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There's that, and with my nervous habit, if I still had by beard, there would be bald patches where you can tell I've picked at.

Jaft actually makes sense to my little brain

I tell you what though, after watching Dancing with the Stars, and seeing how gorgeous some of those dancing instructors are, I wouldn't blame them...

I think this is a very interesting way to raise a child. I'm not sure how it'll work out, though I hope it's for the best.

The study about David/Brenda that was referenced is a very disturbing case. But I think it's a fairly natural reaction, his rebellion and eventual suicide, I mean; having been lied to by his parents his entire life about his biological sex is a very disturbing thing to find out. It distorts your perception of the world, having been raised as something you're undeniably not. I think I'd freak out if I found out I was actually a boy and my p***s had been chopped off by accident, and I was chosen to become a girl, possibly since it's so much easier to surgically create a v****a as opposed to a p***s.

These two occurrences are very different though; no physical change is happening to Pop, and there's no lying involved. I like that Pop gets to make all the decisions. Even at such an early stage, decision making is very important for the child.

As for the child's mental state in future, studies by psychologists over the years have shown that the actions and mindsets of people are determined by many factors, not just nature and nurture. Nature and nurture are influences in people's personalities, morals, etc. but in the nurture aspect, parents have far less influence than has been previously thought. Forgive me for the tangent, but I'm going to cite a study to help show my point.

In the mid-1970s there was a large project called the Colorado Adoption Project. It involved following a number of adopted children and submitting them to personality tests, along with their adoptive parents, with a control group of parents with their biological children, undergoing the same tests, going on for quite a few years (I can't remember exactly how long, unfortunately). The control group's children were fairly similar to their parents. The adoptive children were drastically different from their parents; they were as similar as random strangers pulled off the street.

Now this isn't to say that genes are the determining factor in a person's personality, but that the environment a child is raised in and how it affects them as a person doesn't depend so much on their family as their peers.

Most children get teased and made fun of and have a rotten time at school and with their peers at least once in their lifetime. It's pretty much guaranteed. Sometimes they're teased for the way they look, or act, or about their parents, siblings, the way they smell, whatever. Kids use every excuse to make fun of each other. Not knowing the sex of someone is just another thing that's different. I didn't know the sex of some people I went to school with, just because they didn't look especially masculine or feminine, and had a gender-neutral name. I went to daycamp with a hermaphrodite once. Maybe I'm an especially forgiving person or something, but I didn't think it was that big a deal. Not when I was 4, and not now.

All I'm really trying to say is that, though this could have potentially permanently scarring consequences for Pop, chances are (s)he's not going to be any more traumatized from going to school than most kids, even with the peculiar circumstances of his/her upbringing. If (s)he gets to choose when to reveal his/her sex, (s)he could find a way to hide it for a very long time if (s)he tried hard enough, or just blurt it out and be done with it. It's Pop's choice. I respect the decision of Pop's parents not wanting him/her to be constrained by societal viewpoints and expectations. I'm not sure if I agree or disagree with the method they've chosen, but it does seem to be very direct and open, and it'll be interesting to see the results.

confused This seems ridiculous to me. I don't see how you can expect to keep a child isolated from/unaffected by society's views and still have them be a part of said society.
It seems to me they're just making a spectacle of their child for the sake of this ...experiment/statement. And rather than being more concerned with their child's happiness, they are more focused on making a point.
I find it disturbing for people to have reactions like "I wonder how this will turn out" and "very interesting". Kids aren't lab rats. neutral

Bunch of hippie BS...I feel bad for "Pop".

That is ridicuoulos! I mean, how the hell do you plan to keep it a secret and also to let the child be a part of a society?

I totally agree with Alarias.

Hmm, I can see both good and bad in the idea. I mean...yes, to be able to grow up without being labeled, stereotyped, or judged by anyone would be a wonderful thing. If people could simply dispose of their prejudice and see each other as fellow humans, it would be lovely.

However...we are all different from each other. Things like gender, race, eye-color, these are things that make us unique. I personally feel that our differences should be celebrated. Instead of trying to hide our differences for fear of being labeled, I feel that it is better to be proud of the person you are, and all of the things that you are, be it gender, sexual preference, or whatever. My fear is, that concealing the child's gender will rob the child of their gender. I'm a girl, and I'm proud to be a girl. Even though I'm frequently labeled a "tomboy" and can often be considered "one of the guys", it doesn't really matter to me how other people see me, I'm just proud of who I am. When my co-workers say "You're so weird!" I smile proudly and say, "Good, I'm glad you noticed." And I didn't need my parents to conceal my gender from me to develop my self-esteem.

Just because someone finds something interesting doesn't mean it's an experiment.


It's "hippie BS" to have parents who want their child to find him/herself? I don't think so. I'd say it's hillbilly BS that some people aren't supportive and open minded about it.