Is it possible to raise a child without absolutely any reference to their gender? Some parents are doing it. They do not want their children to be defined neither as a boy nor as a girl at birth, nor during their childhood, until they are old enough to decide the gender with which they feel identified.
It is a relatively new phenomenon, but more and more parents, especially in countries like the United States and Canada are adopting this philosophy, also prevalent in Sweden. Even parent movements have been emerging in recent years they decide to raise their children with gender neutral or gender open.
In today's society, it is not easy to completely eliminate any reference to a person's gender. From pregnancy, people ask you about the sex of the baby, the name you will choose, then the school, friends ... How do parents who decide to raise their children this way?:
Do not reveal sex in pregnancy
The custom so common today of revealing to others the sex of the baby is unthinkable for these parents. And much less turn it into a social party.
They do not want to know when performing ultrasound during pregnancy because they do not care about the sexual anatomy of your baby. They consider that Having vulva or penis does not define your baby's gender.
They do not reveal sex at birth
As it happens during pregnancy, when the baby is born, doctors and nurses are warned to avoid announcing if the newborn is a boy or a girl.
Documents without specifying sex
There are those who did not know this trend until the news of a Canadian father who was fighting for his baby to be registered without gender went around the world. This father considers that assigning sex to a person involves a violation of human rights, taking away the possibility of freely choosing their own sexual identity.
A short time later, the Canadian government announced that the official documents would be included in the neutral sex or "x" in identity documents. But for now, it is the only country that has implemented it.
They don't use male or female pronouns
Parents do not use his or her pronouns for their children, but rather a neutral way of calling them. In some languages it is simpler because there are neutral pronouns (like "they" in English, which is valid for them or them -only for the plural-), but in Spanish there is no neutral pronoun.
Therefore, a new gender neutral pronoun has been created in Spanish, which is "elle", a variation of both pronouns, the union of him and her in a neutral word. In the plural, "elles".
Although it is still unofficial, signatures are being gathered to ask the SAR to introduce this new pronoun.
Nursery schools without boys or girls
In Sweden, there are nurseries that implement the gender neutral method in the day-to-day education of children. They eliminate gender roles and male and female references in both games and toys and books. The pronouns he and she are replaced by the neutral pronoun "hen", and boy and girl by "friend" (word that in Sweden is also neutral).
But this is not usual, much less, so if the school does not implement this philosophy for all children, parents ask that their children be treated no specific gender.
Clothes neither boy nor girl
Of course, the gender neutral philosophy moves to all walks of life, including clothing. Unisex, neutral or non-specific clothes are chosen for children, and they are allowed to choose the clothes they feel most comfortable with.
Toys without gender stereotypes
The toys have no sex. Dolls are often identified as toys for girls and cars for boys, but toys are nothing more than instruments for the game that do not imply that their use is exclusively for one sex or the other.
Children raised with open gender play with the toys they choose freely, no gender bias.
Raise them as individuals, beyond their gender
They pretend that their children embrace his own individuality, beyond his gender. They consider that being a boy or a girl does not identify them, and that as they grow they will define their sexuality in the future to decide their own gender, or continue to be gender neutral.
As you see? More and more parents are joining this type of education for their children and along with the increase in followers, controversy also increases. Some discover in it the way in which they want to raise their children, while on the other, there are those who consider that it can end up confusing and alienating the child from a social point of view. What do you think about raising children with gender neutral or gender open?
In Babies and more | Canadian parents decide not to reveal the sex of their already born baby
