Parents decide to bring up "genderless" child

prinz · 26-05-2011 3:24pm

deirdre_dub wrote: »

How does not telling everyone else what is between the kids legs (something that the kid themself can find out very easily) end up confusing them?!

How far is the ploy going to go? Are they going to make the child not tell people? Is the little kid going to be lassooed into their little game of playing dumb if other kids ask? Is the kid going to be freaked out if a stranger asks a simple question? What is the kid going to answer?

deirdre_dub wrote: »

Again, you are assuming a level of stupidity and/or malice on the part of the parents that there is simply no evidence for..

There is plenty of evidence for it. They are putting themselves before their kid IMO.

deirdre_dub wrote: »

What you also seem to be saying is that parents should decide how a child may behave in terms of gender, and not allow anything that strays outside that.

No, I'm not saying anything remotely like that. Being open and upfront about the kids physical gender is not the same as deciding how that kid has to behave/what toys the kid can play with etc. Like I have said already my parents never hid the fact that I was a boy as a kid, but neither did they dictate what toys I played with (which was mostly traditional girls toys) or what activities I engaged in. In fact they encouraged me to engage in activities which were and are considered more 'girly' if that's what I wanted. They taught me how to be both secure in myself, and not to care what people thought because I was a lad who liked to learn more 'feminine' skills.

These parents are doing the polar opposite by telling the kid that the way to get accepted is to hide your true self.

Seachmall · 26-05-2011 3:27pm

deirdre_dub wrote: »

How does not telling everyone else what is between the kids legs (something that the kid themself can find out very easily) end up confusing them?!

Ya, maybe it won't.

Here,
The kid is obviously going to be aware of it's biological gender.
The kid will learn it's gender role from observing parents, siblings, friends, watching TV etc.

Not referring to the kid as male/female will not change either of those facts.

If the kid is confused about it's gender role it is going to go through the same BS every kid in that situation has gone through.

All the parents have achieved is an international "WTF?!" directed at them and their kid. I'm guessing this won't go down well for the kid in terms of bullies, throw on the bullying a gender-confused kid must fear and you have a drastically increased likelihood of suicide for that kid.

Even if the kid isn't gender-confused the (at least initial) bullying it'll receive is pretty sh*t.

deirdre_dub · 26-05-2011 3:31pm

prinz wrote: »

How far is the ploy going to go? Are they going to make the child not tell people? Is the little kid going to be lassooed into their little game of playing dumb if other kids ask?

Is that a serious question?! Do you seriously believe that these parents are malicious? :mad:

The whole point of waiting for a child to tell you what gender they are is allowing the child the freedom to express their gender!

There is plenty of evidence for it.

No, there isn't. There is plenty of evidence that you don't understand where they are coming from and what they are trying to achieve.

Being open and upfron about the kids gender is not the same as deciding how that kid has to behave/what toys the kid can play with etc.

In too many parts of the world, it is exactly the same.

Like I have said already my parents never hid the fact that I was a boy as a kid, but neither did they dictate what toys I played with (which was mostly traditional girls toys) or what activities I engaged in. In fact they encouraged me to engage in activities which were and are considered more 'girly'. They taught me how to be both secure in myself, and not to care what people thought because I was a lad who liked to learn more 'feminine' skills.

And did that not "confuse" you?! No - it didn't - you had an inner sense of who and what you are. So it is with this kid. And that inner identity is going to come out - as I said, wild horses can't stop it.

These parents are doing the polar opposite by telling the kid that the way to get accepted is to hide your true self.

Nope - they are saying that before you can get acceptance, you have to know who you are. You cannot get accepted if you don't know what it is that you are looking to be accepted. Trust me - I know what I'm talking about here - I couldn't possibly have been accepted until I understood myself and understood what it was that I needed people to accept.

Rocket19 · 26-05-2011 3:31pm

Ok, I don't want to bore people senseless with my waffling, but here's my take on this.

I think this particular article is misleading - no surprise it comes from some anonymous writer for yahoo. Anyway, I read another article about this yesterday. Can't remember what source it was, but it was far more intelligent and seemingly more accurate.

The first thing I'd like to point out is that the person who wrote this article is confusing the terms "gender" and "sex". I apologise if this has been pointed out already but these are NOT the same thing.
While sex is (obviously) biologically determined, gender is not. Gender is culturally constucted. It is a purely social construct of biological difference.
(While I understand that some differences in behaviours/'likes'/activities ARE as a result of sexual/biological/hormonal difference, to a massive extent, the concepts of gender that we 'know' in society are LEARNED.)

A message of gender is drilled into us from a VERY early age. This is not only down to the media/advertising, but it is deeply ingrained into our psyche.
When you walk into a toy shop, the "girl's section", you'll notice, is awash with glitter, pink and purple. Most of the toys centre on domestic life (babies/cooking/'housekeeping) and beauty.
The boy's section centres more on cars, planes, adventure, things you build - 'boy's stuff'.
There appears to be no medium. While some toys are 'ungendered' (arts&crafts, etc), most succum to very, very defined gender roles.

While some might say this is harmless, is it really?
Do you really think your little girls were born loving pink and dreaming about being a princess? Do you think its a coincidence that little boys love 'action' and 'adventure' so much more than little girls?
Why do you think there's so few women working in IT/engineering? That the majority of people working in teaching/nursing, etc, are women? It could be said that these gender messages are clearly making their mark and even defining the paths of our lives.

As for the Canadian couple, they're probably a bit strange. I fear people misunderstand their stance on this issue though and their reasons for raising their children in such a way.
The article says "Storm will be raised as neither a boy nor girl and will choose a sex when he or she grows up". This is NOT a direct quote from the parents, but rather a stupid statement from the person writing the article. These parents are NOT going to get their child to eventually "choose" a sex. Wtf? As I already said, sex is biologically determined.
Rather, it seems to me that these parents intend to prohibit their children from solely identifying with being a gendered "boy" or "girl". They won't be saying "you are a boy,so you must cut your hair" or "you're a girl, so lets try on this pretty dress". People do this subconsiously and its seems to me the parents are trying to break away from this phenomenon that we seem to accept without question.
They are eliminating the influences of gender roles on the child by not speicfying a sex and treating the child not as "he" or "she", but as merely a person.
The kid makes their own choices, so if the boy wants short hair, he'll have it - not because "its what a boy should have", but rather because its what he wants. In this sense, the child is more 'true' to itself and more secure its own personal identity

As for whether agree with it? I don't know. The concept, yes, but it seems a little extreme. I'd worry about how the kids would fit into the "real world".
While it seems the parents are trying to raise their kids in a way which rejects gender roles/norms, the consequence of this is that their children are somewhat removed from society and all the positive aspects that comes with it. The fact that the kids are home-schooled (as a result of bullying) is probably a testament to this.
When they do finally enter the "real world", I can see them suffering some confusion concerning their gender identities according to 'our' social norms, ones which they will presumably have limited experience of.
It seems to me that the parents are living in their own 'perfect world'. Just because they raise their kids genderless, doesn't mean they will be living in a genderless world, so to speak.
The only way I can see this 'working' is if their kids literally spend their whole lives in this bubble.
I can see how they might see it as starting a "revolution", but is it right to use their kids to advocate this?

I do agree however, that people should be trying to separate their kids from these norms. People talk about the destructive powers of religion and state, but they ignore the subliminal messages of gender roles and the impact this may have on their kids.
I think its something that has to change, and may well do in the distant future, but as for these kids? The 'rules' won't change in their lifetimes, but in some sense, their parents have the right idea.
Foward thinking? Possibly. A bit wacky? Probably. But to equate their parenting methods as "child abuse" is laughable.

OctavarIan · 26-05-2011 3:42pm

Kathy and David feel strongly about releasing their children from the constraints that society poses on males and females and want them to make their own decisions about how they act and look.

I wonder if they realised that the child will still be exposed to society's gender influence. If they're abstaining from instilling any of their own values in the child then the only influence the child's gender identity has will be whatever is reflected in society at the time. In effect they're magnifying the very effects they're trying to suppress.

prinz · 26-05-2011 3:43pm

deirdre_dub wrote: »

Is that a serious question?! Do you seriously believe that these parents are malicious? :mad:.

Are you going to respond to what I actually asked? Why did you drop stupidity by the way?

deirdre_dub wrote: »

The whole point of waiting for a child to tell you what gender they are is allowing the child the freedom to express their gender!.

Yet I was always aware of my gender and I always had the freedom to express it in whatever way I saw fit. Being open about the gender does not remove the child's freedom to express themselves.

deirdre_dub wrote: »

No there isn't.

Just look at the kids names ffs. I mean the kid could never grow up resenting that could they...

deirdre_dub wrote: »

There is plenty of evidence that you don't understand where they are coming from and what they are trying to achieve..

Nail on the head. Where they are coming from? What they are trying to achieve. The kid should get priority.

deirdre_dub wrote: »

In too many parts of the world, it is exactly the same...

..and what this stunt is the only way to combat that?

deirdre_dub wrote: »

And did that not "confuse" you?! No - it didn't - you had an inner sense of who and what you are. So it is with this kid. And that inner identity is going to come out - as I said, wild horses can't stop it....

That kid is going to be confused if they make the kid lie about themselves to cover up it's actual identity. Like I said the inner identity can always come out, even if people know you are a boy, or a girl. Getting the strenght not to give a damn about social expectations doesn't come from trying to fool society but from being open and honest about yourself.

deirdre_dub wrote: »

Nope - they are saying that before you can get acceptance, you have to know who you are. You cannot get accepted if you don't know what it is that you are looking to be accepted. Trust me - I know what I'm talking about here - I couldn't possibly have been accepted until I understood myself and understood what it was that I needed people to accept.

...and the vast, vast, vast, vast, vast majority of people know who they are. Who they are is the gender they are born with/in.

Wrighty82 · 26-05-2011 3:50pm

That kid is going to be a serious handful when (s)he becomes a teenager. The parents haven't thought of that I'm figuring. Teens get pissed off over the simplest things, talk about giving ammo for teen-angst hatred!

prinz · 26-05-2011 3:52pm

Rocket19 wrote: »

Ok, I don't want to bore people senseless with my waffling, but here's my take on this..

All of the things you have said in this post make a lot of sense, but none of it depends on hiding the child's sex from others. You can tell your son that it's alright to have long hair, or play with dolls or like pink. You can be open with your daughter that she can dress more like a boy or play with boys toys and that they shouldn't follow set patterns just because. No argument with any of that whatsoever. These parents are taking it a step further to a place that makes no sense whatsoever.

AudreyHepburn · 26-05-2011 4:08pm

prinz wrote: »

Are you going to respond to what I actually asked? Why did you drop stupidity by the way?

Yet I was always aware of my gender and I always had the freedom to express it in whatever way I saw fit. Being open about the gender does not remove the child's freedom to express themselves.

Just look at the kids names ffs. I mean the kid could never grow up resenting that could they...

Nail on the head. Where they are coming from? What they are trying to achieve. The kid should get priority.

..and what this stunt is the only way to combat that?

That kid is going to be confused if they make the kid lie about themselves to cover up it's actual identity. Like I said the inner identity can always come out, even if people know you are a boy, or a girl. Getting the strenght not to give a damn about social expectations doesn't come from trying to fool society but from being open and honest about yourself.

...and the vast, vast, vast, vast, vast majority of people know who they are. Who they are is the gender they are born with/in.

Not directed at Prinz specifically.

I think this is the key issue/problem people are having with this ie assuming that if a baby is born physically male then emotionally, mentally he will be male but as we all know that is not always the case. Most of the time yes but not always.

There is little to be gained from pretending being born a boy automatically means you are into toy cars or trousers or blue or being a girl means you love frills, pink, dolls etc.

I am a woman, was born that way and am happy that way. But if you never met me and were to look at my book and DVD collection you might have a hard time deciding which I am. I love crime novels, am hugely into war history (in fact my Masters thesis was based in that) and love action and adventure movies. But in other ways I am a typical girly girl. I love clothes, make-up, jewellery etc.

Not as extreme as transgender obviously you get my point.

AudreyHepburn · 26-05-2011 4:12pm

Morlar wrote: »

Transgender people or whatever they prefer to be called are not what this thread is about. It's about parents raising a child in a way that is abnormal.

And what exactly gives any of us the right to determine what is and is not normal.

Just because it is not how you personally would do things does not make it abnormal.

Teclo · 26-05-2011 4:15pm

Such a crime of child abuse is inevitable considering the cowardice modern society shows when confronted by those who are obsessed with 'gender/sexuality issues'.

thebigbiffo · 26-05-2011 4:19pm

had a heated argument with brianthebard on this subject last year. i dont buy the thinking that gender is a social construct - in the same way i think that if you're gay your born that way. i'm convinced that boys by nature behave a certain way and girls theirs. yeah fair enough you'll dress a baby girl in pink and buy her dolls and the like while you'll dress a boy in blue and buy him aeroplanes - but that does not define the differences in personality evident at a very early age in boys and girls.

Seachmall · 26-05-2011 4:20pm

AudreyHepburn wrote: »

There is little to be gained from pretending being born a boy automatically means you are into toy cars or trousers or blue or being a girl means you love frills, pink, dolls etc.

And there is little to be gained by pretending what you refer to a child as will have any impact on how comfortable they will feel if they find themselves outside of gender-roles.

They will form gender-roles regardless of what you call them. Pulling a stunt like this does nothing but give ammo to close-minded bullies.

Morlar · 26-05-2011 4:21pm

AudreyHepburn wrote: »

And what exactly gives any of us the right to determine what is and is not normal.

Just because it is not how you personally would do things does not make it abnormal.

I am not interested in a semantic argument on this issue, for all practical intents and purposes this is clearly an abnormal way to raise a child.

prinz · 26-05-2011 4:24pm

AudreyHepburn wrote: »

I think this is the key issue/problem people are having with this ie assuming that if a baby is born physically male then emotionally, mentally he will be male but as we all know that is not always the case. Most of the time yes but not always.There is little to be gained from pretending being born a boy automatically means you are into toy cars or trousers or blue or being a girl means you love frills, pink, dolls etc. I am a woman, was born that way and am happy that way. But if you never met me and were to look at my book and DVD collection you might have a hard time deciding which I am. I love crime novels, am hugely into war history (in fact my Masters thesis was based in that) and love action and adventure movies. But in other ways I am a typical girly girl. I love clothes, make-up, jewellery etc..

That's wonderful. None of it has anything to do with trying to 'hide' the kids biological sex though. You can be open about the sex of your child and then go on to explore traditional gender roles. People are not against these parents because they think girls should only be pink princesses and boys should only be Bob the Builders. They are against it because it's a meaningless stunt that only has any merit as some sort of ploy for the parents to feel better about themselves. It has nothing to do with letting (and helping) the kid find their own place on the gender spectrum.

AudreyHepburn · 26-05-2011 4:26pm

Morlar wrote: »

I am not interested in a semantic argument on this issue, for all practical intents and purposes this is clearly an abnormal way to raise a child.

It depends on your definition of normal. This certainly is a different and unusal way of raising a child but I would never presume to have to the authority to say it's abnormal.

Perhaps some posters just need to open their minds a little more.

prinz · 26-05-2011 4:28pm

AudreyHepburn wrote: »

It depends on your definition of normal. This certainly is a different and unusal way of raising a child but I would never presume to have to the authority to say it's abnormal.
Perhaps some posters just need to open their minds a little more.

Great for you, welcome to the world of subjectivism and moral relativism. I hope you don't vote, or complain about criminals.

AudreyHepburn · 26-05-2011 4:29pm

prinz wrote: »

That's wonderful. None of it has anything to do with trying to 'hide' the kids biological sex though. You can be open about the sex of your child and then go on to explore traditional gender roles. People are not against these parents because they think girls should only be pink princesses and boys should only be Bob the Builders. They are against it because it's a meaningless stunt that only has any merit as some sort of ploy for the parents to feel better about themselves. It has nothing to do with letting (and helping) the kid find their own place on the gender spectrum.

It has everything to do with it. People seem to be demanding the child be one or the other rather than allowing him or her decide.

I see nothing to suggest the parents doing it for themselves. They don't want their child to be forced to be something he/she isn't just because society deems they should act or be a certain based on what sex they are.

Morlar · 26-05-2011 4:30pm

AudreyHepburn wrote: »

Perhaps some posters just need to open their minds a little more.

Perhaps transgender-advocacy types ought to consider the best interests of the child rather than the pursuit of their agenda.

Seachmall · 26-05-2011 4:34pm

Morlar wrote:

I am not interested in a semantic argument on this issue

AudreyHepburn wrote:

It depends on your definition of normal

:pac:

prinz · 26-05-2011 4:35pm

AudreyHepburn wrote: »

It has everything to do with it. People seem to be demanding the child be one or the other rather than allowing him or her decide..

You don't come out of the womb and then decide which biological sex you want to be. I haven't seen anyone argue that the parents must announce the kid is a boy and then shower him with toy guns and macho gender reinforcement, nor the same if the it is a girl. You can separate the two issues. Hidng the biological sex from people is not the only way to encourage the child to explore their own place on the gender spectrum.

AudreyHepburn wrote: »

They don't want their child to be forced to be something he/she isn't just because society deems they should act or be a certain based on what sex they are.

Which again has nothing to do about being open about the biological sex of the child. That can all be done in the full knowledge that the child is biologically male or female.

Seachmall · 26-05-2011 4:38pm

AudreyHepburn wrote: »

It has everything to do with it. People seem to be demanding the child be one or the other rather than allowing him or her decide.

You're ignoring the fact that no-one is demanding anything different.

I see nothing to suggest the parents doing it for themselves. They don't want their child to be forced to be something he/she isn't just because society deems they should act or be a certain based on what sex they are.

You're ignoring the fact that what they're doing will in no way affect this.

Rocket19 · 26-05-2011 4:40pm

prinz wrote: »

All of the things you have said in this post make a lot of sense, but none of it depends on hiding the child's sex from others. You can tell your son that it's alright to have long hair, or play with dolls or like pink. You can be open with your daughter that she can dress more like a boy or play with boys toys and that they shouldn't follow set patterns just because. No argument with any of that whatsoever. These parents are taking it a step further to a place that makes no sense whatsoever.

But they're not. Its quite unclear really as to what extent theyre actually hiding the sex of the child. You know what journalism can be like - anything to cause a stir.
I read the story from this article which is a lot more informative, if you're interested.
http://www.parentcentral.ca/parent/babiespregnancy/babies/article/995112--parents-keep-child-s-gender-secret

"Out with the kids all day, Witterick doesn’t have the time or the will to hide in a closet every time she changes Storm’s diaper. “If (people) want to peek, that’s their journey,” she says."

It seems they're not really hiding the child's sex. To the media, yes. Close friends and family know the sex.
Also want to reiterate that I don't necessarily agree with their views, I'm just trying to understand it from their perspective.
They seem to be caught in media storm. Whether or not this is of their own doing, I am unsure. But it seems that to uphold their 'beliefs' in such a prying environment, perhaps keeing it secret makes sense, at least to them.

prinz · 26-05-2011 4:43pm

Rocket19 wrote: »

It seems they're not really hiding the child's sex. To the media, yes..

Which would reinforce the belief that it's an attention seeking stunt and more to do with themselves than the well-being of the child. We grow up learning the gender roles from the people around us, our close family and friends, now if all the people in this category for Storm are aware of the biological sex it does not create the atmosphere that some on the thread have claimed. If it's only strangers they don't tell, then it's really an irrelevant point to make. I don't think I was paraded around as a kid with my parents telling random strangers what sex I was.

Seachmall · 26-05-2011 4:44pm

Rocket19 wrote: »

Close friends and family know the sex.

So they're treating the kid normally and just told the media that they won't tell the media the sex of the child.

Couldn't they just of... you know... not told the media anything?

Rocket19 · 26-05-2011 4:56pm

prinz wrote: »

Which would reinforce the belief that it's an attention seeking stunt and more to do with themselves than the well-being of the child.

Firstly, we don't actually know that they brought this media attention upon themselves. I think this truth of this is detrimental to our right to judge them.

Certainly I agree that they do seem to be 'using' their child, in a sense, to prove their point, but I truly don't believe that they would see this as sacrificial to the well-being of the child.
I don't think they are purposely harming their child for the sake of attention, etc. Quite the opposite. I believe that they believe what they're doing is right for the child, and that their actions should be rightfully implemented to all children (and people) in society.

I don't really agree with what they're doing, for reasons that I outlined before, but I don't think these are heartless monsters looking to solely make a statement or draw attention. I think their hearts are in the right place, certainly.
The only 'issue' here I believe, is that the children will potentially run into problems integrating with the rest of society when they finally leave this bubble. Other than this clash with the 'normal' people, I don't see what these parents are doing as inherently wrong. (Although arguably suscepting their child to social exclusion, etc, could be construed as immoral, but I'm not quite so sure about that.)

timewilltell · 26-05-2011 5:02pm

I hate hate hate parents who think their choices are so wonderful and that they are doing the best for their child....

Firstly, if their so great, why are they home schooling? Child will get little socialisation imo.

Rocket19 · 26-05-2011 5:02pm

Seachmall wrote: »

So they're treating the kid normally and just told the media that they won't tell the media the sex of the child.

Couldn't they just of... you know... not told the media anything?

I totally agree that it isn't right for them to have brought the media into it. Certainly isn't an action that would benefit their children in any way imo.
I was making my point (possibly wrongly) assuming that they did not alert the media themselves.

However, I can see how (assuming they did contact the media) these people may see the attention as an opportunity to "spread the word", so to speak. Obviously they do not view their parenting decisions are wrong, so if you think about it from their point of you, why wouldn't they talk to the media and attempt to convert the 'unenlightened ones'.

Perhaps they're not telling the media the sex of the child, not because they're ashamed, but because doing so would place emphasis on the child's actual sex - exactly what they're trying NOT to do.

xsiborg · 26-05-2011 5:04pm

i dont mean any disrespect to you deirdre but what really now are the chances that a couple has three intersex children? these parents are supposed to act as role models for their children. that means they should be guiding them, not letting them decide anything for themselves because as i previously stated, their brains are not yet developed enough to understand the concept of gender identity, let alone stereotyping. the idea of a child deciding what gender they are suits deirdre based on hindsight of HER OWN personal experiences, not those of her parents, who chose to raise her in what i can only assume is the best way they knew how, based on THEIR own personal experiences.

the parents of these children in this particular case, could have raised their children by their own beliefs and need not have courted the media's attention in doing so. simply the fact that they chose to court media attention puts even more pressure on the children. again we do not know the long term effects this attention will have on the children, or how it will influence their thought processses.

the point i guess i am trying to make here is that these parents decisions have far more reaching consequences for their children than just playground taunts and so on, they will perhaps unnecessarily face issues that deirdre will have faced. i think deirdre you will accept that now that your sexual identity matches your gender identity, you finally feel like you "fit in" to society? these parents however, seem intent though on creating problems for their children where there werent any- "fix" one problem (gender stereotyping), but create a hundred more, as it were (social, educational, future employment prospects, future relationships).

it is impossible to qualify without hindsight, the pros and cons of the parents decision to effectively and knowingly, raise their children in abstentia from the influence of their typical role model genders. and yes, i understand that the parents believe that what they are doing is the "right" thing to do, but to effectively fly in the face of millions of years of evolution does seem a tad huberous.

im past the whole "genderless" idea at this stage because to me the term is a bit of a misnomer, as deirdre said you ARE born with a gender, but its the stereotype of that gender that these parents seem to be trying to dismiss.

i just think there are better ways of going about it, like educating your child to form independent thought, not just abdicating your responsibility as a parent to teach a child what it means to have an independent thought, teach a child that society is not always accepting of those that do not follow the stereotypical norm, but instill in them a strength and courage so that they can face the consequences of decisions that the children themselves make, so that they grasp the concept that decisions they make can have both positive AND negative consequences.

these parents seem to want to have their cake and eat it too, they stand back from being gender role models for their children, yet i cant see the father wearing a dress, or the mother shaving her head any time soon, (the idea being to practice what they preach), they home school their children, in effect sheltering them from society, yet court the world's media to further their own agenda, regardless of having asked whether the children want to be paraded as an object of (lets be honest here) scorn and ridicule, for the media. again the children are not old enough to grasp the concept that the world's media really couldn't give a flying f*ck about the parents idealogies, they just want to parade the "freak show family" for ratings and headline grabbing, it has nothing to do with creating awareness of an the issue of gender stereotyping.

hell i even see now that the discovery channel, which used be about interesting and factual thought provoking documentaries has gone down the "shock factor" route with a program on the other night something along the lines of "my seven year old transgender child", something like that, headline grabbing sensationalism basically of what for many is a very serious issue and quite distinct from gender stereotyping in the societal sense of the phrase gender stereotyping.

actually this comes only a week after there was an oprah show about this very subject of a couple raising genderless children. in fact im seeing an awful lot more of this kind of thing on television and in the media lately, perhaps that's what's getting on my wick about this issue, the fact that the media treats it as a freak show masquerading as "creating awareness of a serious issue".

this for example-

http://www.queerty.com/all-of-america-is-falling-in-love-with-princess-boy-dyson-kilodavis-20110103/

EDIT: jesus christ, i hadn't meant to go on THAT long! sorry for TL;DR...

Seachmall · 26-05-2011 5:29pm

Rocket19 wrote: »

Perhaps they're not telling the media the sex of the child, not because they're ashamed, but because doing so would place emphasis on the child's actual sex - exactly what they're trying NOT to do.

Mother: "Hey, Mr. Journalist. I'd like to let you know I had a child and won't tell you it's sex."
Journalist: "Dear lord woman, why ever not?"
Mother: "I don't want society to put emphasizes on it's gender"

Two days later in a different country is a 15 page discussion on the child's gender.

Not the most successful of plans.

I honestly can't imagine any other scenario that didn't begin with the parents talking to the papers. They don't want society to judge their child. Fair enough, neither does any other parent. Not exactly a revolutionary idea worthy of publication.

Parents decide to bring up "genderless" child

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