First off, if you haven't already, go to parentdish and read (and watch) about this Canadian couple who've decided to keep their baby's gender a secret so he/she can decide for himself/herself when he/she is older. Then come back here and read my thoughts about it. Then, please leave your thoughts as I am very interested to know my bloggy friends' opinions.
I take exception to that one individual, in the article, whose response was “This is a perfect example of why you should have a license to have children.” Please. **voice dripping with scorn** I don’t need someone else deciding whether I meet their standards of a perfect parent before I can have children! This world is full of entirely too many rules, licenses, and boss-faces. Let people live their lives!
I think that whenever you choose to do something that isn’t mainstream it is important to teach your children why you have made that choice and why you think it is right. If Storm’s parents feel so strongly about not letting the culture of our genders decide what color they wear and how long their hair is then they need to give their children the tools to deal with any negativity that comes their way. I agree with everything the doctor (sitting on the sofa in the video clip) said and I think that though this couples’ decision comes from wanting to protect their kids from hurt, those less than pleasant interchanges are just something that happen when you make different choices. My parents chose to home school their children. I dealt with a lot of rude kids growing up. Each interchange was a learning experience and my parents were always giving me feedback and ideas for how to answer and stand up for myself. I’m not sure that making Storm the “special one” who gets to keep his (I think Storm looks like a boy) gender a secret seems all that fair for the older two, who obviously have received some pessimistic input from others about their less than boyish behavior.
From a spiritual standpoint, I believe that male and female have always been and always will be. I believe we have differences for a divine purpose. I believe that with each gender comes certain roles, talents, pros and cons and we are to build upon what we are given and make it into something beautiful. If you want an example, look at moms and dads. Both are parents and both have equal responsibility to make sure their children are raised well, taught, loved, and cared for. But children get different needs met from each of their parents. Moms and Dads are different emotionally, mentally, and (obviously) physically. They, for the most part, parent differently from each other. That is as it should be. We, as humans, love labels. We always have. It gives order and organization to our lives. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this. To be called a boy or a girl is a good thing. To be called an “it," not so much. I’m pretty sure all of my brothers have had their hair done up in barrettes, worn dresses and gotten their nails painted. Growing up, during games of make believe, I was always Huckleberry Finn, Peter from the Narnia Chronicles, Han Solo or a warrior. I had no interest in being a princess or any other character who couldn’t wield a sword, tote a gun or wear overalls. But none of us has ever felt stifled by our gender. I just can’t agree that being genderless equals more freedom. We are who we are for a reason. Let’s embrace that.
What do you think?
P.S. Again, I tried to leave comments for friends who have word verification on their blogs and Blogger denied me. **frustration!!** Myrnie, Mrs. K., Just Bits and Pieces, I'm talkin' about you. So just know that you got comment love from me - you just can't see it. :)
P.P.S. I have to tell you about what happened at music class today. We were all standing in a circle with Britt on my left and Ash on my right. We were stomping our feet, slapping our knees and singing, "5 in the middle and you can't jump Josie" or something like that. I happened to look down and then had to do a double take. There was a diaper at my feet! A diaper that had been previously formed to a baby's body and from the shape of it, appeared as if there was an invisible child still sitting in it. Hahaha! It looked a lot like the diaper I'd put on Britt before leaving for class. Lo and behold, it was that same diaper! Britt was in a dress sans diaper cover. One of the diaper tabs hadn't been put on properly (my bad) and Britt had danced/shimmied her way right out of it. Needless to say, I whisked her over to a private corner and remedied the problem. Haha!
(Storm with big bro, Jazz. Source)
I take exception to that one individual, in the article, whose response was “This is a perfect example of why you should have a license to have children.” Please. **voice dripping with scorn** I don’t need someone else deciding whether I meet their standards of a perfect parent before I can have children! This world is full of entirely too many rules, licenses, and boss-faces. Let people live their lives!
I think that whenever you choose to do something that isn’t mainstream it is important to teach your children why you have made that choice and why you think it is right. If Storm’s parents feel so strongly about not letting the culture of our genders decide what color they wear and how long their hair is then they need to give their children the tools to deal with any negativity that comes their way. I agree with everything the doctor (sitting on the sofa in the video clip) said and I think that though this couples’ decision comes from wanting to protect their kids from hurt, those less than pleasant interchanges are just something that happen when you make different choices. My parents chose to home school their children. I dealt with a lot of rude kids growing up. Each interchange was a learning experience and my parents were always giving me feedback and ideas for how to answer and stand up for myself. I’m not sure that making Storm the “special one” who gets to keep his (I think Storm looks like a boy) gender a secret seems all that fair for the older two, who obviously have received some pessimistic input from others about their less than boyish behavior.
From a spiritual standpoint, I believe that male and female have always been and always will be. I believe we have differences for a divine purpose. I believe that with each gender comes certain roles, talents, pros and cons and we are to build upon what we are given and make it into something beautiful. If you want an example, look at moms and dads. Both are parents and both have equal responsibility to make sure their children are raised well, taught, loved, and cared for. But children get different needs met from each of their parents. Moms and Dads are different emotionally, mentally, and (obviously) physically. They, for the most part, parent differently from each other. That is as it should be. We, as humans, love labels. We always have. It gives order and organization to our lives. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this. To be called a boy or a girl is a good thing. To be called an “it," not so much. I’m pretty sure all of my brothers have had their hair done up in barrettes, worn dresses and gotten their nails painted. Growing up, during games of make believe, I was always Huckleberry Finn, Peter from the Narnia Chronicles, Han Solo or a warrior. I had no interest in being a princess or any other character who couldn’t wield a sword, tote a gun or wear overalls. But none of us has ever felt stifled by our gender. I just can’t agree that being genderless equals more freedom. We are who we are for a reason. Let’s embrace that.
What do you think?
P.S. Again, I tried to leave comments for friends who have word verification on their blogs and Blogger denied me. **frustration!!** Myrnie, Mrs. K., Just Bits and Pieces, I'm talkin' about you. So just know that you got comment love from me - you just can't see it. :)
P.P.S. I have to tell you about what happened at music class today. We were all standing in a circle with Britt on my left and Ash on my right. We were stomping our feet, slapping our knees and singing, "5 in the middle and you can't jump Josie" or something like that. I happened to look down and then had to do a double take. There was a diaper at my feet! A diaper that had been previously formed to a baby's body and from the shape of it, appeared as if there was an invisible child still sitting in it. Hahaha! It looked a lot like the diaper I'd put on Britt before leaving for class. Lo and behold, it was that same diaper! Britt was in a dress sans diaper cover. One of the diaper tabs hadn't been put on properly (my bad) and Britt had danced/shimmied her way right out of it. Needless to say, I whisked her over to a private corner and remedied the problem. Haha!
