Even if a kid did request to put on a dress that doesn't mean he should be allowed or encourage to do so. What if he wanted to dress like Hitler or wear a thong and heels?
For people from my generation, all this stuff is just beyond our comprehension. The idea that little kids start calling the shots. Just yesterday I heard a mother asking her kid what he wants for dinner. It wouldn't even dawn on me to tell my mom what I wanted for dinner. I got what she decided to serve. I remember in the 4th grade going to the store to get some shoes for the start of the new year. I really wanted these "Beatle shoes". They were pointed at the toe and the Beatles wore them. They were even a bit cheaper than the one my mom wanted to get for me. Well, she was no fan of any 70s rock band and just said "no" and got the one she chose (and was paying for).
It ended at that.
Simple. Roles were clearly defined and you knew your place and learned it was best that you stayed there.
"And you knew who you were then
Girls were girls and men were men.
Mister, we could use a man like Herbert Hoover again.
People seemed to be content.
Fifty dollars paid the rent.
Freaks were in a circus tent.
Those were the days"
-- Glenn Miller, Those were the Days
That was then and this is now.
When I was young, children were "to be seen and not heard" as my mom would like to say. You ate what you were served. Actually, there were rules for everything. When I went to France with my grandmother at age 5, my manners had to be impeccable. We traveled on The SS Île de France and sat at the captain's table. I ate snails, turtle soup, and who knows what else without complaint. If I used the wrong implement, she'd rap me on the back of my hand with her knife or fork. Oh, and I sometimes wore a sailor suit designed for kids. I didn't start calling the shots until I was much older and even then, I did it with great caution and fear of punishment.
My mom bought me corduroy pants, white short sleeved shirts, crew neck sweaters and penny loafers to wear to school because bluejeans were déclassé in her opinion. By the time I started junior high, I finally talked her into letting me wear Levi jeans, like most of the other boys did.