What do you think of the "Genderless child"

I think this is a very cool idea. The only thing is the kids are probably going to get bullied for it because most people have a hard time wrapping their heads around the idea of not picking a gender. Most people get bullied for something though so it's hard to say. If nothing else good comes of it at least they will raise some very open-minded people and that seems like a positive thing to me.

 

I think the idea of picking a gender neutral name and letting the child discover and present whatever gender ze wants is a great idea, and I will try to make sure that I get in love with a partner who feels the same way about parenting.

 

I saw a news clip about them and the other parents that did the same...I have to say that I think this can be damaging, depending on how it's done. There's a difference between being open minded and allowing your child to choose.

It should be said that Storm's family says within the family they do acknowledge the baby's gender, they just believe it's no one else's business, that gender has little to do with genitals, and that since genitals shoudl be private they wait and let the child decide when/if to share their gender with the public. Also their other kids choose how they dress and act, and as I understand it they may dress femme one day, but not the next.

My mom let me buy and wear plastic heels and feathered scarfs and I even had a set of baby dolls I pushed around in a stroller for months. I'm pretty sure if I wanted to wear a dress she would have let me.

But, I was a boy, and I knew that, and so did she and everyone else And when people msitook me for a girl her or myself corrected them.

Storms family is waiting untell the baby decides to tell people its gender, but I think it's got to be a narrow line between the child going with what it feels (and honestly, under like 6 or so aren't we all really alike?) and between it feeling like gender is something that SHOULD be hidden for shame. And...when the kid does get to say.....people will pin that on them anyways, so if the 5 year old declares itself a girl, then in 4 years when it decides not....the public is going to be a pain...

I won't say if what they are doing is something I agree with or not, because I only know what the news reports, and I think...much of the "news" is opinionated poop.


I wish gender just didn't matter, but it will be awhile before the world catches up with that view.



(Dies from typing long post :dead

 

they are doing it for all the wrong reasons. refusing to let anyone know the childs gender is to deny the child an identity. if the child grows up, and identifies as a gender not represented by their physical exteror, one can deal with that then. you can let the child express themselves however they wish.

I have heard that since this story first came out, they have been trying to shop reality shows like crazy. I also heard TLC, which usually doesnt have scruples, refused to pay them a million dollars and episode, and they got pissed off and tried a british company.

 

I think it is a good idea, if done correctly. But like a lot of good ideas, the execution can end up quite different. I was never a "stereotypical" girl. I was given Barbies and they went to war. My dad was okay with that. I might have been more of a "tomboy" because I was raised by a single father though. Who knows?
I hope it works the right way with these families, but I'm not sure if I would do it the same way myself.

 

This isn't the sort of decision that an individual family can really make. It requires a social environment that can support that choice. If a group of families did in en masse it might be possible, but not just one family.

 

Pretty dumb if you ask me. It seems like the parents are just trying to experiment with their kid, I doubt he made the decision to where a pink glittery swimsuit all on his own. Also the parents clearly love the attention they are getting from this. Parents should let their children act how they act regardless of gender, but trying to force a kid to be neutral and "try both" when he most likely tends toward one or the other is just coercion.

 

I have two opinions on this...I agree it seems like they're just experimenting....but my less ethical side is telling me "What if this works?". After all...it is only one person. Maybe this could have some undesired effects, but the world is trial and error. I say, see how this goes.

 

I would probably give my child a unisex name, and i wouldnt ever push then towards sterotypical roles. If they want to choose to be the opposite gender when their younger let them go for it, it wont hurt anyone. But i would always try prepare them for what might happen with other kids by doing this in the best way i could. But i think what these parents are doing is a bit to extreme, like all three kids brought up without gender. And the two boys are dressed up as girls, what are the odds they would both do that off their own accord. I agree with a earlier post saying that these parents are just trying to experiment with their kids.

 

^This.
To me the abolition of the whole concept of gender would be great but it seems hugely unrealistic at this point and how one would go about it hugely difficult.

 

I really like the idea/principle/wish behind this, but I wouldn't do exactly the same thing.

Me, being a transgendered man, and my wife being transsexual, we strongly understand and approve of the idea to be totally open minded and accepting of our children's gender identities and sexual orientations, but we also value the stability and the pride a fix gender attributed at birth does give.

We show our daughter that it's awesome to be a girl, and something to be proud of. We are however very receptive to her tastes and wishes; if she ever wanted to stop being so girly and turn around, identifying as a male, we would also approve and help!

I believe it's a bit sad to have your children see gender identity like a mask they can switch around at will. Like I stated above, there is stability in the usage of pronouns, and there is pride in being a man or a woman, even in being bi-gendered or a-gendered!

 

I think it's a bad idea at the moment. It seems like they're effectively using their child for a social experiment -- and as others have said, there's a difference between letting your child choose and forcing a lack of gender identity on them.