One of the first questions asked when someone is told of the arrival of a new baby is usually "Boy or girl?"
It is a question that Canadian couple Kathy Witterick and David Stocker are choosing not to answer.
According to parentcentral.ca, there is nothing ambiguous about their four-month-old baby Storm's gender - Witterick and Stocker simply wanted to create "a tribute to freedom and choice in place of limitation, a stand up to what the world could become in Storm's lifetime".
The only people who know whether Storm is a girl or boy are Storm's parents, two older brothers, a family friend and two midwives.
The couple's decision to keep Storm's gender secret has been met with confusion and criticism, even amongst their own family members.
Storm's two older brothers, Jazz and Kio, have been allowed to pick their clothes from a very young age. Jazz's hair is long and kept in a braid, while Kio prefers to keep his hair to just below his chin.
Stocker says Jazz and Kio are always assumed to be girls. He says it is up to his sons if they want to correct people's assumptions.
Meanwhile, Witterick and Stocker say they plan to keep Storm's gender a secret for as long as their children are comfortable with it.
"Everyone keeps asking us, 'When will this end?" Witterick told parentcentral.ca.
"And we always turn the question back. Yeah, when will this end? When will we live in a world where people can make choices to be whoever they are?"
(Photo: Steve Russell/The Toronto Star)
105 Comments
That poor child - everyone is born one sex or the other, unless of course the baby is a hermaphrodite! Anyone thought of that? Even the older kid looks totally confused as to his gender. Very weird and unkind - just the way to bring up kids with a massive complex.
ReplyAttention all parents. Kids need to learn about life. In normal society that largely comes from parents. To treat them like little adults 'you decide dear' is a reason we have so many problems with youth today. They are ill-equipped because of negligent parents who think they're doing the right thing.
ReplyDeny someone there identity and bad things are sure to happen. It might seem like a good idea at the time but it will end in tears for most of those concerned
ReplyGreat idea! Certainly puts an end to the whole pink and blue stereotyping.
ReplyI thought hippy-dumb was dead. One wonders whether Storm will see it as the freedom its deluded parents do
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