Our first required reading in my Gender Theories class was "The Story of Baby X" by Lois Gould. In this reading, the baby was called "X" because the parents chose to be apart of an experiment where the sex of their baby was undisclosed. This meant that no one other than the mother, the father, and the child itself were aware of the gender of the baby. Not even close friends of the family or other relatives such as grandparents, aunts, or uncles were allowed to know whether the child was a boy or a girl.
In theory, keeping the sex a secret can be seen as a good idea for a variety of reasons. For starters, knowing the sex of children is blown out of proportion. Society places too much importance on such an insignificant aspect. It begins immediately after birth, in the hospital, where nurses hurry to swaddle the infant in either a pink or blue receiving blanket depending on whether it's a boy or a girl. Yes, this can be seen as "cute" because the baby is wrapped tightly in a little blanky, but right away it is placing too much importance on whether the child has a penis or vagina. Another reason why an unidentified child is a good idea, is simply because they can play with whatever toys they want. This can include dolls, play kitchen, barbies, dinosaurs, trucks, building blocks, etc. There is no pressure that the child can only play with one set of play items nor is the child judged for showing an interest outside of the normative sex group.
Unfortunately, this is just the beginning for gender stereotypes. It continues through grade school, while students are separated depending on their gender. This occurs when teachers tell the girls to line up at the door, then invites the boys to follow. In addition, there are only two washrooms at most schools; a washroom for boys and a washroom for girls. Students must identify with one particular sex in order to use the bathroom. In "The Story of Baby X", X had permission from the school to use the principal's washroom instead. With that being said, schools would need to change their policy if there were many students with unknown sexes attending their education facility. My problem with this part of the story is, how practical is it for multiple X's to be using the principal's washroom on a daily basis? Then again, can students (males and females) really share the same washroom because of parents who don't want them to be identified as a boy or a girl?
In the "X" article, it did not matter to the other children at school whether X was a boy or a girl. Of course they were curious, but after realizing that X was "cooler" playing with dolls in the playhouse AND playing sports during recess, other students felt it was better to be apart of both worlds instead of just one. The only individuals that had an issue with an unknown child in the class was the parents of the other children.
Realistically, all that should matter is whether or not the unidentified child is happy. All that should ever matter is if the child is happy and proud to be who they are. I know that in baby X situations, the decision to be unknown clearly has nothing to do with the child, but rather it is the decision of the parents. However, in every situation, a child's happiness is the greatest glory. Society needs to change its values and expectations because often deviating from the norm is what helps to make every child unique.
