The genderless baby

anemoneprose

story was on the radio the other day again.

http://ca.jezebel.com/5806733/mom-says-baby-storm-is-not-genderless-after-all

Now, I mostly agree with the parents, in that the world is generally messed up because of gender, we're all on a sliding scale, etc.

They've said they can build up the kid's internal resources to fight the entire world. What if s/he's not that strong?

Gender's core to identity. I don't see why they couldn't just let the kid do what it wants and see how things go in the environment they've created at home. Privately. Using the kid as an experiment, in a public crusade, is short-sighted beyond belief. Cruel, I'd even say, whether it comes from an idealistic place or not.

sunsnstatheart

Another child being used by his/her parents as a means of a political and social crusade. I really feel for the kid and yes, its cruel. Children's interests first. Everything else is second.

TheRoadDog

What a load of cr*p. That child is not genderless. His/her parents are clueless. Attention seeking knuckleheads.

dad106

One of my friends just had a baby.. and she didn't find out the gender until the kid was born. Even then she didn't announce it anywhere until she had personally told everyone she wanted to.. and forbid anyone who knew from telling until she/her husband did.

I think it's ridiculous how much emphasizes some people put on their kids and their gender.... I mean you can pretty much tell if a kid is a boy or girl, so why so much secrecy?

oregonzoo

Another child being used by his/her parents as a means of a political and social crusade. I really feel for the kid and yes, its cruel. Children's interests first. Everything else is second.

pretty much how I feel.

5stringjeff

There's no such thing as a genderless baby, or a genderless person, for that matter. Got a Y chromosome? You're a male. No Y chromosome? You're a female. It's as simple as that. For a parent to attempt to bring up a child as androgynous is both impossible and irresponsible.

wewon

Another child being used by his/her parents as a means of a political and social crusade. I really feel for the kid and yes, its cruel. Children's interests first. Everything else is second.

Agreed.

girlinahat

There's no such thing as a genderless baby, or a genderless person, for that matter. Got a Y chromosome? You're a male. No Y chromosome? You're a female. It's as simple as that. For a parent to attempt to bring up a child as androgynous is both impossible and irresponsible.

that's not strictly true. what about those people who are XXY? Or who outwardly have male organis yet are genetically female (and vice versa). Gender labels at birth are generally given due to the outward appearance of the genitalia, but that is not necessarily the BEST way of identifying the gender.

I do however totally agree that the parents should not use their child to make a statement.

louised88

There's no such thing as a genderless baby, or a genderless person, for that matter. Got a Y chromosome? You're a male. No Y chromosome? You're a female. It's as simple as that. For a parent to attempt to bring up a child as androgynous is both impossible and irresponsible.

gender =/= sex. And there are plenty of people who have chromosomes that do not correspond with the typical XX or XY.

Interesting that so many people are against parents trying to raise their child outside of traditional gender roles. I think that's admirable; surrounding the child with publicity growing up is not. Although I've only heard of this once before, in passing, so even then it's not a huge deal.