I came across this article earlier, and almost couldn't believe it - it sounds almost exactly like the "Child X" story we read the first week of class! Two Swedish parents have decided not to reveal the sex of their two-year-old child, basing their decision on the "feminist philosophy that gender is a social construction." The parents refrain from using (gendered) personal pronouns, instead calling the child "Pop." The article notes that, "Pop's wardrobe includes everything from dresses to trousers and Pop's hairstyle changes on a regular basis. And Pop usually decides how Pop is going to dress on a given morning."
It is generating a bit of controversy, which I am a little bit surprised about. Personally, I think it is pretty cool that people are actually doing this. Others are calling the parents "stupid" or "crazy," and allege that this is going to mentally harm the child (see comments). Canadian psychologist and newspaper columnist Susan Pinker says that, "Ignoring children's natures simply doesn't work," and that the parents are failing to "respond to the child's needs as an individual." People are also arguing that it won't matter soon enough, because the child's inherent sex differences will manifest themselves in free play with other children, as they are "curious about their own identity, and are likely to gravitate towards others of the same sex during free play time."
Interestingly enough, the couple is expecting another child, and "have no plans to change what they see as a winning formula." Whatever the result of this "experiment" is, I hope that it generates positive conversations about sex and gender, and I certainly hope that I hear more about this story in the future!
http://www.thelocal.se/20232/20090623/
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