Dyson Kilodavis is a 5-year-old who likes to wear dresses, the color pink, and has dubbed himself “Princess Boy.” He is also the main character in a children’s book written by his mother, about what it’s like to want to be a little different from everyone else.
Dyson and his mother stopped by the Today Show this morning, where they chatted about Dyson’s penchant for dressing up, the response to the book, and Dyson says to people who make fun of his style.
His mother Cheryl told Meredith Viera that she wasn’t always okay with Dyson’s desire to wear dresses, but had a change of heart after his older brother asked her, “Why can’t you just let it be happy?” She realized then that her concern was really “an adult issue” and something she needed to get over, which is why she wrote the book.
And the response, she says, has been overwhelmingly positive.
Dyson’s father added: “It’s not contagious,” he told the show. “He’s just like any other kid. He plays checkers, he plays in the trees. He just likes to do it in a dress. Big deal.”
Dyson, for his part, seems to have a wonderfully supported sense of self. When other kids or people make fun of the way he dresses, his mom says he tells them, “If you don’t like me in a dress or in pink, then you’re not my friend.”
And when asked why he wears what he wears, little Dyson responded, “Because it makes me feel happy.” And who can say no to that?
