Raising Children As Gender Neutral

[naomi24]

Paloma Faith says she is determined to raise her child, and any subsequent children she may give birth to, gender neutral, but how does that work? At some time the child is bound to discover that there are boys and there are girls – and that they are not the same - so when a child asks the question “What am I?”, what does the enlightened parent answer? Does she lie and say ‘You’re neither’, and if so is that, in effect, denying the child its true identity?

I’m inclined to think that in their determination to allow their children to ‘be who they are’, progressive parents are in danger of raising a generation of very confused people.

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/paloma-faith-raising-child-gender-neutral-leyman-lahcine-refuses-to-reveal-sex-or-name-a8013776.html

[Canary42]

I agree - how can they be "just what they want to be" if the differences are concealed from them.

[murraymints]

I agree.. children can be raised without stereotyping without all that PC malarkey... I had cars and guns and cowboy outfits as well as dollies, prams etc.. and small kids clothes can be unisex without making PC statements ...

[ummmm]

I always viewed it as you don't bring them as pink for girls, blue for boys, and you don't restrict what they play with. If a boy wants a baby doll and push it around in a buggy, let them.

[fiction-factory]

I can see both sides. But I can see that some children are confused about gender and forcing them to be male or female when they know they feel they are the other isn't always/ often helpful

[murraymints]

my nephew did just that ummmm..he had "baby" in a buggy

[fiction-factory]

Anyway if bringing up as gender neutral just means what mm and ummmm say i see no problems. There was an interesting tv series about this last year

[Old_Geezer]

All a nonsense IMO. Such parents may be of good intent, but seem to have a screw loose. Let the kids be who they are but with an understanding of what their society is, so they can make good choices for themselves.

[ummmm]

My son loved Polly Pockets (miniature toys if you don't know what they are) so that's what I bought for him. They were aimed at girls.

[cassa333]

I think gender neutral is more about not being stereotypical and not about denying what gender they are.

It isn’t about ‘you are not a girl/boy you are you’ so much as ‘you can do whatever a girl/boy wants to do so do whatever you like’.

For me the trouble is when the parents start to dictate their view of gender neutral on the child. If you have a room full of toys for both girls and boys and little George wants to play with the actionman and mummy takes it off them and says no George that’s action man why don’t you play with Barbie. Think that silly TV presenter telling his daughter that women flew spitfires in open combat in the war.

Didn’t someone do a bit of an experiment where they started gender neutral parenting?

[ummmm]

I haven't been to a toy shop for a long time but Toys R Us used to have a boys isle and a girls isle. Kids can play with anything.

[Prudie]

If it were just about what they wear and what they play with then fine but it's not. It's my understanding is these parents don't want their children to know I'm a girl or I'm a boy or to be able to state that fact. I think it verges on abuse, disappointing as it may be to the free thinkers the vast majority of us know exactly what gender we are.

[naomi24]

That's my thinking too, Prudie.

[Cloverjo]

I've read a more recent article in which she said she wasn't revealing the child's gender or name only in order to protect 'their' privacy. She emphasised that she knew it would be impossible to hide a child's gender from itself.

[Zacs-Master]

All the article says is ‘her approach to gender neutral parenting involves, for example, not dressing her child in stereotypical "boy/girl" colours such as pink and blue, to avoid implicit pressure on the child's own gender identification’

This seems, to me at least, to imply that the measures are practical rather than psychological.

[murraymints]

They will learn about boys and girls at nursery/school..seems crazy to me to deny the differences and cause confusion a few short years later... just let them be what they want without imposing PC expectations...

[ummmm]

I just don't know how a child can not know what gender they are. You'd have to keep them locked up and barely speak to them. I must have said hundreds of times "don't be a naughty boy/girl"

[NoMercy]

I think my son already knows he's a boy. He winges and complains when Barbie or My Little Pony is on but thrashes excitedly when PJ Masks comes on.

He has a wardrobe full of blue clothes and I'll never be ashamed or embarassed to bring him up, dressed as and acting like a boy. He's a boy and should grow up proud to be!

[Zacs-Master]

Paloma on Twitter; , “For the record @DailyMailUK gender neutral means equal amount of so called ‘boys toys and girls toys’ it doesn’t mean anything sensational.”

[naomi24]

I expect those parents say 'don't be a naughty child', ummmm.

[Sqad]

What a surprise, a whakky, infantile woman who dresses like a Disney character is bringing up her child gender neutral, says it all.
Why does she justify a news spot and debate?
Do we know who the father is? Does SHE know who the father is?

Odd times folks.......weird times.