Continuing a theme....

[Two_Sheds]

I think more harm is done by trying to restrict ... your child

We are all restricted, all the time.
Little girls & boys know what they are, and what's expected of them, from a very young age: they see TV all the time, adverts, images in the media, sneaky little subliminal messages: boys like "Bob", girls like princesses, that's what Western society* expects of them.

Girls are rewarded for being sweet & quiet, boys are encouraged to be tough, and rough n tumble, to kick a ball, to punch a bully, while girls are encouraged to play house & dolls. Even if the parents doesn't do these things, they are all over the TV, books, comics, they get messages from their friends, from shop displays, from other grown-ups.

It's far more acceptable for a girl to be tomboyish (in her early life) than it is for boys to be girly. She will encounter more difficulties the older she gets, if she continues to pursue her silly ideas about doing "man's stuff", lol.

I used to teach a delightful little boy (8) who was into X Factor, dancing, singing, playing with the girls. He just didn't like the boys and their stuff. The other boys did not hesitate to tease him, bully him, call him 'poof'... now where have they learned to be like that? Not all by themselves, that's for sure. They've been picking up cues and messages from their parents and other 'adult' role models.

He's going to grow up knowing he's different, knowing he's "not quite right". It's a real shame.
I now have a little girl (10) who is a tomboy ~ no interest in girly stuff whatsoever, she's tough, she's scruffy. She said to me on Friday "smell me Miss, I've got Lynx on". That was so funny, and so her. She has few friends, because neither the boys nor the girls accept her. It's such a shame, because she's really very sweet, caring and giving.

* In the West it's females who wear make-up (although it was Native Americans, Adam Ant & Maoris who got ME interested in it. If a woman refuses to prettify herself, she's called rough or unfeminine or worse.
In the West it's females who wear skirts, although Spartacus started it, and who's calling him 'poof'?
In the West it's now females who wear high heels, although they were originally adopted by men & women, simply to make short people (the Sun King) look taller, or for practical reasons, as by Mongolian horsemen & Egyptian butchers

Corsets were originally worn by men and women: because the fashion was for a trim figure, or for good posture. It's only relatively recently been fetishised as an alluring undergarment for the friskier female

Tights - were worn by men to make horseriding more comfortable. Henry VIII wore them, you can't get much more macho than him

[FionaH]

Nice to see I am not alone. I had a range of toys for my lads. My Mother threw a huge hissy fit when I bought the eldest a dolls push chair, he loved the one at playgroup. She thought he would grow up to be a poof! A vile term from a small minded woman I am afraid. They had cars and dolls and anything else I could pick up for next to nothing, we were very skint. The one thing they didnt have was guns, not in my house! That is until he made one out of stickle bricks and proceeded to shoot his brother.

I don't think these parents are being brave. I think they are playing a very dangerous game with a politically correct experiment. We all need to know and acknowledge who and what we are. Hiding the fact the child is a boy leaves him very likely to think there is something wrong with being male.

We are all restricted, all the time.
Little girls & boys know what they are, and what's expected of them, from a very young age: they see TV all the time, adverts, images in the media. Boys like "Bob", girls like princesses, that's what Western society* expects of them.

Girls are rewarded for being sweet & quiet, boys are encouraged to be tough, and rough n tumble, to kick a ball, to punch a bully, while girls are encouraged to play house & dolls.

My neice who was always a tomboy, was being bullied. Discussions between her Mum and the school failed to solve the problem. I taught her to punch/ Ok so she made this lads nose bleed and she got excluded for a day, but it worked

Oh and my son who was gonna be damaged by the pushchair? He drinks beer, plays rugby and writes the most beautiful poetry

[Newton]

I wonder what would have happened if she had been blessed with twins? One of each! Same experiment? I think not.........

[taff]

I dont think you can completely erase gender conditioning because everyone and everything would have to be involved, media, cartoons, parents, friends in school etc.
All thats happened to this child is non-gender stereotyping [ he's probably only referred to as 'the infant' on her blog ] and there's an awful lot of outrage about one single child who hasn't been abused or treated badly.
As the article said, the family and friends knew, the only people who didn't know were the papers.
He got to be as he liked for the first 5 years without hardened stereotyping.

[Glutton4...]

Daft C*w just wants the publicity!

...As the article said, the family and friends knew, the only people who didn't know were the papers...

I rest my case!

[di]

They only told family and a 'few close friends'.

[Hilary B]

They only told family and a 'few close friends'.

Yeah, exactly the people who (if anyone) would have influence in 'gender stereotyping', the rest of the world wouldn't be getting the chance to treat him as one thing or the other, and surely he would be aware (so anything he might pick up from TV etc would be unaffected), or did they not bother telling him that some children have different plumbing arrangements, until it became impossible because he was about to start school? I think a sudden revelation at that stage could be very detrimental. Gradually becoming aware that half the population much more like you than the other half is one thing. being 'protected' from that information until you go out into the wide world (which school is), and then finding it out all at once, just as other details of your life change, not nice!

[di]

It's being discussed on the Wright Stuff tomorrow...not sure if the link will work....Welcome to Facebook

[Two_Sheds]

did they not bother telling him that some children have different plumbing arrangements

"By age 2 or 3, a child starts to develop a sense of being a male or female. Kids this age start to understand the difference between boys and girls, and can identify themselves as one or the other. Some people think gender identity is biologically determined and some say it's a product of a child's environment. Most likely, it's a combination of both." Understanding Early Sexual Development

I don't know the full story, but didn't they just give him "equal clothing rights"? Just what Eddie Izzard called for.

"For centuries ... [all] children wore dainty white dresses up to age 6. Pink and blue [only] arrived ... were not promoted as gender signifiers until just before World War I"



Read more: When Did Girls Start Wearing Pink? | Arts & Culture | Smithsonian Magazine

[Glutton4...]

I stand by my first statement - it's been all over the bloody news today. She wants her 15 minutes of fame, the daft tart!

[bearded bloke]

the daft tart!

G4,Queen of tactful understatement

[RedThorn]

*passes BB the much used tin hat*

[Nicos]

Well- all I can add is that I hope they taught him to sit down to pee!!!!!

[snohare]

Ah, to pee, or not to pee, that is the question....

If he did urinate in an unconventional manner, would they think he was taking the p... ?

[Bren In Pots]

To me he must have know he was a boy because according to her blog they have two other children a boy and girl aged 9 and 11 so surely the little one would have seen them naked at some point.