Today Now!:Finding Masculine Halloween Costumes For Your Effeminate Son

If you're the parent of an overly feminine little boy, choosing the right Halloween costume is crucial for avoiding humiliation during your family's trick-or-treat outings. Luckily, our next guest is here to help us tackle this difficult problem, head on. Jim. Thanks Trace. This is Anna Stephenson, author of "Actually, He's a Boy," a how-to manual for parenting an effeminate male child. Good to see you this morning, Anna. - Oh, thanks for having me, Jim. I'm actually very excited to talk to you today because when my nephew, Derrick, turned eight, he started acting giggly all the time. My brother is beside himself, he's afraid to let him out of the house, let alone on a night when everybody's dressing up. Right, well a lot of parents feel that way, Jim. But unless you lock him in the house, you run the risk that the ladyboy will sneak out on his own dressed as a ballerina. And you'll find him pirouetting on somebody's front porch with the whole neighborhood watching. - Oh, the worst nightmare! But the good news is, with a little creativity, we can disguise your girly son as a normal kid. Well, tell us how to do that, Anna! Come on out, Travis! Oh, it looks like we have a little soldier man here. This is Travis, say hello, Travis. - Hello, Travis. Travis had a gun and a threatening knife there. But if you want your child to depict a male dominated profession, be very careful not to choose one that's been co-opted by the gay community like a fireman, a cop, a cowboy... - Good point! Otherwise they'll just end up looking like a stripper. - Right, exactly! Now let's take a look at Ben. - Ben, come on out! The world of science fiction is a great place to look for fierce and violent characters. - Right, right. So you're a scary robot, huh? - I guess so. This is also a good costume for what I call, a prancer. - A prancer. A son who skips delicately instead of just walking. Ben, take a few steps. Well, look at that! Problem solved. I want to be a pastry chef but she wouldn't let me... Oh, look at this feature! Oh, now that's a good option. Especially if you're losing control of the situation. Next we have Lance. - Oh, hey! How you doing in there, Big Head? Lance has long lashes and an almost compulsive habit of twirling his curly, blond around his fingers. Oh, well not anymore with that head, right? I'm a big old bear! - Yes, you are. The big head also muffles his lisp. Oh! Maybe that's the costume for my nephew then. Oh, could be. - That's a great idea. Now we have Christian. - Bla! Is a vampire really the right choice here? Yes, well, vampires are flashy dressers but it's all in the service of seducing a woman. Oh, OK, right. - They're virile and dangerous. But here's what I want to show you. By using copious amount of blood we have sissy-proofed this costume. Now that's a very menacing looking costume. Very masculine! - You ruined my costume! It happens sometimes, sweetie, go ahead. That's really neat. Now, I hope you parents at home who have faggy acting little boys have been taking notes, because we got a lot of good advice here. Now we're going to head back over to Tracy, who's going to show us how effective trick-or-treating can feed your entire family for a week! STILL AHEAD THIS HOUR: HOW TO SQUAT IN YOUR FORECLOSED HOME