Feminist Philosophers

News feminist philosophers can use

Is it possible to raise a genderless child in these times? May 24, 2011

Filed under: Uncategorized — TI @ 2:37 pm

These parents are going to give it a try.  For more press coverage of this decision, see here.

 

10 Responses to “Is it possible to raise a genderless child in these times?”

  1. s. wallerstein Says:
    May 24, 2011 at 2:49 pm

    I can see trying to raise a non-sexist child, but a genderless one?

    It’s a gendered world, and parents, in my opinion, have a responsibility to prepare children to face reality. I’ve seen too many children raised with the best intentions for a world that their parents imagined should and would exist and which does not exist.

  2. TI Says:
    May 24, 2011 at 3:00 pm

    I agree with you. It’s not really going to prepare the child for the reality of the world we live in.

  3. Taylor M Says:
    May 24, 2011 at 3:21 pm

    It’s unclear whether the child is going to go to be homeschooled or if instead they are just raising a genderless child until it’s time to start going to school.

    I think homeschooling the child instead of going to a public school is a bad idea in general, so it would be disappointing if they did that all in the name of shielding from gender. On the other hand, in public school, gender is everywhere and the child won’t be able to afford to stay neutral. But maybe that’s when the child will be able to get some autonomy on the matter, I don’t know.

  4. David Slutsky Says:
    May 24, 2011 at 10:08 pm

    I agree with s. wallerstein’s first comment above.
    -
    Still, I support the idea of resisting gender stereotypical behavior in parenting. A less radical version of whatever these parents are doing seems potentially good if not badly needed. The next time you hear someone is pregnant or has a newborn, why ask whether it is a boy or a girl? The next time you have a child, why start the stereotyping before the baby is born by announcing the gender and possibly enabling/perpetuating stereotypical responses, treatment, and all sorts of conscious and unconscious nonlinear causal influences on how people (parents/guardians, friends/family, teachers/neighbors) treat not just the baby, but also one another?
    -
    Just to be clear, this comment does not endorse the practices described in story linked from the post. Rather, it suggests that some more moderate version of the practices sounds very plausible/good. In some more simplified and possibly more familiar terms, let us not forget about the value of experiments in living, and how often we do not realize that less radical attempts to resist the status quo can wind up enforcing it.
    –
    –

  5. jj Says:
    May 24, 2011 at 10:23 pm

    Mothercare, the source of lots and lots of baby things in England, had unisex clothing in the 1970′s, and perhaps still does. I remember encountering lots of horrifed people. “Mrs JJ, in the United States boys do not wear sandals like that.”

    Fortunately, I still held onto my earlier belief that everyone over 30 is untruthworthy, even though by that time it included me. I don’t know how far I ended up protecting my child, but he did know that as far as I was concerned these obviously conventional matters were the product of others tastes and ideas.

  6. blue-monarch Says:
    May 25, 2011 at 9:41 am

    Oh yes, how terrible for parents not to coercively assign a gender identity to their child on the basis of genitalia. Surely, we must all be socialised into a specific gender role on the basis of our crotch-parts, or else we are being ‘unrealistic’ and harmful to children.

    I usually like this site a lot, but goddamn this is some cissexist bullshit.

  7. s. wallerstein Says:
    May 25, 2011 at 1:00 pm

    http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/johnnycash/aboynamedsue.html

    Anybody remember this song?

    A genderless child is going to need a team of bodyguards and a big trust fund to survive.

  8. TI Says:
    May 31, 2011 at 2:35 pm

    Yes. Excellent reply. Worth a post unto itself, I think.

  9. Update: Mum of genderless child speaks out « Feminist Philosophers Says:
    May 31, 2011 at 2:49 pm

    [...] week we posted a story about parents in Toronto who have chosen to raise their most recent child, Storm, without telling [...]


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