Canadian Couple Raises Child Genderless and The Media Goes Wild!

Yesterday, as I was browsing through the daily current events, I came across an article about a couple raising their child "genderless." The parents of the child, 4 month old Storm, have decided to withhold their child's sex so that the child can grow up and discover life without the constraints of gender, including stereotyping and everything else that comes with it. "We've decided not to share Storm's sex for now -- a tribute to freedom and choice in place of limitation, a stand up to what the world could become in Storm's lifetime" stated Storm's parents in an interview.

(photo of Storm and her parents found here)

Herds of "Child Experts" are continuing to attack the parents, screaming amongst themselves about biological essentialist nonsense that has no hard evidence supporting it. One mother even wrote that she felt it was a "lab experiment" and thus unethical. A news reader wrote "The world around us has been set by thousands of years of social evolution. To try to undo this evolution through your child is very selfish and very inconsiderate to the child." This statement is based on sociobiology, or as it is better known as, evolutionary psychology which purports that human cultures are biologically hard-wired (and thus fixed) and that all humans follow the same rules of nature (based on social Darwinist priniciples) as other species do, even socially and culturally. However, the commentary continues. A Columnist from the Toronto Star announced her condescending "warnings" for the parents, "Without boundaries, I wonder if little 4-month-old Storm will wander aimlessly, like so many of my thirty-something friends"

Indeed, because bringing up your child in the same old and tired format is so damn effective, since you know, our kids are turning out so happy these days - what with suicides, self-harming, eating disorders, bullying, depression and so forth. In any other situation, people would likely not feel so inclined to stick their nose so far into a stranger's parenting techniques, but there you go. Also, in response to the columnist, why do kids need gender boundaries? All that these boundaries accomplish is limiting children's self-expression and cause them to build a self-concept based upon unequal gender expectations. Our kids are more miserable than ever before, so what possible DAMAGE could these radical parents possibly cause? How is allowing your child to grow up free of social bondage a bad thing? They are not choosing the child's gender (the angry mobs fail to realize gender and sex are not mutually exclusive) these parents are allowing the child to grow into whoever they want to be, not who society tells them they they should be. 

(look pretty happy to me! photo found here )

After recieving enormous helpings of hostile and foaming-at-the-mouth responses, Kathy, Storm's mother, wondered "Isn't defensiveness sometimes a first sign of learning or changing behaviour, so even the ‘rabid' responses may have a place in making the world a more thoughtful place." I applaud her ability to be the bigger person in the face of media-driven criticism and realize that anger can often spark real change - sometimes you need to offend people to make them think.

Regardless, the amount of crap these parents are enduring right now really shows that there are people who are willing to work against the status quo and do what they feel is best for their child. Allowing a child to grow up without the burdens of gender is a commendable action. This way, the kid has the free choice (something they are often robbed of) to discover their own identities and goals based on their status as a human being, with full humanity - not some social label that is apparently "hardwired." But, what also boggles my mind, is how these "Child Experts" would view cultural differences in regards to gender and other social constructions. Have they ever took the time to ponder that not everyone in the world follows the West's rigid two-gender assumptions? These experts set the "first world" as the default for everyone else, since you know, we're just so "modern." We're so modern that our kids are killing, cutting and starving themselves.

These parents are leaders in revolutionary parenting and making grassroot radical changes. If more people followed their lead, we would be closer to reaching an egalitarian society based on human worth, not harmful social constructs that lead to extreme oppression and dehumanization. Luckily, a case like this has popped up before in Sweden in 2009. A couple decided to raise their child "Pop" genderless, despite media outpour asking, "What are the effects of growing up genderless" - well, likely less harmful than the current model! 

The gender binary is toxic to everyone and kids end up bearing the heaviest burden as they form their identities and bonds with others. This couple is an inspiration to me, as they have given me a glimpse of hope for our future. 

If you want to check out more of the disturbing commentary, you can do so here

 (last photo of baby Storm found here)