Gender Neutral Parenting

This type of parenting has seen an increase in the past few years and is getting more and more attention in the media. Many decry it as a sick and perverted form of parenting, but the only goal is to not force gender stereotypes on children. Forcing a boy or girl into a role would be perverse. This isn't. Here's some links:

http://everydayfeminism.com/2013/01/gender-neutral-parenting-myths/

http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/09/gender-neutral-parenting/

What do you think?

 

I think people should be free to raise their kids however they like, so long as they are not emotionally, mentally or physically abusing them.

I do have to mention one thing though and it probably shows my own bias, whether I was raised this way or not I dunno. I had a customer come in to my work with an adorable bouncing baby girl, dressed in a bright pink dress and her blonde hair tied up in a bow. My co-worker who adores kids immediately went right up to them and started making faces and baby sounds to the girl and said, "Oh she's just darling! How many months is she?" (All this time the baby is just giggling, smiling and being her generally happy self) when the dad says, "Oh, well he is eight months." And he really emphasized the he. We were all completely taken aback not expecting that at all! Even I was floored. My co-worker immediately apologized and just walked away.

I couldn't help myself, I had to tell my other co-workers who hadn't heard, "That's a boy!!" It's like, really? Dressing your baby boy up as a little girl. It's just astounding. One of my bosses who is gay even thought it was ridiculous.

So I dunno, would that be considered gender neutral parenting or just downright weird? Obviously the baby didn't care what he was wearing, he could have been stuck in a potato sack and still been so happy but I can only think how he'd feel as he got older if his parents insisted he continue to wear what our society has deemed 'girls clothes'.

 

Woulda been interesting to see the dad's reaction to your reaction. My bet is he enjoyed shocking you, and if you'd looked at him like the weirdo he is he'd have stared daggers at you.

 

lol! my sister tried that and her son was making guns out vegetables by age 4!!

 

Dressing a boy up as a girl and everybody responding to him as a girl will give him a gender identity issue.

 

I think that gender neutral is am excellent idea. It is through tradition that we have created this gender role nonsense. Dads can't nurture and moms can't play ball. Its interesting to me.

But the eradication of pink and blue I don't like, have pink and blue stuff. Its only gender specific if its made gender specific. But referring to your kid as your boy, or your girl isn't wrong to me. Boys are still boys and girls are still girlsthere is at least one fundamental difference. But only recognize it when the child does.

 

Exactly. In terms of trans kids who feel the opposite gender of what they were born as it can be very distressing to them to continue to call them their biological gender when they mentally identify as another. But until they speak up about it I see nothing wrong with saying, "That's my boy!" or "That's my daughter!"

 

Psh! My youngest brother is obsessed with guns. He had to have every kind of gun toy and the more gun-like it was the better. Course now that he's older all he's interested in is his girlfriend and making money at his part-time job. lol

 

People who practice this nonsense should lose custody of their kids. Pretending genders do not exist is harmful.

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What about calling them what is factual and helping them cope with it, instead a lie to pander?

 

How about we allow people to be free and choose to be whoever and whatever they want to be?

 

It seems wrong to me to force a child to conform to the opposite gender, that can certainly give them issues. But if the freely wish to practice something which is non-conforming and they are happy to do so, it would be almost just as wrong to stop them. It's about making the child happy wit who they are, and generally speaking most children are most happy conforming to their "gender roles". Forcing them one way or the other doesn't necessarily change who they are, it confuses them and denies them the ability to live happily and to their potential.

 

True if the boy wants to wear a dress it is okay. I figured the parent dressed the boy like a girl, I didn't think about the boy dressing himself that way.

 

I think the best all young human beings could be taught, is to respect the expressions, liberties and freedoms of others... as long as their own freedoms and liberties (or those of others) aren't being threatened and/or trampled upon.

 

Sounds like Dads getting in early on the 21st bday photo blackmail. My young bloke is (*)(*)(*)(*)ting himself we'll show pics of him bringing home a dead possum he found...so much for that school bag. But hey he was just getting in touch with his hunter/ gatherer side

 

I hope that's what he was doing and that he doesn't do that on the regular and then trot his little boy around in public just so he can tell people off for thinking he's a girl. Dx

 

I doubt it is sadly, far more likely a PC tosser taking it to the next level. Showing pics of baby in pink only makes the parents look like the complete freaking morons they are.

 

No, it's about giving the child space to BE who he or she is; and no boy who "wants to be a girl" has been given that space.

 

Do you really think a "baby" boy "wants to be a girl"?

 

Who said that 'babies' know at all, what they want to be?

 

???? Right there, quoted in the post YOU responded to. "giving the child space to BE who he or she is". And in this instance we are talking about a "baby" boy dressed in a pink dress.

 

While I was at work there were several kids playing on a little play ground. Several children both boys and girls were playing jump rope. A little boy went to play, not the first boy but his dad was standing right there, he toldhis son, five years old that is a girl game. Wouldn't let his son play. I thought that was strange. Its jump robe, not the induction to the sissy boy coalition.

 

Yeah, it's stupid macho BS that ruins a lot of American males. IMO, Dad should have been happy that the boy was moving at all... considering the plague of obesity in our society. A kid that's going to be straight, will be straight... a kid who is going to be gay... will eventually be gay. Playing with girls/boys or not, will not sway their sexual-orientation (most likely).

 

Says the guy who supports dressing baby boys in pink dresses and bows.

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Says the guy who supports dressing baby boys in pink dresses and bows.

 

You lie. Please, prove your claim.

 

He thinks putting a bow on a boys head will turn him gay. Lets put it this way. My bro liked to wear dresses, panty hoes. He still wears ladies underwear, he has wife and children. I don't like wearing womens clothes but I am in a gay relationship.

So I don't think it matters what mannerisms people have.