posted June 06, 2011 05:02 PM            

I don`t believe it is at all. I believe the child has a right to a genderless upbringing until the child gravitates to the gender it feels comfortable in.

It seems that would solve a lot of heartache later on for the child if it knew it was a different gender than s/he`s genitals indicated..

Genderless Baby: A 'Tribute to Liberty' or Unwilling Conscript Into War on Sex Roles

Five months ago, Kathy Witterick and David Stocker gave birth to a blond-haired, blue-eyed, baby named Storm. We know all the basics about this baby except whether it's a boy or girl.

Storm's parents decided not to share the child's sex, they say, because they want to allow the baby to develop without the constraints of gender stereotypes. It has being kept so under wraps, the grandparents do not even know if their latest grandchild is a granddaughter or grandson.

When the baby was born, Storm's parents sent an email to friends and family explaining their decision.

"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," they wrote.

But ever since this Canadian couple said the gender of their baby is none of the world's business, suddenly, the world wants to know and feels entitled to criticize their parenting style.

Baby Storm has caused a blizzard of criticism on the Internet, where bloggers are calling Storm's parents stupid and referring to the baby as a science experiment.

"I applaud their overall goals here," said psychologist Michale Bradley. "But you know this child is not asking to be this thing, and the parents are imposing this role on the child, which is an imposition of identity. This kid is being drafted into a war that may hurt him or her terribly."

But Storm's mother is defending their decision to keep the baby's private parts private. In a letter to ABCNEWS she said, "The strong, lightning-fast, vitriolic response was a shock" and that "Storm will need to understand his/her own sex and gender to navigate this world (the outcry has confirmed it!)"

Cheryl Kilodavis experienced a similar backlash earlier this year for allowing her 5-year-old son to dress up as a princess for a preschool Halloween party. But the big difference in that case, psychologists say, is that her son made the decision. Storm didn't choose to be genderless.

"The parents are making huge decisions for this child that can cause it to be ostracized," Bradley said. "It can cause it to feel humiliated, to cause it to feel a lot of doubt and uncertainty about who it is."

This concept of raising a sexless baby dates back to the 70s, when a story called, "The Story of X" appeared in Ms. Magazine. It's a fictional story about a baby who's raised not as a girl or boy but as an X. The parents decide not to tell anyone whether X is a boy or a girl. Sound familiar?

The notion of "Baby X" has also been studied before.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/genderless-baby-tribute-liberty-conscript-war-sex-roles/story?id=13716165

posted June 07, 2011 03:31 AM            

im sure the baby's parent are doing what they believe is best for their child's personal growth, i hope it doesnt back lash..

i was mistaken for a boy for the first 2 years of my life, then my mom got my ears pierced and that was the end of that... am i scared for life becuase my mom used to keep my hair nice and long, buy me flowered dresses, and barby dolls? no, because she also taught me to be self dependant, and to love school, told me never to get married before getting a decent degree, make something of myself and that i deserved the best.

posted June 07, 2011 07:46 AM            

Or are we discussing physical aspects of gender?
Or orientation?

When left to their own, I have noticed children tend towards androgyny and stereotypes only come into play because of nurture not nature.

As far as sexuality,
that is a very complex issue and not all are boy or girl either physically or psychologically.

posted June 08, 2011 02:01 AM            

What if one likes the way they where born and wants to stay and man and a woman forever?

These are just thoughts I have that I don't know the answers to...yet.

Since I didn't know that this was even possible until about a year or two ago.

posted June 08, 2011 02:19 AM            

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intersex