Something that has bothered me for a while now in the discussion surrounding Spamton's trans coding (or rather, the denial of it) is the idea that the dress mannequin can't represent anything negative because it would sully the meaning of The Dress itself as a symbol of freedom and self-acceptance. However, I think this argument fails to consider the idea that the dress and the dress mannequin are two different objects that represent two different things.
When talking about the meaning of the dress in this instance it's important to recognize that the dress can't be separated from the mannequin, both contextually and literally.
They are a package deal. The dress is permanently attached to the mannequin and must be analyzed with this context in mind. The dress being unobtainable on its own and instead being affixed to the mannequin makes this item inherently different from the dress in Undertale.
In Undertale, the dress is wearable. It's free to be given or taken with nothing to get in the way of that. In Deltarune, the mannequin flips this aspect of freedom on its head. The dress is unable to be taken off the mannequin or given to anyone else. The choice is taken away and the object is rendered useless.
The mannequin represents a lack of choice in the ill-fitting roles imposed upon oneself by others, and I think chapter 5 bolsters this idea even more with Pink's comment about how it "doesn't fit" just like how Spamton won't fit into the mannequin in chapter 2. Conversely, Ralsei likes the dress, but would be unable to wear it because it is instead being forced onto someone who doesn't want it.
Perhaps the dress freed from the mannequin would not evoke these same negative reactions, but as it is right now, the dress mannequin is the opposite of the dress in Undertale and shows how forcing people into roles that don't fit is a detriment to everyone. And, in my opinion, this is extremely fitting for a game like Deltarune, where the statement we are challenging throughout the game is not "In this world, it's kill or be killed," but instead "No one can choose who they are in this world."
