The name of DS was officially changed after kindergarten... personally, I don't think a boy who is considered girly is helped by a name used by both boys and girls. But Cameron is a good name... I wouldn't say all is well now exactly but I do think his new name can only help.

Wow, this is a great attitude and my sister keeps reminding me that too. But the reality is also that ballet can make some boys seem too different from other boys in the neighborhood. A mixed blessing, maybe? Kindergarten at the public school was rough… being teased for being girly all year and then on one of the last days of school, physically attacked by the class bully on the jungle gym. DS has become friends with another first grade boy in his ballet class who is more athletic than he is. The friend seems like the type of happy, confident kid who can shrug off the teasing while my DS is sensitive. DS now goes to dance class in a white t-shirt and black biker shorts... “A young kid asking if he wears tights might just be curious and not be bullying.” You are right and DS should be able to politely explain that older boys and men wear tights for ballet. But he has to learn how to say this without getting embarrassed! He still gets nervous about being laughed at.

DS is homeschooled now after being bullied for being girly when he went to kindergarten at the local public school. He started taking ballet classes in September at age six. Would you consider ballet for your son? He is proud to be a dancer and is happy to talk about ballet with new friends or anyone who seems nice. However, you just never know when a mean kid at church or a neighborhood party will start making fun and ask him if he wears tights. How much would you worry about teasing if your son did ballet? A homeschooled boy needs an activity where he can meet kids his own age but we are afraid ballet is only drawing attention to the whole issue that he might be gay and it isn’t fair.

Thanks for responding! Many male dancers have to deal with stereotypes... when I first suggested to my son that he try ballet, he was very nervous about being laughed at. DS is somewhat girly and got teased about being a wimp throughout kindergarten. Still, he eventually decided to give it a try and put on the white ballet slippers…

DS is in first grade and proud to be a dancer and I wanted to reach out. Are there any boys at your daughters' ballet class? Was wondering how they were treated. He is happy to talk about ballet with new friends or anyone who seems nice. However, you just never know when a mean kid at church or a neighborhood party will start making fun and ask him if he wears tights.

Thanks, Klmama. I think my sister will be an awesome mom... when we were deciding if DS should start taking ballet, my sister told us not to listen to people who say ballet is for girls. She knows it's not easy for a male dancer but can see other benefits for DS. Yes, our DS was bullied for being girly at the public school in kindergarten, his only year when he wasn’t homeschooled. It didn’t help that the prettiest kid in the class was a girl named Cameron. Kids at school saw it as a girl’s name because she had many friends. Unlucky! My husband did not like the idea of changing his name and thought that he was still a cute Cameron in his own unique way. But I wanted to help the teasing any way I could and so far the past six months have been better. Now when he says his name, they know he’s a boy at least. Meeno Peluce is the brother of Soleil Moon Fyre who played Punky Brewster on TV at age 8. This Meeno was an adorable child actor with a mop of curly black hair known for TV shows like The Bad News Bears and a long, impressive list as a guest star of many TV shows including The Love Boat. Did anyone else grow up in the 1980s?

DS is a first grader who started ballet class in September and loves that. Dancing is so much fun for him and we are lucky the classes have all been in person so far. Some boys at his church and in the neighborhood think that ballet is just for girls but DS has been shrugging off those comments, so far. The uniform for boys at this age is a white t-shirt and black biker shorts so it's not like he has to wear tights or anything too girly at this point. He has been happy and maybe some little boys were just born to dance. Right?

Thanks a million, you seem nice! My sister and her husband are both good-looking and athletic so I could have an adorable, little jock nephew who happens to be called Meeno. Aren't we lucky?

We are a white Christian family living in America but my sister chose Meeno which means little fish in Hindu. He will be the first boy in the family since my son was born six years ago, so this little fish is eagerly awaited. My sister told me yesterday she hopes in about five years, Meeno will study ballet like my DS. Wow, that means a lot to me because few people in the family have been supportive of my son's dancing. She thinks Meeno will try ballet as well as some other more traditional boy's sports. Meeno could be an awesome kid and DS could teach his cousin about being a male dancer which isn't always easy. That's just too cool.

Thanks for the responses! DS is homeschooled and deals with loneliness. He is lucky to have the friend with the funny name. DS started kindergarten at the public school here but was teased because kids thought he wss too girly. When kindergarten began his name was Cameron but there was a girl in his class with that name and he hated being mistaken for a girl! So, we changed his name to something common and a boy’s only name. Dad is a librarian and a skinny boy at the library is named Arafat and some of the youngest kids will ask is he fat? Yes, Meeno is close to mean but people could always say, Don’t be a Meanie, be a Meeno. Make a nice joke… You adopted from Korea? That's awesome. My white friend married a Korean and all three children look Asian although they are bi-racial. My sister chose the name just because she liked the sound of it. No special reason. I am optimistic my nephew won’t have the problems my son had in public school and I am already getting used to his cute name, haha.

My sister will be naming her son Meeno when he is born in a few months... at first, my husband and I thought it was too weird, never heard that name before but more and more we think it could be adorable for a likable boy. Would you talk her out of that name? Never liked unusual names, seems like it could make life hard for a kid growing up but DS is in first grade and has a new best friend with a first name just as odd as Meeno. But he is an awesome kid who seems like he is able to shrug off any teasing of his name. And now that this boy has been over to our house so many times in the past few weeks, we are used to his name and think it's cute. What do other people think?