NOT revealing a childs gender after birth...?

That's what these people are doing.  They want "Storm" to grow up genderless.  They are not even revealing the child biological sex.  The article is a little long but I am interested in everyone's thoughts.

www.parentcentral.ca/parent/babiespregnancy/babies/article/9 95112--parents-keep-child-s-gender-secret

I try to raise my girls free from gender stereotyoes. They're just as comfortable playing with dolls as they are trains.  But, I'm just curious how they refer to this baby... if they don't use "he" or "she", do they just refer to the poor baby as "it"? 

As a society we slap a gender on a baby as soon as it's born. For example, shopping for baby clothes- poor baby girls are smothered in pink and ruffles from the moment they're born, while little boy's clothing breaks down to safari animals or sports with slogans like "tough guy" and "future quarter back".

I'm all for letting a kid grow up free from gender stereotypes but I worry what this baby will think as "it" grows up and reads about the "social experiment" its parents performed on it as a baby.

it's a long article but they refer to the baby as either "[s]he" or "Z".  IMO these people are running their own agenda on these kids, and in essence they are doing exactly what they dont want to be done.  The are making it such an issue, if they want their kids to "be what they want to be" they should just make is a complete NON issue.

Agreed. These parents seem like they're looking for some attention at the cost of their kid. These articles will exist on the internet and as they kid grows up, what will he/she think about what their parents did to them?
If you're so concerned about gender stereotypes, you can avoid many of them. Buy "gender neutral" toys, clothes, etc and but let your kid gravatate towards what THEY want, not what society says they should want.

Goodness...

Growing up with a brother who is gay and myself not being a "girlie-girl", this article makes me think, that's for sure.

I feel sorry for those boys. It seems odd that they prefer so many "girl" things. Makes me wonder what their dad is like. Most boys follow in daddy's footsteps. i.e. my husband is a carpenter, so I'm sure our son will have a power tool in his hand before he starts kindergarten (Heaven help us LOL)

The parents say they don't want to see their kids bullied, but I think they are just begging for it! At that young an age, kids don't understand expressing your "feminine side" if you're a boy. If they go running around with pink tutus and boas, I think they're going to get teased.

And this Storm is going to have a serious identity crisis if they don't straighten people out when they ask if it's a boy or a girl. He/she is going to wonder "why don't they say?" "is there something wrong with me?"

I don't know. Maybe my thinking is all wrong. I get pretty offended and defensive when someone mistakenly calls my baby boy a "she" or a "girl". (although the older he gets, the easier it is to tell he's a boy).

Makes me think of the "balloon boy's" family....ugh...

Thanks for sharing,
Kina

yea i feel like they are pushing them to perhaps be more feminine.  I mean, you said your brother is gay, Sage's godfather is gay too.  He likes to look nice, be well groomed ect but does not like to walk around in pink dresses.  it's just too odd to me that both boys "chose" to dress like girls.

In the article the one part said 2 girls at the park didn't want to play with the oldest boy because he was a "boy-girl" that's just so sad.  kids do not understand what these people are trying to do and it's causing pain for everyone around them.

I mean not telling the grandparents the biological gender of the baby... that's just messed up.

My brother is the same way. Very neat, house looks like a "model home". Never seen him wearing ANYTHING feminine. I've seen pics of him when we were little and he had tools, trucks, train sets, Lincoln logs, etc. I guess it didn't take... LOL

Of course, I had Barbies, sewing machines and an Easy Bake oven--that didn't take either!!

I'm starting to think a parent ed course (like drivers ed) should be mandatory before getting knocked up.

I TOTALLY agree! I have said that for years! It's harder to get cable television than it is to become a parent.

Well since you asked for my thoughts.....

I don't agree with it at all! I mean in the article they say that they will let the baby decide for him/herself what sex they want to be when they grow up. I guess I'm also kind of confused because the article says that the sex of the baby is definite so why would they say they want the baby to choose what it wants to be?  And I understand that some girls like to play with GI Joe and some boys like to play with dolls but the fact that they let their other boys choose what they want to wear and they pick out a 'pink dress that poofs out on the bottom', and they LET the boy wear that!!?? That's going a bit far. I think they need to tell them boys that they are BOYS! They are going to grow up so confused.

I mean I do understand that they don't want everybody to focus on the sex of the baby ONLY, but I just think they are taking it way too far. You would think they would AT LEAST let their family know (more than just the grandparents).....

Welp, that's my opinion! Everybody may not agree with it, but you asked! LOL!  Good topic friend, good topic!