Journal of Humanitarian Affairs: Gender stereotypes rejected by youth and seniors at homecoming,Halloween events

[caption id="attachment_10098" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Marilyn Monroe and Joe Dimaggio imitators - photo by Forsloff"]

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Carol Forsloff --Marilyn Monroe and Joe Dimaggio were on hand at an Oregon senior center on Halloween as the standout couple there, making an appearance as cross-dressers for fun while rejecting sexual stereotyping in the manner of some Florida youth.

Halloween is a big occasion for children, but grown kids of any age also come together on the holiday to enjoy the fun and celebration of dressing up and playing pretend. Pretend meant dressing as a couples’ or an individual’s statement at the Beaverton, Oregon Elsie Stuhr senior center. The Marilyn – Joe combo, husband and wife, brought the rest of the folks a special treat with their creative costumes as well as giving an example of looking beyond the usual male-female models of dress that others often reject.

[caption id="attachment_10100" align="alignright" width="224" caption="Marilyn Monroe - male impersonator--Halloween costume--photo by Forsloff"]

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At Olympia High School in Florida, the notion of cross dressing became such an issue that the parental objections were heard and read about around the world, thanks to the universal press of social media. Parents were angry with the homecoming plans at the high school for a “Switcheroo”, explained by the principal on messages left on the home telephones of the parents as an occasion where the boys could dress like their favorite girl or the girls their favorite boy. Parents complained that this practice would promote gay and lesbian behavior.

Many children and seniors have in common their ability to enjoy the present and to take psychological risks. The young look to the joy of learning new ideas and freedoms while the old relish being of that age “to do what I want when I want” as the mantra of interaction. That senior freedom played out on Halloween this year as a number of men dressed as female characters while some women dressed as men. It was a “straight” comment on the bias of believing that homosexuality can be established simply by costume and dress. The couple who dressed as Marilyn Monroe and Joe Dimaggio had the rest of the folk cheering the brilliance and boldness they showed.

[caption id="attachment_10101" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Joe DiMaggio impersonator - female"]

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The senior moments at the Halloween dance developed brand new memories of sharing, dancing, having fun. Music came from a band of brothers all of that certain age who played familiar songs along the several decades the bulk of seniors knew.

But it was that statement of living free and in the moment that gained the greatest favor of an audience of folks who say in varying tones and ways each time they gather, “How lucky we are to be that age when stereotypes don’t matter, and we can enjoy the time we have with open hearts and joy.”

The rest of the story in pictures:

[caption id="attachment_10113" align="alignright" width="225" caption="Jeanie LaFeet"]