Mom Angry at Mother-in-Law Dressing Her Son, 2, in 'Girly' Clothes Dragged

A mom has been dragged online for sharing the ongoing argument she is having with her mother-in-law over her son being dressed in "girly" clothing.

Mumsnet user Aleeson shared the story on the popular discussion site on Monday, in a post titled "To have an argument about mil dressing my son girly?" It has since received hundreds of replies.

In a survey by the Australian non-profit organization OurWatch, 92 percent of parents said that they think it is important to treat boys and girls the same, but it appears that not everyone feels that way when it comes to clothing.

In the viral post, the mom explained: "Me and my partner have a 2 yr old son and we are very blessed with grandparents on both ends who regularly spend time with our son, however, there are some issues I'm having with my mother-in-law."

She explained that when their son stays with his grandparents, they always pack a bag full of clothes and shoes for any occasion—including plenty of spares. But the mom was upset that her mother-in-law appeared to be ignoring the provided clothes, and instead dressing him in her granddaughter's outfits.

"[She] constantly dresses him into her granddaughter's clothes and shoes or my son's clothes that were in her house and now are too small," said the mom. "What absolutely boiled my blood this time is that me and my partner were away for a few days because of work and we come back to our son dressed like a little girl and wore a jumper two sizes too small."

The mom recalled a recent occasion when her son was dressed in a light raincoat rather than the jacket his parents had provided, and after playing in the cold weather without a suitable jacket, he had come home with a fever.

"What annoys me is that because she does not dress him in weather appropriate or at least his clothes he gets sick and looks like his parents do not care about him at all," wrote the mom. "Or that we desperately wanted a girl and now trying to dress our son like one. I can't imagine what her friends think of us, honestly, it is quite embarrassing."

Francesca Cambridge Mallen is the founder and lead campaigner of the grassroots organization Let Clothes Be Clothes, aimed to challenge gender-coded designs and sexist marketing in the childrenswear sector.

Cambridge Mallen told Newsweek: "Pink for girls and blue for boys doesn't just limit choice but is part of a broader packaging of children's products into 'for girls' and 'for boys' based on regressive gender stereotypes. We see this in toys, cards, stationary, lunch boxes, and yes—clothing, despite the fact children are child-shaped with identical sizing guides until puberty."

When the mom asked her partner to speak to his mom about how she was dressing their son, he felt she was worrying too much.

"He thinks I'm overreacting and he's too little anyway to recognize he is wearing [a] skirt over tights with [a] flower pattern—I wish I was joking—but this gets me to the point that I feel like I would rather have my mom him when it's needed all of the time because this is just humiliating both for my boy and me," said the frustrated parent.

But other Mumsnet users could not understand the woman's upset, one commenter quipped: "Is he going to catch the gay?" While another said: "As long as he's comfy who cares what he's wearing."

"Dresses won't make boys a girl or 'girly' any more than trousers make girls into boys," said Cambridge Mallen. "I would be far more concerned about the issues around practical clothing and sizing, but Aleeson, and indeed any mom, is right to question anything they aren't sure about."

"I can't believe your comment about this being 'humiliating,'" said another reply on the viral post. "Why is it humiliating to dress like a girl?"

"Just out of curiosity if he chooses to dress in a similar way as he gets older will you also find that humiliating?" wrote another commenter. "They are just clothes. The only real issue is the size."

Newsweek was not able to verify the details of the case.