My third child tried to pull this stunt in order to gain attention and manipulate our surroundings (Yes at a young age children can be very crafty schemers) to cater to him. Guess what, after 6-7 months of fighting off the scheme he returned to gender norms (Horrifying thought to the homosexual/transgendered crowd).
Unless this kid has demons caused by others such as sexual abuse or pressure from an outside influence (An adult or "entertainment choices") its all lack of discipline. If conditioned the parents should find the cause, confront, and heal. If the parents egg this child on, the parents should be charged with abuse.
I think you've given the best response of any in this thread to my out-loud musings.
I can see that such behavior could very, very well be an attention-seeking device. I also think that when a child is young and developing, in the vast majority of instances their mind and identity are probably flexible enough to be molded in a particular direction. In other words, I certainly think it's very possible for parents to mess up a child. I will also agree that there are many, many instances of completely wrong-headed opinions from doctors and psychologists. Just because someone has a degree after their name does not necessarily mean their opinion is of any value.
I do still wonder whether there are instances in which the kind of approach that worked for you simply doesn't work. I've never met a child who was born without feet, and I've never known or met conjoined twins. And as far as I know, I've never met a hermaphroditic child. But I know that such persons do exist.