Pro Choice Parents

[Gob]

I'm psychic. Pavlovian.

:

? ? ? ? ? ?

[Sean]

That's the one! Certain words and phrases trigger a 'dessert response' from you. Now it's been pointed out you'll notice it more...

[@meric@nwom@n]

I'm psychic. Pavlovian.

:

? ? ? ? ? ?

I don't get it. But if it's supposed to be insulting, consider me insulted. Plus whatever that is looks nasty. Ick.

[Gob]

Not insulting, a play on "pavlovian." That cake is known as a "Pavlova" named after the famous Russian ballet dancer, Anna Pavlova. Though I doubt she ate many of them...

[@meric@nwom@n]

Not insulting, a play on "pavlovian." That cake is known as a "Pavlova" named after the famous Russian ballet dancer, Anna Pavlova. Though I doubt she ate many of them...

OoOoOOoOo well thanks for explaining. Had no clue. One of those vast...whatevers. Consider me not insulted then.

[The Hen]

I love a good Pav.

[Gob]

Remember E-P's "Pavlova Incident"?

[The Hen]

Remind me. I am old.

Did I even make him a Pav to drop on the floor?

God I am good.

[@meric@nwom@n]

http://lifestyle.msn.com/your-life/fami ... &gt1=32060

Parents Hiding the Gender of Their Child: Good Luck With That
A well-meaning effort to separate a child from gender identity will backfire
Posted by Jeremy Greenberg Wednesday, May 25, 2011 5:26:38 AM
265 CommentsYou recommend this81%You don't recommend this19%Shared 605 timesA couple in Toronto have decided to take a novel approach to tweaking their newborn child: They’ve decided to keep the child’s gender a secret. They named him/her/it Storm--because nothing connotes androgyny like being named after an American Gladiator.



I applaud this unique approach to screwing up a child. While most parents might drink, or neglect the kid, these forward thinking parents have decided to treat their living flesh as though he/she is their sociology final at Wellesley. There are six billion people in the world, surely one can be treated like a guinea pig, right? Who wants to have a boy or girl when you can give birth to a symbol?




I’m a very competitive parent. So if I have any more kids, not only am I not going to tell people the child’s gender, I’m also going to refrain from mentioning the newborn’s species. I don’t want my child trapped in society’s expectations for how certain species should behave. If my child wants to defecate in the yard like a dog, or sleep in a tree, he/she should have that right. And I’m certainly not going to teach my kids a language. Grammar is mind control. If my child wants to just grunt, or bark out a series of random words, that’s his/her prerogative. And I certainly wouldn’t potty train my child. Peeing in a toilet is the ultimate act of conformity. I don’t want my kids oppressed by the system, even if it’s a plumbing system.



On a less sarcastic note, I do feel like these parents' hearts are in the right place. Although I ridicule their desire to hide their child’s identity (who totally looks like a boy, by the way, judging by this picture), these parents are actually being bold. In theory, they are right. You don’t want a boy who has a feminine side to feel like he can’t wear a dress, have dolls, and eventually ovulate. Nor do you want a girl who has a masculine side to feel denied her opportunity to break stuff, play with guns, and pee her name in the snow (though she’ll admittedly need some serious hula-hoop skills). But it’s just too weird to burden a child with being the vanguard of societal evolution.



Sadly, this experiment in gender neutrality will end up having the reverse effect on the child. Because Storm is being denied his/her natural opportunity to develop a gender identity, he/she’ll grow up to either be the manliest man, or the girliest girl. This well-meaning effort to tear down gender walls is just going to build them higher. But I will say that the parents were appropriate in naming the child Storm—because there’s no way this can’t be a disaster.



What’s your favorite way to screw up a child? Let us know in the comments below!

My bold which had me in tears.

[Joe Guy]

I believe parents should not be allowed to reveal the sex of their offspring and should also be required to keep their pinky children in a pouch until they're old enough to jump around without a leash

When children eventually reach the state in which they are self-propelled, they should not be required to conform to anything in relation to our society's expectations.

This method of upbringing will ensure that our children will have no sexual identity problems and will eliminate prejudiced views based on those out-dated feminine and masculine judgements made by people who think women should act feminine and men should act masculine.

[Scooter]

The problem is not women acting feminine and men acting masculine, but people who think they are qualified to be the arbiters of what "feminine" and "masculine" mean. There is nothing unfeminine about a woman using powertools and nothing unmasculine about a man at a sewing machine.

[Joe Guy]

The problem is not women acting feminine and men acting masculine, but people who think they are qualified to be the arbiters of what "feminine" and "masculine" mean. There is nothing unfeminine about a woman using powertools and nothing unmasculine about a man at a sewing machine.

I'm sorry for generalizing.

The point is that women who are not homosexual will act like women whether or not they are using "powertools."

The same is true with heterosexual men.

They will sew like men.

Whether some people want to accept it or not, men & women are different.

Having children and not revealing their sex is a really stupid idea. It doesn't accomplish anything positive.

Makes no sense.

Please give an example of how not telling the world the sex of your child is a good thing.

[Gob]

Please give an example of how not telling the world the sex of your child is a good thing.

It gets you in the papers...

[oldr_n_wsr]

Boys pick on boys who "act" like girls and girls pick on girls who act like boys. Seems this poor kid is going to be picked on no matter what "it" does.

[Lord Jim]

Please give an example of how not telling the world the sex of your child is a good thing.

It gets you in the papers...

Touche....

[BoSoxGal]

The point is that women who are not homosexual will act like women whether or not they are using "powertools."

That's a really ignorant statement, just so you know.

I'm hetero as the day is long but FAR less appearance-obsessed, simpering and silly as many women I know. I also know many women like me; very heterosexual and yet I guess from your statement you'd surmise we were lesbians.

By the same token, some of the lesbian women I know are very appearance-obsessed, simpering and silly like the empty-headed hetero women I know.

What does 'act like women' mean to you, Joe Guy? Obviously I'd suggest that your perspective on that doesn't begin to encompass the vast breadth of 'womanly' behavior that exists in our world.

[Joe Guy]

The point is that women who are not homosexual will act like women whether or not they are using "powertools."

That's a really ignorant statement, just so you know.

There's nothing ignorant in that statement. It's just a statement of the obvious in response to Scooter's statement regarding women not being 'unfeminine' when using power tools.

I'm hetero as the day is long but FAR less appearance-obsessed, simpering and silly as many women I know. I also know many women like me; very heterosexual and yet I guess from your statement you'd surmise we were lesbians.

You'll have to explain that one to me. Are you saying that you act like a man?

By the same token, some of the lesbian women I know are very appearance-obsessed, simpering and silly like the empty-headed hetero women I know.

There's nothing to argue with there.

What does 'act like women' mean to you, Joe Guy?

It's doing what women do naturally as opposed to what men do naturally. All I was saying in my "ignorant statement" is that women will be women no matter what they're doing. I suppose you agree with Scooter that people in our society shouldn't decide what is feminine & masculine.

If you don't like the terminology, that really doesn't change anything. There is such a thing as masculine and feminine behavior.

[BoSoxGal]

The point is that women who are not homosexual will act like women whether or not they are using "powertools."

There is such a thing as masculine and feminine behavior.

So let me get this straight: there is such a thing as masculine and feminine behavior - but you can't provide any substantive examples or explanations for this statement?

Women who are not homosexual will act like women; so, homosexual women act like . . . ?

Sorry, but your posts are generating a 'doh!' response in me. That, by the way, is without gender.

[Joe Guy]

So let me get this straight: there is such a thing as masculine and feminine behavior - but you can't provide any substantive examples or explanations for this statement?

I'd bet that you'd be better at nursing a baby than I would and I'd shave my face more often than you would.

Women who are not homosexual will act like women; so, homosexual women act like . . . ?

Many homosexual women act and dress very masculinely. Others are less obvious.

Sorry, but your posts are generating a 'doh!' response in me. That, by the way, is without gender.

Not true. Your 'doh!' expression is a very Homer-sexual one.

[loCAtek]

Reminds me of a conversation I had with my openly, lesbian co-worker; who henceforth shall be known as "Lucia' - I have a feeling, I'll be talking about her more in the future. Lucia is about the butchest dyke I know. The other day, she came into work wearing nothing but a man's white 'V' -neck T-shirt; as if the double Venus symbol tattooed on her neck wasn't enough.
So, we were discussing men/women relationships, and she began a comment about a male co-worker with,
"You know how men can't understand your feelings ...?"

That chick has tattoos and scars all over her, from all the fights and battles she's been in, but I don't hesitate for a minute to call her womanly.