The other day I came across an article online about a couple who kept the gender of their child a secret for 5 years. The young boy, Sasha dresses in whatever he wants and plays with the toys he wants. The couple wanted to avoid stereotyping and give their child a chance to develop his own personal identity.
There are plenty of arguments that can be made about this parenting style (as they all can). Will the child grow up to be more confused with his or her own sexuality? Will they be treated differently because they choose to wear clothing that is "not normal" for their specific gender? Should a child really be making these kinds of decsions?
My thoughts on this are conflicting. I do believe that some people take gender roles and stereotypes too far. Children should be able to make decisions about what they want to wear or play with. However, I don't necessarily agree with the parents choice to hide the gender from everyone. It seems like kind of ridiculous and outlandish thing to do. The kid is 5, what difference does it really make what he wears? Why keep his gender a secret? He would still be able to make whatever choices he wants, yes he might be made fun of but that will happen in the future anyways and will most likely have more of an affect on him when he is in junior high or high school.
I think letting a kid have free-will and make decisions is great, just because you are a boy doesn't mean you have to do what boys are "supposed" to do. But I also think that the parents choice to keep the gender hidden from everyone seems just a little dramatic.
Here is the article about Sasha and his parents choice to keep his gender for 5 years:
http://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/couple-finally-reveals-childs-gender-five-years-birth-180300388.html
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