Parents Raising A ‘Genderless’ Baby

Came across this story today and had to share it. There is a couple in Toronto who have decided to raise a "genderless baby".

Kathy Witterick and her husband David Stocker have three children. The older two, Jazz (5) and Kio (2), are boys. They know that they are boys, every one else knows that they are boys.  However, they have been allowed to pick out their own clothes since they were 18 months old. Including clothing from the girls' department of the store. They have been known to wear dresses when they feel like it, and are given the liberty to choose whether or not they cut their hair. Jazz currently sports some very long hair, that he often wears in braids.

So, when the couple gave birth to Storm (4 months), they decided that they would do the same with the new baby. But, they were going to take it a step further. Storm will have the same freedoms as his/her older brothers, but Storm's sex isn't being told to anyone. The only people who know the true sex of the baby are, of course, his/her parents, siblings, and the two midwives who were present when the baby was born.

Witterick and Stocker say that Storm's gender will be revealed when Storm so chooses. That they don't want their child to deal with judgement or backlash if (s)he decides to act or dress in a manner that would be considered to be "opposite" of its true gender.

In a society that I feel isn't exactly the most tolerant, I wonder how this is going to affect these children in the future. The boys already get strange looks from people when they find out that they are, in fact, boys. Some day, people will most likely find out Storm's gender as well. Then again, I've never thought that it was inappropriate for boys to play with dolls or for girls to play football, so maybe this is a good way to go about things.

I guess the future will tell what's in store for these kids.

You can check out some of their family pictures and hear more from the parents here.