Genderless parenting

And I think of X-men.

I think he/she is too young to really experience social restrictions. Whether or not I'm concerned is a function of how long they plan on keeping this up. Also, I think naming their kid Storm already will put a social burden on him/her.

And I think of X-men.

The idea from their point of view is to let the child develop its own sense of gender. If families know their a boy then they'll start to buy them male-oriented presents, blue clothes etc which then reinforces in the child's mind that society expects them to live up to male gender archetypes

Quote from: Chris Spaghetti on May 24, 2011, 02:31:28 PM

The idea from their point of view is to let the child develop its own sense of gender. If families know their a boy then they'll start to buy them male-oriented presents, blue clothes etc which then reinforces in the child's mind that society expects them to live up to male gender archetypes

But gender is a fact of life, a matter of chance. If a child is a boy or a girl, it should be treated accordingly. Why try to change your nature?

Interesting as a thought experiment, but that kid is going to have a hell of a time in society.

And that has nothing to do with societal influences, I'm sure.

I hate people like this.

Normally when I'm not sure I just cop a feel.

Quote from: Eddy Baby on May 24, 2011, 05:54:00 PM

Normally when I'm not sure I just cop a feel.

Jazz — soft-spoken, with a slight frame and curious brown eyes — keeps his hair long, preferring to wear it in three braids, two in the front and one in the back, even though both his parents have close-cropped hair. His favourite colour is pink, although his parents don’t own a piece of pink clothing between them. He loves to paint his fingernails and wears a sparkly pink stud in one ear, despite the fact his parents wear no nail polish or jewelry.

Kio keeps his curly blond hair just below his chin. The 2-year-old loves purple, although he’s happiest in any kind of pyjama pants.

“As a result, Jazz and now Kio are almost exclusively assumed to be girls,” says Stocker, adding he and Witterick don’t out them. It’s the boys’ choice whether they want to offer a correction.

On a recent trip to High Park, Jazz, wearing pink shorts, patterned pink socks and brightly coloured elastics on his braids, runs and skips across the street.

“That’s a princess!” says a smiling crossing guard, ushering the little boy along. “And that’s a princess, too,” she says again, pointing at Kio with her big red sign.

Jazz doesn’t mind. One of his favourite books is 10,000 Dresses, the story of a boy who loves to dress up. But he doesn’t like being called a girl. Recently, he asked his mom to write a note on his application to the High Park Nature Centre because he likes the group leaders and wants them to know he’s a boy.

Jazz was old enough for school last September, but chose to stay home. “When we would go and visit programs, people — children and adults — would immediately react with Jazz over his gender,” says Witterick, adding the conversation would gravitate to his choice of pink or his hairstyle.

That’s mostly why he doesn’t want to go to school. When asked if it upsets him, he nods, but doesn’t say more.

Instead he grabs a handmade portfolio filled with his drawings and poems. In its pages is a booklet written under his pseudonym, the “Gender Explorer.” In purple and pink lettering, adorned with butterflies, it reads: “Help girls do boy things. Help boys do girl things. Let your kid be whoever they are!”

As far as the parents are concerned the bullying and assumptions that he's a girl are purely society's fault. Why, just because he likes to dress and act in a way which is traditionally seen as 'girly,' should it be OK to make fun of and bully him?