Anonymous wrote:My son did the same. He has gender identity issues. I hate having my things taken so I've helped him buy his own, which I, of course, pay for since he didn't have his own money. He has a therapist but I don't know if they discuss this. Also, he belongs to LGBTQ clubs in school. I am not a therapist and I am his mom. I'm here to talk, but more than likely, he's going to figure things out through a combination of experience, therapy, talking with his parents, talking with friends, dating, etc.
This really isn't an issue for punishment. I never punished my daughter for "borrowing" my jewelry, so I wasn't going to punish my son for "borrowing" my undergarments. If the only way that he can get them is to take them from you, then fix that. Let him explore and figure out who he is. You aren't going to punish away his sexual identity.
He refuses to engage in discussions when asked about why he takes the stuff (he will get embarrassed and run to his room to hide), and therapy isn't a viable option right now. (He was seeing a therapist for ADHD issues, but we had to stop with teletherapy because he refused to talk, and would spend his time playing online video games on other web screens.) But it seems either he's masturbating or wearing the clothes. If the former, I guess that's typical for a boy his age, but does he really need my underwear to do it? If the latter, there are other issues at play, and I don't want to punish him for it -- I just want him to leave my stuff alone. So I guess the answer is to buy him his own bras and underwear so he can do whatever it is he is doing?