Most people have grown up with the saying "boys will be boys", or have heard "you're such a girl" at one time or another. But have people been hurt by the sometimes strict and rigid gender roles that can be imposed on children?
Some parents say yes and they are doing something about it.
For the past five years, UK residents Beck Laxton, 46, and partner Kieran Cooper, 44, have been concealing the gender of their son, Sasha. They recently revealed his gender to the public only because Sasha will be starting school this Fall.
Other than a handful of people, no one has known Sasha's real gender as his parents have allowed him to dress in whatever clothes he likes, and play with both typically girl and boy toys.
Sasha is the youngest of three children, but is the first for Laxton. The other two kids are from her partner's previous relationship. Sasha wears hand-me downs from both his sister and brother and is not restricted from any type of clothing other then ultra-masculine clothes like combat boots or things with skulls on them.
When interviewed by the Cambride News, Laxton said that she decided to not reveal her son's gender because she wanted to avoid stereotyping. She explained, "Stereotypes seem fundamentally stupid. Why would you want to slot people into boxes?"
This open-minded way of thinking does have its opposition. Some experts think this type of parenting will set the child up for bullying later on in life.
"To have a sense of self and personal identity is a critical part of normal healthy development," Dr. Eugene Beresin, director of training in child and adolescent psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, told ABCNews when interviewed about a "genderless" baby being raised in Canada.
Beresin continued,"This blocks that and sets the child up for bullying, scapegoating and marginalization." Experts also argue that the child won't know who he or she is if they live in a "genderless" home.
Here in America, most people want to know (and reveal) the sex of their children. In fact, according to a 2007 Gallup poll as reported by ABCNews, 66 percent of people age 18 to 34 would prefer to find out their child's gender even prior to birth. So it is no wonder that the few parents who have chosen not to reveal their child's sex have come under harsh criticism.
Nonetheless these "genderless" pioneers have continued on in their chosen lifestyle. Only time will tell if their child is better for it or not.
Sources:
ABCNews.com. Web. Published 26 May 2011. "Baby Storm raised genderless dangerous experiment, experts say."
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/baby-storm-raised-genderless-gender-dangerous-experiment-child/t/story id=13693760#.Txmj4yMZ9nM
Cambridge News. Web. 23 January 2012. "He's pretty in pink to make you think." http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Home/Hes-pretty-in-pink-to-make-you-think-20012012.htm
Yahoo! Shine. Web. 23 January 2012. "Couple finally reveals child's gender five years after birth."
http://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/couple-finally-reveals-childs-gender-five-years-birth-180300388.html
Edited by Jody Smith