Swedish newspapers spread the story about a young couple who chose not to disclose the gender of their newborn child. Absolutely brilliant.
Two-year old Pop (it’s the baby’s name) knows her/his own gender, as do a few close relatives who have changed the baby’s diapers. So it’s not a sick experiment with a defenseless child’s identity. (You can read about Pop here.)
Take me for who I am
However, for the rest of the world, the baby’s gender is an irrelevant piece of information, so the reasoning of the baby’s parents.
Knowing the child’s gender could only trigger off a host of preconceived opinions and conventions in people’s behavior toward the baby. Instead, they are now forced to treat the baby as a person in its own right, on its own conditions.
Apparently, some people get really upset about this. I find it brilliant. By preventing the environment from closing all kinds of unconscious gender-related doors on their baby, they give her/him maximum freedom to develop her/his own personality.
In my book. these two “idiots from Northern Europe” are truly brilliant. Kudos to you, guys.
Come to think of it, it’s a bit like in poker – if you give your hand away you’ll be exploitable. By remaining unpredictable, you keep your edge.
Keep you edge, baby Pop!
— The World’s First Feminist Poker Blog —
