Would You Raise Your Child Sexless?

Imagine raising your child sexless.  Sounds weird, right?  But, a family living in Toronto, Canada has decided to keep the gender of their four month old baby under wraps.  A recent article in USA Today, “Couple’s Gender Secret For Baby Touches of Debate,” explains that a family chose to go against society’s standard differentiation of boy versus girl.   Instead, they rather the baby make the decision of which role to take on later in life.  


Can you raise your child without a specific gender?  Would you leave both gender boxes blank on the birth certificate?  This is definitely a topic that is worth debating.


When my baby girl was born, I didn’t think twice about checking off female.  But much to my dismay, I was shocked when the official birth certificate came back with the box marked “male” was checked off.  I immediately sent it back to have the village office fix the mistake.  When I came across the article about the parents choosing not to make their baby’s gender known, I have to admit I was left scratching my head.  In fact, I was also a bit angry.  The parents wrote to the Associate Press, “the whole world must know what is between the baby’s legs is unhealthy, unsafe and voyeuristic. We know — and we’re keeping it clean, safe, healthy and private (not secret!).”  This statement sounds a bit crazy, if you ask me.  Would this infant grow up confused?  Would he/she feel left out?  I’d say yes!  


Oh, did I mention that they plan to home school this child!  I’ve never been one to tell people how to raise their children.  So, I won’t start now.  But, I wish them well.  I can only be concerned about my little Princess.  She doesn’t have much hair to support cute girlie clips and bows.  But, I do dress her up in fun feminine hats every chance I get.