Have you heard about "Storm"? It's a baby...I say "it" because "it's" parents have decided to raise "it" genderless. No one knows what "it" is except "it's" brothers, the midwives who delivered "it", and "it's" parents...and none of them is allowed to divulge the secret until Storm decides it's time.
Storm's parents have decided to raise their 3rd child genderless, not sharing the sex with others, as "a tribute to freedom and choice", believing they are giving Storm and their other children the "freedom to choose who they want to be". They believe the many choices parents make for their children are "obnoxious".
Both of the family's older two boys prefer long hair in braids or curls, love pink and purple, wear sparkly studs in their ears, and fingernail polish and are often presumed to be girls. The children prefer not to go to school because of the discussions their appearances spark. So, the kids are "unschooled" at home - a version of child-driven homeschooling with no books or tests driven by the child's curiosity and questions.
After reading the book X - a fabulous child's story, a book about raising not a boy or a girl but an "X", Storm's parents decided to try it out on their next child.
It's Feedback Friday...
What do you think of the notion of genderless child rearing?
Do you think that telling the world the sex of a child shapes who it is in a negative way?
Do you think a child can grow up this way with a more firm sense of self?
