in a different manner. This could have been avoided by the father. The reaction was not required as a mere explanation and understanding could have resolved the issue in a simple manner. The father who belonged to the farming class was not much aware of the latest idea and concept about the cross culture system in the country. he had the typical mentality where he was abusing the child for wearing girls dress being a boy, however, if the same scenario had been created with a girl it is expected that the same situation might not have arrived. This situation also refer to the mentality that the father is still from the backward class mentality to does not accept the girly belongings and being a girl to be a pride in the society, hence when the boy was dressed like a girl he got angry. He is a person who defy gender norms and does not accept the cross dressing culture readily. The father could have been more flexible with this thinking if he would have been aware about the fact that the cross dressing culture has nothing do with the personal behaviour of any individual. A child might get attracted to a cross dressing culture but that does not mean that he will be maintaining this life long and will not recognise his own gender in the society.
The Children’s Rights and Determination of Their Best Interests
Being a staff member in the organization they can suggest the father or inform him about the different evolutions that have already taken place in the society regarding the living, thinking and dressing culture of genders. There are medical centres who do not support treatments of children who prefer to dress up like their opposite culture. These medical institutes belief that it is absolutely ok if a boy is playing or mixing with the opposite culture and preferring to live like a girl. It is assumed that this desire lasts only for a certain period of time and thus it should not be handled in a harsh or crucial manner. A mere understanding or explanation is sufficient to make the child understand or at times the peer group acts like a mentor to make them understand the difference between a boy and a girl (Michel & Mahon, 2013). The early childhood ethics is responsible to take care of the behaving that is faced by the children and assuring that the children are well treated in the country. This supports understanding and learning of the children in an efficient manner so that the child is not disturbed by any behaviour and at the same time they have to know the correct fact about the world.
Ethical theories are theories that help in providing guidance and help in formation of decision making qualities of individuals. These are basically sociological factors that need to be worked upon by individuals in order to change their view point and increase their insight on matters of ethical importance and significance. It also helps individuals to make informed decision making which are ethically correct (ohchr.org , 2018). All these theories aim at increasing the amount of justice, autonomy and accrue benefits to the individuals by reducing the harm meted out by unethical decision making. The ethical dilemma in this case is related to the issue of gender discrimination wherein a small child is being pointed out the difference between the worth of being a girl and the worth of being a boy. This issue underlies the concepts of equality in terms of gender discrimination and the child rights that are being encroached upon by the parent of the child.
The characteristics of the ethical dilemma that is being focused on in this case is the inability of the parent of the child to accept levels of gender dysphoria. It is widespread in Australia and is especially prevalent among the lower section of society in Australia who are uneducated and unable to accept the ethical decision making criteria that go against the long cherished and traditional beliefs prevalent in the country. I, personally think that this situation is an issue of ethical dilemma as it calls for autonomy of the rights of the children that should allow him to dress up in any way that makes him happy.
Resolution and Rationale
The resolution that our group has reached in an attempt to solve this issue of ethical dilemma is that the initially the child should be taken to a pediatrician or a counselor and if it is found that he possesses characteristics of being happy in dressing up as a girl or a princess, then he should be allowed to do the same. Corrective measures can also be applied to bring about changes in the preferences and tastes of the children but these should not in any way force the child to do anything that does not make happy. Further, it is generally also noticed that with time, as a child grows up he or she comes out of the characteristics of behaving like a girl that define gender dysphoria and start to develop the normal features. In order to increase the autonomy in case the characteristics are prevalent in the children for long, the parents should be able to cope up with the situation. In order for the, to accept the way their child or children are, the parents should be provided with workshops conducted by the government, especially in the rural areas. Thus, to sum up the resolution that we have reached, it can be stated that, either the child is allowed to remain the way he is or counseling workshops and other programs should be provided by the government to the parents of these children.
To ensure that the children’s best interests are given the highest priority and catered to on a priority basis, we used the Early Childhood Australia’s Code of Ethics, which emphasize on the traditional methods of imparting learning, development and growth in children at Australia. We have made sure that the resolution reached is based on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander principles and methods of catering to the child’s needs (earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au, 2018). This is exactly why we have suggested the use of national process of consultation of the parents in order for the child’s rights to be taken care of. The resolution provided by us also is based on the concepts of National Quality Standard such that there is a vibrant environment which provides the child with enough comfort and improves the learning and retaining capabilities of the child by exposing them to new learning and growth opportunities on a daily basis.
The teaching and the advocacy provided to the children are in a very comfortable and vibrant environment as mentioned above (earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au, 2018). We have made sure that the imparting of knowledge and growth opportunities of the child in order for him to be able to make his own decisions is through a flexible methods that allows the child to change the way in which he reacts to situations and things with a change in the environment or the circumstances that he is exposed to. We also made sure that the program being conducted is through the use of enough resources, materials and experiences so that their reactions and demands can be handled efficiently and also with care. The process of imparting them knowledge also ascertains that the same knowledge is provided to the children until they remember and understand it in different processes so that it does not get boring for them. We have also made sure that the resources provided to them are open ended so that they are not influenced in any way to make any decision that makes them happy as that is the single most important criteria for us.
In providing education to the parents through the use of programs and workshops by the government it is important to ascertain that they are educated in an assertive yet sensitive manner so that their beliefs and customs are not harmed in any way while ensuring that they are able to provide greater autonomy to the children at the very same time.
In order to conclude I can say with confidence that I have learnt a lot through this process and so has everyone else in the group. The research measures undertaken has helped us to gain an insight into the minds of the children and the parents together such that we have been able to both identify the cause and provide a cure to the problem existing in this case. It is completely up to the child how he will dress up based on his happiness quotient and his views. Thus, the father in this case needs to be educated and counseled along with other such parents about the ethical dilemma involved with cross dressing in children.
References:
(earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au, 2018) Available online at: https://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/our-publications/eca-code-ethics/
(earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au, 2018) Available online at: https://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/nqsplp/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Links-EYLF-NQS-practice.pdf
(ohchr.org , 2018) Available online at: https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CRC.aspx
Flanagan, V. (2013). Emerging identities: cross-dressing and sexuality in adolescent fiction. In Into the Closet (pp. 231-270). Routledge.
Michel, S., & Mahon, R. (2013). Child care policy at the crossroads: Gender and welfare state restructuring. Routledge.
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