If an almost-5 year old boy wants to play with Barbie dolls - is he gay?

No, he's just playing. My 5 year old son wanted lipstick on the other day. It doesn't mean anything other than they're learning.

Don't be ridiculous. Most kids that age do not associate toys to a certain gender or even clothing for that matter. I have know boys that are 5-6 that walk around the house in there mother's shoes. The only thing that would make this a "gay" activity is people in society like you that associate these behaviors as gay. Let the boy have some fun if he wants. He may even do this at an older age if he has olders sisters.

No he is not gay.. Just a little more femine than the other boys that are out roughing around.. My daughter had a foster child that wanted to play with barbies.. so i went out and bought him some other than that he was a very well adjusted boy.. he like to play basket ball and all that stuff didn't like to be roughed around.. so he is fine.. and he will some day put the barbie down and go play with the rest of the kids.

He is enjoying the quiet play with the dolls.

don't worry he is very young.. and most kids go through it just no one likes to talk about it because they think the same way that you did.. that he was gay or something..

he is healthy..

he is happy

let him be

I wouldn't go so far as to categorise such a young child prematurely, but there could be cause for concern if the child refuses to play with other toys. My nephew who is 3 and 1/2 like Dora The Explorer, even though it is a character designed and geared more towards young girls.

There is also the possibility that the young child may be trying to explore his sexual identity. Although much to young to actually have any type of sexual "recognition" (or "drive") and therefore the concept of the B-doll fetish is totally out of line here, it is possible that his curiousity towards the female anatomy has found an outlet in this playing with dolls.

There are also many other possibilities one could consider but these are darker in tone and more insidious in nature. A military buddy of mine used to play with B-dolls at a young age, but this was more towards his pre-teens than his pre-school age. The nature of his curiousity however was very different.

You can look up this behaviour on the internet. Many studies (and essays) have been done about the young child's attention to specific gender-oriented toys.

It doesn't mean anything. Action figures are dolls for boys, right? My little brother used to play with barbies with my sister and I when he was that age, then soon he was ripping their heads off and chewing off their feet. Now he's a football player with a steady girlfriend. It means nothing. But think of it this way, if your son were to turn out to be gay, would you love him any less?

There is nothing wrong with a 4 1/2 year old playing with dolls weither the child is a boy or a girl. However you should really have a serious look at yourself and ask yourself why your having such a hard time with your sons natural loving play. Why is it you think he shouldnt be paying with dolls?

It may be a gender dysphoria, and that needs attention soon as possible. Not all children with a gender dysphoria will become gay. Not all children that play with a toy that is considered the opposite genders toy will have a gender dysphoria. Yet some children do, and even some children learn characteristics that mimic a gender dysphoria.

I do not want you to feel alarmed and you should know if your son is acting like a girl or has ideas that seem to make him act like a girl. As he grows it would be best if he is in counseling and then ask the doctor's to evaluate him, and put an emphasis you are concerned with a gender dysphoria, Please see the site below for more information.

NO he is not gay. At this age they just like to play. They aren't so much into the girl toy or boy toy situation yet. My daughter played with nothing but trucks, tools and matchbox cars until she was 6 yrs old. She is a normal, happy girl who has fond memories of playing with those things. She is very much a girly girl now. Just let him be a young child and have fun. They grow up so quickly.

He's playing with chicks! If he was playing with GI Joe's and acting like Joe was having a tea party then maybe you could suspect he might be gay. If he's just playing with the dolls in an innocent way I don't think you can pin a certain sexuallity on it. He's 4. He's probably not thinking about whether he likes girls or boys yet. And what's the matter with playing with dolls whether he's gay or not? At least he's not playing with guns and training to shoot up his school one day.

If an almost 5 year old wants to play with guns, will he be a cop or maybe a serial killer?

Now you see the logic?!

The kind of thing you worry about surfaces around puberty. Before that time all children are gay in the happiest possible way.

Sure he may be, but he also may not be. Role playing is very healthy for kids that age, and helps them develop faster, and dolls like barbie are a great tool for role playing. There are less girly dolls if you are really worried about the way it looks, but playing with them won't MAKE him gay.