Genderless, nay, Revolutionary Child

‘Genderless Child’ read the name of an article in ‘The Telegraph’ a few months ago. Curiosity gripped me, compelling me to see what the rest of the article had to say. (Probably something about a deformed child, I thought.) Imagine my surprise on discovering that the article was not something about a biological disability, but in fact, it was a part of a revolution! A Canadian couple had decided to keep the gender of their child concealed from the rest of the world for as long as possible, finding it absurd that the gender of the child should determine anything about it. It is true that their move has been subjected to a lot of criticisms, as they are treating their child as a ‘lab experiment’. Seems quite ridiculous right? No! This is a revolutionary concept, and although the new born is not aware of it, he/she is a part of a revolution, and I marvel at the boldness with which the parents must have made such an extraordinary decision. To not disclose the gender of a child means to prevent people from creating fantasies and expectations (be it consciously or subconsciously) about the life of the child, which may just lead to disappointment.

 

I am quite sure that the question “Is it a boy or a girl?” is followed by a tinge of hope, maybe a dash of the desire to dream. Gender is probably the only line which separates two completely alternate realities of a fantasy. No matter how open minded one may be, the person is bound to build up hopes and dreams, and as far as I believe, a female wrestler or a gay boy with all feminine characters will not be that castle in the sky. (You may well dismiss this thought as ludicrous. I mean, who am I if not just some crazy boy, preaching about something as clichéd as gender?)

 

I am quite sure that till about the age of three, it cannot be found out whether a child is a he or a she. This would give the close ones enough time to start constructing hopes based on their actions, no matter how trivial they may seem at the time, rather than what’s hidden between their legs.

 

Surely, in today’s age, gender issues have become a minor issue, almost nonexistent. But when a girl gets into a fight at school, or a boy prefers playing ‘house’ instead of football, I doubt if the parents will be very happy about it. The disappointment obviously arises from the realization that everything that they had decided for the child is not completely in sync with their five year plan. Through all these inconsequential, petty little things, a person may be kept from being true to who they truly are. I myself am a walking, talking example. My favorite singer is ‘Lady GaGa’, and I simply love the TV show ‘Glee’, which is not exactly the most masculine thing out there. I have been asked why I do not listen to metal instead; well the answer is as simple as it gets: I simply do not like it.

 

Why are these silly stereotypes built up and why are people judged based on their degree of femininity or masculinity, or worse, why is anyone judged as per their level in the ‘Kinsey’? It is all because of dreams built at an age when one should clearly not be subjected to any forms of judgment. This forms a long, unbroken chain, leaving nothing but disappointment at its wake. Finally, if I were asked what I would have named the article I spoke of earlier, I would say ‘Revolutionary Child.’

Author's Note

If u have read this piece of writing then plz do comment....

Reviews

[Viki Rachel]

I remember seeing this article about a couple bringing up their child "gender-less" on MSN. My initial reaction was one of shock and half-repulsion, but after consideration I thought exactly what you had: How revolutionary! It's absolutely genius, and mad at the same time. Your essay re-surfaced my pondering thoughts and questions over this matter. Maybe this is how all children should be raised. Let's just see how this experiment turns out...

[Sam]

I've heard about that genderless child too and I actually got kind of worried when I heard it. I have no idea how old the child is now but what about when he/she gets to be a teenager? I think, being raise completely oblivious to the thing that can define your life is taking away from ones identity. Then again, maybe the child knows what gender he/she is and it's just the rest of the world that doesn't know (just realized that possibility). In that case, I feel like the parents are trying to force the world in one direction faster then it's ready to. Using the child as a tool.
Well, I guess that if he/she is loved then we can all worry about that later. (BTW: I am the biggest Glee Fan ever, lol)

[Desert Dreamer]

I enjoyed your article. Our choices in how we live our life and how we raise our children effect the culture of the future. I like your choice of title better than the one in the original article.