Pink For Girls, Blue For Boys: Gender Identification versus Gender Identity

            Bridging off a controversial debate over parents raising their children in a gender neutral environment, I will examine the benefits of rearing a child in such an open environment.  Understand that gender neutral refers to allowance for expression of self without distinguishing specific gender roles while genderless refers to having no gender identity. 

            The argument of nature versus nurture states that it is nearly impossible to socialize your child as gender neutral, enforcing that gender is an innate predisposition and removing gender is psychologically damaging to the child’s growth and development.  In Dr. John Money’s theory on gender identity, he states that, as far as gender is concerned, a baby is “neutral” for nearly the first two years of its life (Born a Boy, Brought up a Girl, 2007 documentary).  The nurture side of the argument says that environment and upbringing influences will determine whether he or she will feel more masculine or feminine.  Pressure resulting from gender expectations from society, genes, sex, gender norms and socialization play an influencing role on how others will interact with the child.   This ideal of gender socialization is a result of gender discourses and the notion that gender is “inside of us” that consolidates the effects of being male or female, and defining behaviors that are “girling”, like putting on lipstick, or “boying”, such as growing facial hair (O’Neil, personal communication, 20/01/14).  As Dr. O’Neil examined in lecture, it has been assessed that gender differentiation is less common among younger children, as seen through play socialization, which indications that gender is not a defining foundation of individuals and individuality. 
            The ridiculed parents of Storm, born in 2011, state that their choice to raise Storm as a genderless child is “a tribute to freedom and choice in place of limitation, a stand up to what the world could become in Storm's lifetime” (Poisson, J., 2011).  With two older sons, they allow the boys to express themselves in any way they feel comfortable.  Their eldest boy, Jazz, often braids his hair and likes to be treated like a girl, though stays adamant in identifying as male.  Sociologist Judith Butler (O’Neil, 20/01/14) argues that gender does not actually exist but is produced and changed through gender norms.  The idea of boy and girl are things that don’t exist in an existential way - although we have biological sex differentiation but that doesn’t define who we are or who we want to be or guide how we will act.

Raising a gender neutral child in a gender dependent society is one tricky feat.  I believe that raising a child a gender neutral does pose its own obvious problems though at the same time is liberating and would remove the ridicule that gender specific environments create.  Gender inequalities in the education system and work place would begin to fall short of discriminating against gender neutral individuals who are participating in sports, or partaking in certain studies and career goals that are gender oriented.  Courses and careers such as math and science would no longer seem “male dominant” nor would child studies or nursing appear to be “female dominant”.  Cleary gender constrains but it does not nor should no determine who we are or who we want to be.

            Its clear that nature will dictate itself through genetics, although to raise a child gender neutral is quite possible and potentially beneficial.  Gender neutral nurturing – that is, rearing your child based on expression of self of who they want to be, not through gender socialization ‘rules’– would counteract a society that is solely based around gender norms and expectations, as seen with the family of Storm and their two oldest sons.

 

References

Poisson, J. (2011, December 6). The ‘genderless baby’ who caused a storm of controversy in 2011. The Toronto Star. Retrieved from
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2011/12/26/the_genderless_baby_who_caused_a_storm_of_controversy_in_2011.html

TLC Documentary (2007). Born a Boy, Brought up a Girl (Part 1). Retrieved from  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GhbVFjIaN0­