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.
Children are stubborn but eventually give in. Of course the child in question has gone way off the deep end. Not sure if something else involved (Abuse) or parents gleefully rewarding/encouraging defying the norms. Either way, society should not be obligated to cater to any dysfunction that intrudes on the realm of individuals’ rational rights (This case the females’ lair of privacy in the bathroom); help yes, encouragement no.
I have some experience.
I know a child who is not in her mid teens. She wants to be a man. She is so fearful of her sexuality that she wants her breasts removed. She is eating her way into bulk and it is distorting her face.
She is the most controlling child I have ever met. She never backs down. Her drama is about control...all of it.
So it comes down to this: because an extremely miniscule number of such persons exist, the little girls in this child's school should have a boy with a penis in their bathroom, according to these wacko parents.