Growing Up Gender Neutral...

I recently read an article in an issue of Grazia magazine about a single mother who has decided to raise her child "gender neutral". My immediate thoughts were that perhaps the child was born a hermaphrodite (with both male and female genitalia), therefore the mother was allowing her child to decide for themselves what gender they felt most comfortable being. Unfortunately, this was not the case. Malin Bjorn's child was clearly born either male or female, and only a few close family and friends have been privy to that information.

Despite trying to remain open-minded and unbiased while reading the article, I couldn't help but sympathise with the child. Many critics have labelled Malin's decision to raise Charlie gender neutral as a form of child abuse, while others flat-out say her baby is being used as a human guinea pig. I'll admit there were points in the article where I could half-heartedly agree with her decision, but I couldn't help shake the feeling that a child raised with no clear identity is likely to struggle when trying to find their place in the world.

 Malin argues that during her own childhood she was interested in typically male activities, and wanted to pursue a career as a tradeswoman, despite societal pressures steering her in the opposite direction. Although I understand her desire to have Charlie grow-up with the mentality that there's no such thing as male and female roles, this seemed to me like an awfully extreme way of reinforcing the message.

What I believe is the more poignant question in this debate however, is how this social experiment will affect Charlie when it's time for school and with that, the social pressures of fitting in? Where does a child 'fit' when they don't even have a clear understanding of themselves? While Malin concedes there will come a time when Charlie's true gender begins to show, her hope is that the seed will have been planted and her child is empowered with the freedom to be whoever they want to be.

For better or worse, an individuals gender is one of the most dominant aspects in forming their identity. Sexual preference is a personal choice but gender is clearly defined. Being a girl doesn't mean you have to wear pink and play with dolls, nor does the colour blue and toy cars have to be associated with a boy! These are unfortunately stereotypes which have been developed over decades, but I do believe that those lines are constantly becoming more blurred, as the dominant roles of males and females continue to be redefined.