Genderless infant.

[LillLazaru5]

I think this is a great idea. These parents are thinking outside the box and they are letting their child be whoever they want to be. They are not saying "You're not allowed to have a gender" to the child. They are only letting the child choose for themselves and the child will figure it out eventually. I say, "Good luck" to them!  

[Sarah_L_Awesome]

i like the idea. it gives them the choice to be whatever the ******** they wanna be, without people looking down on them because they don't know what the ******** they were to begin with.  

[Taeryyn]

I don't feel like I know much about child development or psychology, so I'm not sure what to think. I'm curious as to why the press is involved; it seems like an awfully personal thing to me, and not something that should be a public science experiment. I am not really interested in following the story for that reason.

While I don't think it's healthy for parents to strictly enforce gender roles for their children, I suspect that doing the polar opposite isn't really a good idea, either. But, who knows? I'm no expert. The kid's parents care about it's well-being and want what's best for it, and that's the most important thing, I think.  

[TaoShaman]

Taeryyn

I don't feel like I know much about child development or psychology, so I'm not sure what to think. I'm curious as to why the press is involved; it seems like an awfully personal thing to me, and not something that should be a public science experiment. I am not really interested in following the story for that reason.

While I don't think it's healthy for parents to strictly enforce gender roles for their children, I suspect that doing the polar opposite isn't really a good idea, either. But, who knows? I'm no expert. The kid's parents care about it's well-being and want what's best for it, and that's the most important thing, I think.

I'd have to agree. This doesn't seem like press type of thing. But I can kinda see why they'd cover it. It seems kinda like the type of thing that people should know how this turns out. But it does seem like this can be as unhealthy if not moreso than forcing gender roles. Your gender at least partially identifies who you are, and it's not like people have to follow gender roles or can't change it. It seems like this could be very dangerous and even though I hate to say it, could possibly be thought of as child abuse or something. I know they are trying to do what's best. But it seems like doing this type of thing is kinda like treating your child like an experiment. I'm sure it's done with good intentions, but like they say, the rode to hell is paved with good intentions. So I really don't know. Like the above person said, I'm not an expert.  

[Milady Tabbs]

I love it.

 

[Visual Brian]

This is great and the child will certainly thank the parents! .... If it turns out to be trans-gendered. And maybe not even then.

Otherwise they're not really helping it at all. These developing years will be the most important years of the child's life. But they want to make their child different than everybody else because they're trying to be so inclusive / accepting. If there's such a thing of being TOO accepting, this is it. Where's the foundation the child's supposed to lean on? Who can he relate to? The child might have some serious problems making friends and relating to other kids, but the parents just disregarded that. Or they realized this but decided to play things by year.

They're turning the child into a science experiment; that's exactly what this is in my opinion. They may be doing it out of love, but they don't know what's going to happen. The future's dim and unknown. This MAY benefit the child in some way, but it could also have drastic side effects. What kind of parent would risk their child in ANY WAY? More than likely it is (or was) going to end up being straight anyway. NOW it's more prone to self identification issues. And, judging by the nature of this experiment, I'm guessing the parents would accept and support their child no matter what sexuality the child chooses or turns out to be. They'll raise it in a loving supporting family that won't care if it's gay, bi, straight, trans, etc.

So what's the point of the experiment? It's not like raising the child this way will make it even MORE supported than what it was going to be originally. It's not like the bullying would magically go away if it does turn out to be GLBT. Sure, we as GLBT kids go through a lot because traditional families might not accept us. But if they're accepting, then what's wrong with the old fashioned way of raising children? Nothing.

Well, what I'm trying to say is that either way the child would be loved and accepted. So why throw all these uncertainties into the equation?

I say shame on them for jeopardizing the child's future.  

[kittycross]

I think it would be absolutely lovely if we could eliminate all gender stereotypes and discrimination - as well as those based ethnicity, orientation, religion as well as many, many other qualifiers- but realistically, it isn't going to happen.
It starts the very moment we are able to discern there is a reality outside of one's self: is that which I regard like me, or unlike me?
How people learn to interpret cope with the data they receive determine whether that person become ration and thinking or just a bigot. I really don't think the solution to creating a better tomorrow for our children is making everyone close their eyes and hope problems go away.

Now this baby x of Toronto, Storm, is not ever going to escape the comparison to Storm of the X-men who is undoubtedly female.
Also there's a HUGE language problem. The English language will not structure itself around this child. There is no gender neutral pronoun. Storm can only be know as Storm or as the dehumanizing "it," both of which will result in poor marks in English.
For French and other Latin derived languages, no special hoops have to be jumped through because there is the provision for the default pronoun, which is masculine which will in turn lead people to speculate il est l'homme. Experiment fails.

Name and language aside people will still decide, but it might be more along the line of 'not a (either gender) = not good enough'

Further, both brothers have genders, why doesn't it have one? It's going to ask, wonder question and doubt. The child will be not so much dealing with the choice of freedom, but the pressure and insecurity of why is Storm singled out and different when male brothers are given genders. Deliberately "keeping secret" the gender can make the child feel like there is something shameful about it when it is old enough to realize that it is not like "normal" children has been made something to gossip and whisper about and parents won't let it over for sleep overs.  

[TylerAnnihilate]

To all of you who said "you have to let the kid choose, not the parents", did you fail to read the part that the kid is 4 months old, and can't make desicions for itself.

I think this is fantastic. Nobody said that the parents are forcing the child not to have a gender, they're giving the infant the freedom to choose the gender it wants to be when it's older.  

[noigel]

I think this is dumb..
If the kid has a p***s. Raise it as a boy. When he grows up, if he still wants to be a boy, then he'll stay a boy..If not, then he shall be transgendered. And even he does become transgender. I think it will be a lot less painful then not having any gender at all.
What are they gonna call him/her? It?  

[Denkou Soshiatae]

TorpidoKoi

I think this is dumb..
If the kid has a p***s. Raise it as a boy. When he grows up, if he still wants to be a boy, then he'll stay a boy..If not, then he shall be transgendered. And even he does become transgender. I think it will be a lot less painful then not having any gender at all.
What are they gonna call him/her? It?

They refur to the baby by their name, Storm. You can also reffur to a non gendered person by they them, or person, and in the baby's case, baby, child, and kid.

"That's Storm's toy." "Can you please change Storm's diaper?" "Where is Storm?"

It may seem odd, but that is the most gramatically correct way to reffur to a person is by their name. When translated from another language like spanish or French, it wouldactually say "Storm ate Storm's food."  

[Gordums]

I think this is beautiful.
The parents are not telling the child what gender to be, but letting the child come into it's own gender identity.
Of course there will be obstacles, but these obstacles come from US.
We're the people questioning them and the child for gender. We're the people syaing they and the child are wrong. We are the people who are denying the opportunity for a child to develop it's own gender identity. We are the people who are making it hard for the child. We're the people who have a problem, because it challenges our own peception of gender and the gender binary we grew up in and believe to be all concrete.

 

[Taeryyn]

Denkou Soshiatae

It may seem odd, but that is the most gramatically correct way to reffur to a person is by their name. When translated from another language like spanish or French, it wouldactually say "Storm ate Storm's food."

There is nothing grammatically incorrect about using pronouns to refer to someone, at least in English.

And I'm not sure what you mean regarding translation from French. We use gender-specific pronouns in French, too. Il (he) est beau, elle (she) est belle, etc.

A sentence like "Storm ate Storm's food" would sound as redundant in French as it does in English. The difference is that in French, the possessive adjective ("his" or "her", in English) usually takes on the gender of the object, not the subject. We would say, "Storm a mangé sa nourriture" (nourriture is feminine) or "Storm a mangé son repas." (repas is masculine), not "Storm a mangé la nourriture de Storm."  

[Denkou Soshiatae]

Taeryyn

Denkou Soshiatae

It may seem odd, but that is the most gramatically correct way to reffur to a person is by their name. When translated from another language like spanish or French, it wouldactually say "Storm ate Storm's food."

There is nothing grammatically incorrect about using pronouns to refer to someone, at least in English.

And I'm not sure what you mean regarding translation from French. We use gender-specific pronouns in French, too. Il (he) est beau, elle (she) est belle, etc.

A sentence like "Storm ate Storm's food" would sound as redundant in French as it does in English. The difference is that in French, the possessive adjective ("his" or "her", in English) usually takes on the gender of the object, not the subject. We would say, "Storm a mangé sa nourriture" (nourriture is feminine) or "Storm a mangé son repas." (repas is masculine), not "Storm a mangé la nourriture de Storm."

I'm sorry about my misunderstanding of the french language. I wasn't going by what I know, but what my friend told me, shes learning French, though shes only just begun.

And yes, while is may sound redundant, it is still gramatically correct.

I am not saying that anything else is INcorrect, but simply defending the fact that the parents have many options other than he/she him/her his/hers.  

[kittycross]

Denkou Soshiatae

Taeryyn

Denkou Soshiatae

It may seem odd, but that is the most gramatically correct way to reffur to a person is by their name. When translated from another language like spanish or French, it wouldactually say "Storm ate Storm's food."

There is nothing grammatically incorrect about using pronouns to refer to someone, at least in English.

And I'm not sure what you mean regarding translation from French. We use gender-specific pronouns in French, too. Il (he) est beau, elle (she) est belle, etc.

A sentence like "Storm ate Storm's food" would sound as redundant in French as it does in English. The difference is that in French, the possessive adjective ("his" or "her", in English) usually takes on the gender of the object, not the subject. We would say, "Storm a mangé sa nourriture" (nourriture is feminine) or "Storm a mangé son repas." (repas is masculine), not "Storm a mangé la nourriture de Storm."

I'm sorry about my misunderstanding of the french language. I wasn't going by what I know, but what my friend told me, shes learning French, though shes only just begun.

And yes, while is may sound redundant, it is still gramatically correct.

I am not saying that anything else is INcorrect, but simply defending the fact that the parents have many options other than he/she him/her his/hers.

Let me reiterate that the default pronoun in French and all Latin based languages is male.
Look at Storm= Regardez Storm.
It is hungry= Il a faim.
He is hungry= Il a faim
She is hungry= Elle a faim
c'est un bébé malheureux!!!

All objects have genders too. Sidewalk (le trottoir) and existentialism (l'existentialisme) are male where as nation (la nation) and reading (la lecture) are female.

It will not be just the parents and brother (all of whom conspicuously have genders) who will be in contact with this child. There will be doctors, nurses, and friends and relatives...all of who already speak an established language.

This is not let a child naturally develop and simply be what he, she, it or (unestablished bi-gendered pronoun) want to or is meant to be. This is a radical, irresponsible, poorly thought out media stunt /science experiment ON A BABY that goes against everything that that behavioral science, psychology, sociologist and anthropology can tell us about sentient beings, human, primates, mammals and the animal kingdom.  

[Hugel]

I think the public is all riled and all haywhire because they decided to use the word "Genderless" rather than "Raise their baby unisexually".

:I when you raise a baby as a girl, you give her aspects of the "girl"
When you raise a baby as a boy, you give him the aspects of a "boy"

When you raise a baby genderless or unisexually, you drop the silly pink and blue and go for neutral colors. And give them toys that either of both sides of the spectrum or toys that unisex and are more to explore the child's learning and creativity, like...blocks and crafts.

Though they need to make a toy kitchen set with no flowers and so much pink and white. I know plenty of boys who steal the set from their younger sisters and scribble different colors onto it.