The parent's are buying their son these clothes, whether we know if he picked them out or not they still are purchasing them, which leads to him wearing them. If a couple wants their child to grow up "normal" like other kids, then I think they should have him dress his gender. I dont think wearing and playing with opposite sex related items would determine the future of the child. Putting down a doll vs a truck and having the child choose doesn't necessarily mean the child wants to be a "girl" or "boy"
This entire situation is all about ethics. Is it right for parents to grow up without stereotypes about who the person should be because of their sex. It's hard to really think of any pros, except for the fact that the child then is put into a situation to fulfill their sexes role within society. I think the cons for the child include confusion over who they are supposed to be in life? Is fitting a mold because of a persons sex a bad thing?
It's hard to really see the effects this will have on the child from such an early age. I think it will be important to watch what happens to the child as he continues to grow older.
This is a pretty interesting article. In one of my education classes, I did a presentation on Gender Stereotyping Toys for children and used the example of the Princess Boy, but have no heard about this child. I think it's kind of sad what the parents are doing. Whether or not society's stereotyping of gender is okay, they are setting this child up for humiliation and probably a lot of confusion. When children are old enough to know what typical boys and girls "do" (wear, play with, etc.) this child will be picked on a ridiculous amount. I also think what they did really takes the fun out of having a child; who would wait 30 minutes after having their child to ask if they have a boy or a girl?! If they don't want to stereotype the child with clothes, toys, books, and other things; then they have ways to get around this. They can buy green and yellow which are supposed to be "gender neutral" colors for babies to wear. The parents are the ones who are buying the child's toys, clothes, and books at this age; so they can pick what to buy the child. But I think they are personally sabotaging the child and buying GIRLY things on person. I think this is a stupid way to get out of the stereotyping of society in my opinion.
This article, and topic, is easily the most controversial subject we've gone over in class. The pros of not gender stereotyping are that the child can make up their own mind and will not feel pressured to act a certain way, but those are the only good things that I see out of this in our modern, conservative society. I think the cons are social isolation, judgment from peers and adults, and possibly a change in identity later in life. I have to go against what the others have said, because I honestly disagree with this parenting method and don't really think there are multiple genders. I find it very strange that parents wouldn't want to know their child's gender. By trying to prevent stereotyping their child, they were labeled as loony parents by their peers, which I don't disagree with at all.
At the risk of sounding a bit stuffy, I think that raising a child as "gender-less" is dangerous, simply on a biological level. The human body, on all levels, is designed with gender in mind. To say that a person has no gender is to take away the fundamental aspect of their developmental identity. "Allowing a personality to shine through" is, in my opinion, simply another way of saying that the parents are not totally happy with the gender of the child. I wonder if they would have taken the same approach were the infant a female?
While I do not agree entirely with what these parents are doing, if letting your child have a say in what s/he wants to wear, play with, etc then by all means, allow your child to be independent but you do have to draw a line somewhere. While parents who raise gender-neutral children have best interest in mind for their child, I do not believe they fully understand the implications that it could have in the long run. I agree with the comment above about humiliation and constant ridicule later in life. Unfortunately we all sterotype some type of person whether they are lazy, overactive, obese, or anorexic. We will never be able to hide from sterotyping nor will it ever go away. What's right for one child is not always right for another.
This topic has always kind of struck a chord with me. It really bothers me that people today care so much about the sex of a person, what they should and should not do an wear based upon this, especially with children. But in the end, it's a bit of a sticky situation. To me, it seems commendable that these people didn't conform to any gender stereotypes in regard to their child. But at the same time, this may cause problems for the child in regard to fitting in with peers. As the article said, the child had to learn more about gender when school started. It really just goes to say something about society and the significance that is placed on gender stereotypes. It really shouldn't matter what a child plays with or how they dress. But because of this instilled sense of gender stereotypes, if a child does not conform to these stereotypes, they could be ostracized.
I understand the parent's original intent and desire to keep their child from being subjected to man made social rules tied to gender roles. However, as we discussed in class, there is a difference between gender and sex. Withholding their son's sex from other people is ambiguous and invites social ostracism not just for the parents but for the child. He may seem not to mind, but other parents not allowing their children to play with him will eventually take a toll. Allowing an either male or female sex child to play with only gender neutral toys, and other methods of parenting would make sense as a strategy of rejecting social gender norms, but not making clear to your child the bioligical fact of their sex is confusing. I believe it is one thing to tell your child that boys and girls can play with whatever toys and act any way they want, and an entirely different thing to tell them that they are neither male nor female. Overall, I understand that the parents were frustrated with societal norms, but I personally feel the methods they chose to overcome these norms were counterproductive and didn't really address the problem.
I found this article to be very interesting because our society is very gender specific. Whether it is from clothing to toys, or hair style to emotions. Our society basically forces each and every one of us, from birth, to chose a gender to live out for the rest of our lives. I think the "non-gender specific" childhood, these individuals established for their child is great and most likely unheard of in much of the United States. I believe a child should grow and develop into their own individual identity, and should not have to chose this in a male or female way. I personally, would be very scared to establish this for my child because I would fear the ridicule my child would face at school, in public, and essentially everywhere. I believe we do not have to solve our problem of being so gender specific in our society by this, but I do believe that we should be less gender specific. We do not have to dress our little baby girls in ONLY pink; and we do not have to dress our little baby boys in ONLY blue. We should try to incorporate a variety of colors in our children's wardrobe, rooms, and life in general, in order to allow our children to grow into their identity without being so gender specific.
While I think the idea of having the child choose how they want to be is interesting, the way this article is written, it seems like they are more concerned with having him wear girl's clothes rather than let him actually choose what he wants to do. I'm not sure how good keeping the sex (since gender is culturally constructed) secret is, since it seems more troublesome than worthwhile. I think that forcing a kid to play with only dolls or only cars is dumb, but I don't know that having your child cross dress to confuse people is really a choice for the child as much as a game for the parents at this point.
The parent's are buying their son these clothes, whether we know if he picked them out or not they still are purchasing them, which leads to him wearing them. If a couple wants their child to grow up "normal" like other kids, then I think they should have him dress his gender. I dont think wearing and playing with opposite sex related items would determine the future of the child. Putting down a doll vs a truck and having the child choose doesn't necessarily mean the child wants to be a "girl" or "boy"
ReplyDeleteThis entire situation is all about ethics. Is it right for parents to grow up without stereotypes about who the person should be because of their sex. It's hard to really think of any pros, except for the fact that the child then is put into a situation to fulfill their sexes role within society. I think the cons for the child include confusion over who they are supposed to be in life? Is fitting a mold because of a persons sex a bad thing?
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to really see the effects this will have on the child from such an early age. I think it will be important to watch what happens to the child as he continues to grow older.
This is a pretty interesting article. In one of my education classes, I did a presentation on Gender Stereotyping Toys for children and used the example of the Princess Boy, but have no heard about this child. I think it's kind of sad what the parents are doing. Whether or not society's stereotyping of gender is okay, they are setting this child up for humiliation and probably a lot of confusion. When children are old enough to know what typical boys and girls "do" (wear, play with, etc.) this child will be picked on a ridiculous amount. I also think what they did really takes the fun out of having a child; who would wait 30 minutes after having their child to ask if they have a boy or a girl?! If they don't want to stereotype the child with clothes, toys, books, and other things; then they have ways to get around this. They can buy green and yellow which are supposed to be "gender neutral" colors for babies to wear. The parents are the ones who are buying the child's toys, clothes, and books at this age; so they can pick what to buy the child. But I think they are personally sabotaging the child and buying GIRLY things on person. I think this is a stupid way to get out of the stereotyping of society in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteThis article, and topic, is easily the most controversial subject we've gone over in class. The pros of not gender stereotyping are that the child can make up their own mind and will not feel pressured to act a certain way, but those are the only good things that I see out of this in our modern, conservative society. I think the cons are social isolation, judgment from peers and adults, and possibly a change in identity later in life. I have to go against what the others have said, because I honestly disagree with this parenting method and don't really think there are multiple genders. I find it very strange that parents wouldn't want to know their child's gender. By trying to prevent stereotyping their child, they were labeled as loony parents by their peers, which I don't disagree with at all.
ReplyDeleteAt the risk of sounding a bit stuffy, I think that raising a child as "gender-less" is dangerous, simply on a biological level. The human body, on all levels, is designed with gender in mind. To say that a person has no gender is to take away the fundamental aspect of their developmental identity. "Allowing a personality to shine through" is, in my opinion, simply another way of saying that the parents are not totally happy with the gender of the child. I wonder if they would have taken the same approach were the infant a female?
ReplyDeleteWhile I do not agree entirely with what these parents are doing, if letting your child have a say in what s/he wants to wear, play with, etc then by all means, allow your child to be independent but you do have to draw a line somewhere. While parents who raise gender-neutral children have best interest in mind for their child, I do not believe they fully understand the implications that it could have in the long run. I agree with the comment above about humiliation and constant ridicule later in life. Unfortunately we all sterotype some type of person whether they are lazy, overactive, obese, or anorexic. We will never be able to hide from sterotyping nor will it ever go away. What's right for one child is not always right for another.
ReplyDeleteThis topic has always kind of struck a chord with me. It really bothers me that people today care so much about the sex of a person, what they should and should not do an wear based upon this, especially with children. But in the end, it's a bit of a sticky situation. To me, it seems commendable that these people didn't conform to any gender stereotypes in regard to their child. But at the same time, this may cause problems for the child in regard to fitting in with peers. As the article said, the child had to learn more about gender when school started. It really just goes to say something about society and the significance that is placed on gender stereotypes. It really shouldn't matter what a child plays with or how they dress. But because of this instilled sense of gender stereotypes, if a child does not conform to these stereotypes, they could be ostracized.
ReplyDeleteI understand the parent's original intent and desire to keep their child from being subjected to man made social rules tied to gender roles. However, as we discussed in class, there is a difference between gender and sex. Withholding their son's sex from other people is ambiguous and invites social ostracism not just for the parents but for the child. He may seem not to mind, but other parents not allowing their children to play with him will eventually take a toll. Allowing an either male or female sex child to play with only gender neutral toys, and other methods of parenting would make sense as a strategy of rejecting social gender norms, but not making clear to your child the bioligical fact of their sex is confusing. I believe it is one thing to tell your child that boys and girls can play with whatever toys and act any way they want, and an entirely different thing to tell them that they are neither male nor female. Overall, I understand that the parents were frustrated with societal norms, but I personally feel the methods they chose to overcome these norms were counterproductive and didn't really address the problem.
ReplyDeleteI found this article to be very interesting because our society is very gender specific. Whether it is from clothing to toys, or hair style to emotions. Our society basically forces each and every one of us, from birth, to chose a gender to live out for the rest of our lives. I think the "non-gender specific" childhood, these individuals established for their child is great and most likely unheard of in much of the United States. I believe a child should grow and develop into their own individual identity, and should not have to chose this in a male or female way. I personally, would be very scared to establish this for my child because I would fear the ridicule my child would face at school, in public, and essentially everywhere. I believe we do not have to solve our problem of being so gender specific in our society by this, but I do believe that we should be less gender specific. We do not have to dress our little baby girls in ONLY pink; and we do not have to dress our little baby boys in ONLY blue. We should try to incorporate a variety of colors in our children's wardrobe, rooms, and life in general, in order to allow our children to grow into their identity without being so gender specific.
ReplyDeleteWhile I think the idea of having the child choose how they want to be is interesting, the way this article is written, it seems like they are more concerned with having him wear girl's clothes rather than let him actually choose what he wants to do. I'm not sure how good keeping the sex (since gender is culturally constructed) secret is, since it seems more troublesome than worthwhile. I think that forcing a kid to play with only dolls or only cars is dumb, but I don't know that having your child cross dress to confuse people is really a choice for the child as much as a game for the parents at this point.
ReplyDelete