I just finished reading an article on yahoo.com/parenting about a couple who did not reveal the sex of their child until their child turned five. They kept the sex of their child a secret because they did not want her/him to experience gender stereotyping. It turns out their child is a boy. They only revealed the gender of their child to a few friends and family. No one else knew that Sasha was a boy, but they had to reveal his gender in order to enroll him in school.
Fascinating! I love this story. I think it’s wonderful that Sasha has been able to enjoy his childhood without experiencing gender stereotyping. His parents let him choose his clothes. He wore hand-me-downs from both his brother and his sister including a pink sparkly bathing suit. Now that he is enrolled in school, he has to wear a uniform, and there are different uniforms for boys and girls. His mother chose to dress him in the pants that the boys wear and the blouse that the girls wear.
I think it's great that Sasha has been having a gender-free childhood. He can choose his toys and clothes without feeling like he is making a wrong decision by playing with a doll instead of a truck. His mother did ban Barbies from his childhood because she thinks Barbies are horrible (yahhh!). Now that Sasha has been revealed as a boy, I hope he will still be able to continue to live his life without having to follow any "gender rules."
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