He, she or it? Family keeps baby's gender a secret

[PiKA2001]

http://beta.news.yahoo.com/no-him-he...122541829.html

At the "Egalia" preschool, staff avoid using words like "him" or "her" and address the 33 kids as "friends" rather than girls and boys.
From the color and placement of toys to the choice of books, every detail has been carefully planned to make sure the children don't fall into gender stereotypes.

Some parents worry things have gone too far. An obsession with obliterating gender roles, they say, could make the children confused and ill-prepared to face the world outside kindergarten.
"Different gender roles aren't problematic as long as they are equally valued," says Tanja Bergkvist, a 37-year-old blogger and a leading voice against what she calls "gender madness" in Sweden.

I totally agree with this blogger.

Nearly all the children's books deal with homosexual couples, single parents or adopted children. There are no "Snow White," ''Cinderella" or other classic fairy tales seen as cementing stereotypes.

Hmmmm. I do think that children should be exposed to nontraditional families BUT not at the extent of ostracizing stories of traditional families. I think they need at least an equal balance. Will the kids who have a mom and dad living together at home feel as though they aren't part of a normal family?

Egalia is unusual even for Sweden. Staff try to shed masculine and feminine references from their speech, including the pronouns him or her — "han" or "hon" in Swedish. Instead, they've have adopted the genderless "hen," a word that doesn't exist in Swedish but is used in some feminist and gay circles.

I don't know about this...LOL.

Well, good luck in trying to deconstruct hundreds of thousands of years of social development!

[preciousjeni]

Originally Posted by PiKA2001

Well, good luck in trying to deconstruct hundreds of thousands of years of social development!

...which has, of course, led to a variety of genders.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by preciousjeni

...which has, of course, led to a variety of genders.

Yep there are countries that formally acknowledge more than 2 genders.

As for what PiKA posted, anything can be taken to the extreme. All things in moderation. Yet and still, most people do not see the extreme in how the average person applies the traditional gender structure.

[DrPhil]

This was discussed with a group of people last night. Almost all of them got offended and angry at the idea of hints of gender neutrality or genderless. All of the men were offended and extremely angry by the idea.

[KSig RC]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

This was discussed with a group of people last night. Almost all of them got offended and angry at the idea of hints of gender neutrality or genderless. All of the men were offended and extremely angry by the idea.

Cognitive dissonance?

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by KSig RC

Cognitive dissonance?

I think so. It matched the other things some of the people in the group were saying about other topics so I was not shocked but rather amused by their level of offense and anger.

[pshsx1]

Also, here's a "genderbread" person to help anyone distinguish sex from gender.

[sigmagirl2000]

Originally Posted by pshsx1

Also, here's a "genderbread" person to help anyone distinguish sex from gender.

That's awesome. Mind if I use this to clarify for confused students/ (co-workers)?

[pshsx1]

Originally Posted by sigmagirl2000

That's awesome. Mind if I use this to clarify for confused students/ (co-workers)?

Go for it! It's not mine, but I use it for presentations for students and faculty as well.