Man Refuses To Allow His Son To Wear Crop Top 'Like A Girl' Despite Him Being College-Aged
"I told him that he can go out and have fun and enjoy campus life, but he needs to put on a different shirt."
Vionel Sima / Vibl Studio / Shutterstock A father has sparked major backlash from Reddit after he revealed the ludicrous request he gave to his college-aged son. As the 20-year-old was preparing to leave to perform at a concert, the father stopped him and asked him to change his outfit into something different since he looked “like a girl.”
Both the man’s son and wife made their disagreement with his request clear, and now the man is wondering if he should have just kept his opinions to himself.
The father told his son to change out of his ‘crop top’ since it made him ‘look like a girl.’
Sharing his story to the subreddit, r/AmITheA–hole, the man revealed that his 20-year-old son, Steve, is currently in his third year of college, and is the guitarist and vocalist for the campus band. One night, he was scheduled to play a show and as he was getting ready to leave, his father took notice of the attire he was wearing.
“He wanted to go out wearing jeans and a cropped t-shirt that exposed his mid-drift, like a girl,” the man wrote.
The man ultimately decided to instruct his son to change his outfit, obviously feeling uncomfortable by it.
Photo: Folenial / Shutterstock
“I told him that he could go out and have fun and enjoy campus life, but he needed to put on a different shirt,” the man shared.
While he claims that he and his son did not necessarily get into a “fight” over the matter, he could tell that Steve was annoyed, as well as his wife. Still, his son did end up changing his outfit for the show, dressed in what his father referred to as “more appropriate attire.”
While the incident happened weeks ago, the man admits that it has been on his mind ever since.
He asked other Redditors if he was wrong for commenting that his son should change his outfit in the first place.
Most people criticized the man for dictating his college-aged son’s outfits.
“He’s 20 years old. He’s an adult. He’s in a band. This is simply a style,” one Redditor commented. “The fact that you even thought it was your place to get involved is bizarre.”
“I’m sorry. Did I really just read that you're controlling what your adult child wears? Seriously?” another user wrote. “What he wears is absolutely none of your business. Leave him alone. He’s an adult.”
Other users pointed out there is nothing wrong with men wearing crop tops to expose their mid-drifts, and the fashion choice was not exclusive to women only.
“The 80s are back, babe. Guys wear cropped shirts, too,” one user noted.
“Mid-drifts are not exclusively for one gender. He’s in a band and unless his band members or the venue have a dress code he can go wearing a pumpkin suit, midriff, pajamas, or whatever the band wants to wear,” another user added.
Crop tops, tank tops, dresses, and any other clothing articles that some may view as “feminine” do not necessarily have to be.
Clothing is clothing, and if you’re comfortable in what you are wearing, there should be no limitations on how you choose to dress yourself despite your gender (unless of course, you are attending an institution or event that requires a certain dress code).
Some men like to wear tank tops and rompers. Some women like to wear tuxedos and suits. The way people dress themselves is not only a personal decision but also a chance to allow them to express themselves and explore their identity.
“When men are asked to describe why they choose to wear what they wear, they say that it’s a representation of who they are and how they feel,” Dana R. Carney, a professor at UC Berkeley who studies nonverbal communication, said in a TikTok.
The crop top that the man’s son chose to wear to his show may have been an opportunity for him to demonstrate exactly who he was to the audience, or it could have expressed an important message regarding his music.
No matter the reason, the choice of what he wore was entirely up to him. His father had no right to determine what his adult son could dress in, nor deem his choices equal to “a girl’s.”
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.