By now you have probably heard about little four-month-old Storm, whose parents, Kathy Witterick, 38, and her husband, David Stocker, 39 have decided to keep their infant son/daughter’s gender secret from their friends and family and the world. Not even the grandparents know if little Storm is a he or a she.
The Canadian couple say that they want their infant to develop its own sexual identity and not have to conform to gender norms. The couples two older children, both boys are encouraged to shun gender norms for boys and dress or act any way they wish in regard to gender identity. Five-year-old Jazz likes to dress in pink and wear his hair long, preferences that have made him uncomfortable with attending school.
Witterick says that she feels that it isn’t healthy to force a sex on their child and wants to challenge traditional thinking.
The story of the little baby and its family has gone viral, with much criticism for this family with critics saying that it is wrong to turn their infant into a social experiment and wonder if the couple is not doing this to get attention. Will we see little Storm on a reality show where its gender is revealed on national television, much like Geraldo and Al Capone’s vault?
The question that begs to be asked is that is keeping a child’s gender secret, maybe even from itself healthy for that child? Is it a way of giving the child the opportunity to define his or herself?
So much of our identities are caught up with our physical bodies. Whether we are tall or short, fat or thin, male or female affects the way we live our lives and sometimes even the way we think, like it or not. Genetics and environment, too, play a part. And while I think it is wonderful to be able to see past the physical to the person underneath, we do all have these bodies and minds that we have to carry around and keep healthy. Can we learn to take care of their uniqueness if we are taught that physical differences don’t matter?
What do you think?
Related Articles: