[kevinh]

The reason that kids would bully male students that would wear dresses to school or female students that wear pants to school is precisely because the administration forbids it.

The administration forbidding it is just confirming in their minds that the behavior of these students is not normal and worthy of derision. In cases where those in authority do not treat it as out of order, the students are far less likely to bully the child.

[wjy]

Don't kid yourself. It's much more primitive than that. There have always been, and likely always will be, those who torment anyone who deviates from the norm. Children can be especially cruel to each other. Kids in my school didn't yell "Fag!" to certain individuals as a way to buck authority. They did it because they were mean-spirited and wanted to bully someone.