A Canadian couple is testing that idea on their four-month old baby. As reported in the "Toronto Star" newspaper, parents Kathy Witterick and David Stocker, have chosen to keep the sex of their new baby, Storm, a secret. The parents want him or her to grow up free from social conventions about males and females. So they have shared Storm's gender identity only with their two sons, Jazz, 5, and Kio, 2, a good family friend and, of course, the two midwives who helped deliver Storm. Witterick wrote to the "Star": "In fact, in not telling the gender of my precious baby, I am saying to the world, ‘Please can you just let Storm discover for him/herself what s(he) wants to be?!.” The notion of sexless child-rearing isn't new. For decades, girls have been crashing Hot Wheels and boys have cooked up brownies in Easy Bake Ovens. Nevertheless, this couple's unconventional choice is getting a strong backlash. What do you think of their choice? Why might they feel the need to keep Storm's sex a secret? What are the benefits or the risks for the child? Where do children get their gender identity anyway? We’ll talk with an expert in gender identity and take calls from boys and girls – however they identify!
Guest:
Diane Ehrensaft, Psychologist specializing in gender identity in private practice in the Bay area