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Storm is only four months old and completely unaware of what's going on. But this baby, born in Toronto, Canada, and the third child of Kathy Witterick and David Stocker, is at the centre of a global debate.
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Why? Because except for the parents, two older boys Kio and Jazz, one close family friend and two midwives, no one is allowed to know whether this baby is a boy or a girl.
n In an email, Kathy and David explained to friends and family that they wanted to avoid their new arrival being subjected to earlyn gendern stereotyping, which these days can begin even with the choice of blue or pink babygro: 'We've decided not to share Storm's sex for now - a tribute to freedom and choice in place of limitation.'n n Many have rushed to judgement, criticising the parents for what one local called 'turning their children into a bizarre lab experiment.' n n Others have warned that Storm, along with his or her brothers, who like to wear dresses and keep their hair long, may be escaping then stereotypesn only to suffer mockery and bullying later on.n n 'Gender norms will continue to evolve, but along the way deviation will still be punished with ridicule and worse,' said Arthur Schafer of the University of Manitoba. n But for another group of parents, and feminists, this family have taken a brave, if extreme, position on what is a widespread concern. n The campaign group Pink Stinks believes girls are fed the message from the very earliest moments of life that beauty matters more than brains, leading to lack of self-confidence, limited opportunities and lack of ambition. n The parents who started the group point out that toys for girls tend to reinforce housewife or caring roles, or 'princess' ideals. Meanwhile the doctor's outfits in the dressing up section are for boys, even though female graduates now dominate entry to the medical profession. n The 'pink' path n Pink for a girl and blue for a boy. Dolls and toy cookery sets for a girl. Building bricks and astronaut outfits for a boy. A low-paid job looking after other people for a woman and well-rewarded jobs in engineering for a man. n Are they connected? And can we predict a child's future by looking at what they wear? Shiloh, daughter of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, prefers to dress as a tomboy, while Suri Cruise, the daughter of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, trots around in shoes with high heels. Do we have the right to disapprove of either? " A feminist and a psychologist debate the baby Storm controversy. The 'Pink Stinks' campaign thinks that girls are being channelled too early into stereotypically feminine styles and behaviour. A video from American
Fox News
discusses Hollywood children and gendered clothing - and the Storm controversy. An article from Smithsonian explains that pink for girls and blue for boys was not usual until the 1940s. Artist JeongMee Yoon and her Pink and Blue Projects, as seen above. England's women's cricket team talk about role models and achieving in a male sphere. Stereotype: A simplified generalisation about a group of people, leading to a limiting definition. This word is almost always used negatively. Gender: The differences between male and female, not in terms of physical characteristics or biology, but in terms of behaviour and attributes. This child is going to be a misfit, surely?: Well, the Stocker-Witterick family are happy being unusual. They keep their children at home, for example, and believe in 'unschooling,' where the children are allowed to decide what to learn. OK but they will have to join the real world at some point.: This is a very extreme experiment - even the grandparents are in the dark about Storm's sex. But experts say even if parents try to behave the same way to boys and girls, they unconsciously show their expectations and prejudices - for example by playing and talking gently with girls and being more 'rough and tumble' with boys. That sounds healthy and normal.: That's the key question - what's normal? A lot of this is about challenging expectations - consider the idea that before the 1940s it was 'normal' to dress boys in pink and girls in blue.Expert Links
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Many have rushed to judgement, criticising the parents for what one local called 'turning their children into a bizarre lab experiment.'
n Others have warned that Storm, along with his or her brothers, who like to wear dresses and keep their hair long, may be escaping then stereotypesn only to suffer mockery and bullying later on.n n 'Gender norms will continue to evolve, but along the way deviation will still be punished with ridicule and worse,' said Arthur Schafer of the University of Manitoba. n But for another group of parents, and feminists, this family have taken a brave, if extreme, position on what is a widespread concern. n The campaign group Pink Stinks believes girls are fed the message from the very earliest moments of life that beauty matters more than brains, leading to lack of self-confidence, limited opportunities and lack of ambition. n The parents who started the group point out that toys for girls tend to reinforce housewife or caring roles, or 'princess' ideals. Meanwhile the doctor's outfits in the dressing up section are for boys, even though female graduates now dominate entry to the medical profession. n The 'pink' path n Pink for a girl and blue for a boy. Dolls and toy cookery sets for a girl. Building bricks and astronaut outfits for a boy. A low-paid job looking after other people for a woman and well-rewarded jobs in engineering for a man. n Are they connected? And can we predict a child's future by looking at what they wear? Shiloh, daughter of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, prefers to dress as a tomboy, while Suri Cruise, the daughter of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, trots around in shoes with high heels. Do we have the right to disapprove of either? " A feminist and a psychologist debate the baby Storm controversy. The 'Pink Stinks' campaign thinks that girls are being channelled too early into stereotypically feminine styles and behaviour. A video from American
Fox News
discusses Hollywood children and gendered clothing - and the Storm controversy. An article from Smithsonian explains that pink for girls and blue for boys was not usual until the 1940s. Artist JeongMee Yoon and her Pink and Blue Projects, as seen above. England's women's cricket team talk about role models and achieving in a male sphere. Stereotype: A simplified generalisation about a group of people, leading to a limiting definition. This word is almost always used negatively. Gender: The differences between male and female, not in terms of physical characteristics or biology, but in terms of behaviour and attributes. This child is going to be a misfit, surely?: Well, the Stocker-Witterick family are happy being unusual. They keep their children at home, for example, and believe in 'unschooling,' where the children are allowed to decide what to learn. OK but they will have to join the real world at some point.: This is a very extreme experiment - even the grandparents are in the dark about Storm's sex. But experts say even if parents try to behave the same way to boys and girls, they unconsciously show their expectations and prejudices - for example by playing and talking gently with girls and being more 'rough and tumble' with boys. That sounds healthy and normal.: That's the key question - what's normal? A lot of this is about challenging expectations - consider the idea that before the 1940s it was 'normal' to dress boys in pink and girls in blue.Expert Links
Word Watch
Q & A
'Gender norms will continue to evolve, but along the way deviation will still be punished with ridicule and worse,' said Arthur Schafer of the University of Manitoba.
But for another group of parents, and feminists, this family have taken a brave, if extreme, position on what is a widespread concern.
The campaign group Pink Stinks believes girls are fed the message from the very earliest moments of life that beauty matters more than brains, leading to lack of self-confidence, limited opportunities and lack of ambition.
The parents who started the group point out that toys for girls tend to reinforce housewife or caring roles, or 'princess' ideals. Meanwhile the doctor's outfits in the dressing up section are for boys, even though female graduates now dominate entry to the medical profession.
The 'pink' path n Pink for a girl and blue for a boy. Dolls and toy cookery sets for a girl. Building bricks and astronaut outfits for a boy. A low-paid job looking after other people for a woman and well-rewarded jobs in engineering for a man. n Are they connected? And can we predict a child's future by looking at what they wear? Shiloh, daughter of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, prefers to dress as a tomboy, while Suri Cruise, the daughter of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, trots around in shoes with high heels. Do we have the right to disapprove of either? " A feminist and a psychologist debate the baby Storm controversy. The 'Pink Stinks' campaign thinks that girls are being channelled too early into stereotypically feminine styles and behaviour. A video from American
Fox News
discusses Hollywood children and gendered clothing - and the Storm controversy. An article from Smithsonian explains that pink for girls and blue for boys was not usual until the 1940s. Artist JeongMee Yoon and her Pink and Blue Projects, as seen above. England's women's cricket team talk about role models and achieving in a male sphere. Stereotype: A simplified generalisation about a group of people, leading to a limiting definition. This word is almost always used negatively. Gender: The differences between male and female, not in terms of physical characteristics or biology, but in terms of behaviour and attributes. This child is going to be a misfit, surely?: Well, the Stocker-Witterick family are happy being unusual. They keep their children at home, for example, and believe in 'unschooling,' where the children are allowed to decide what to learn. OK but they will have to join the real world at some point.: This is a very extreme experiment - even the grandparents are in the dark about Storm's sex. But experts say even if parents try to behave the same way to boys and girls, they unconsciously show their expectations and prejudices - for example by playing and talking gently with girls and being more 'rough and tumble' with boys. That sounds healthy and normal.: That's the key question - what's normal? A lot of this is about challenging expectations - consider the idea that before the 1940s it was 'normal' to dress boys in pink and girls in blue.Expert Links
Word Watch
Q & A
Pink for a girl and blue for a boy. Dolls and toy cookery sets for a girl. Building bricks and astronaut outfits for a boy. A low-paid job looking after other people for a woman and well-rewarded jobs in engineering for a man.
Are they connected? And can we predict a child's future by looking at what they wear? Shiloh, daughter of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, prefers to dress as a tomboy, while Suri Cruise, the daughter of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, trots around in shoes with high heels. Do we have the right to disapprove of either?
Word Watch
"
A feminist and a psychologist debate the baby Storm controversy. The 'Pink Stinks' campaign thinks that girls are being channelled too early into stereotypically feminine styles and behaviour. A video from American
Fox News
discusses Hollywood children and gendered clothing - and the Storm controversy. An article from Smithsonian explains that pink for girls and blue for boys was not usual until the 1940s. Artist JeongMee Yoon and her Pink and Blue Projects, as seen above. England's women's cricket team talk about role models and achieving in a male sphere. Stereotype: A simplified generalisation about a group of people, leading to a limiting definition. This word is almost always used negatively. Gender: The differences between male and female, not in terms of physical characteristics or biology, but in terms of behaviour and attributes. This child is going to be a misfit, surely?: Well, the Stocker-Witterick family are happy being unusual. They keep their children at home, for example, and believe in 'unschooling,' where the children are allowed to decide what to learn. OK but they will have to join the real world at some point.: This is a very extreme experiment - even the grandparents are in the dark about Storm's sex. But experts say even if parents try to behave the same way to boys and girls, they unconsciously show their expectations and prejudices - for example by playing and talking gently with girls and being more 'rough and tumble' with boys. That sounds healthy and normal.: That's the key question - what's normal? A lot of this is about challenging expectations - consider the idea that before the 1940s it was 'normal' to dress boys in pink and girls in blue.Word Watch
Q & A
The 'Pink Stinks' campaign thinks that girls are being channelled too early into stereotypically feminine styles and behaviour. A video from American
Fox News
discusses Hollywood children and gendered clothing - and the Storm controversy. An article from Smithsonian explains that pink for girls and blue for boys was not usual until the 1940s. Artist JeongMee Yoon and her Pink and Blue Projects, as seen above. England's women's cricket team talk about role models and achieving in a male sphere. Stereotype: A simplified generalisation about a group of people, leading to a limiting definition. This word is almost always used negatively. Gender: The differences between male and female, not in terms of physical characteristics or biology, but in terms of behaviour and attributes. This child is going to be a misfit, surely?: Well, the Stocker-Witterick family are happy being unusual. They keep their children at home, for example, and believe in 'unschooling,' where the children are allowed to decide what to learn. OK but they will have to join the real world at some point.: This is a very extreme experiment - even the grandparents are in the dark about Storm's sex. But experts say even if parents try to behave the same way to boys and girls, they unconsciously show their expectations and prejudices - for example by playing and talking gently with girls and being more 'rough and tumble' with boys. That sounds healthy and normal.: That's the key question - what's normal? A lot of this is about challenging expectations - consider the idea that before the 1940s it was 'normal' to dress boys in pink and girls in blue.Word Watch
Q & A
A video from American
Fox News
discusses Hollywood children and gendered clothing - and the Storm controversy. An article from Smithsonian explains that pink for girls and blue for boys was not usual until the 1940s. Artist JeongMee Yoon and her Pink and Blue Projects, as seen above. England's women's cricket team talk about role models and achieving in a male sphere. Stereotype: A simplified generalisation about a group of people, leading to a limiting definition. This word is almost always used negatively. Gender: The differences between male and female, not in terms of physical characteristics or biology, but in terms of behaviour and attributes. This child is going to be a misfit, surely?: Well, the Stocker-Witterick family are happy being unusual. They keep their children at home, for example, and believe in 'unschooling,' where the children are allowed to decide what to learn. OK but they will have to join the real world at some point.: This is a very extreme experiment - even the grandparents are in the dark about Storm's sex. But experts say even if parents try to behave the same way to boys and girls, they unconsciously show their expectations and prejudices - for example by playing and talking gently with girls and being more 'rough and tumble' with boys. That sounds healthy and normal.: That's the key question - what's normal? A lot of this is about challenging expectations - consider the idea that before the 1940s it was 'normal' to dress boys in pink and girls in blue.Word Watch
Q & A
An article from Smithsonian explains that pink for girls and blue for boys was not usual until the 1940s. Artist JeongMee Yoon and her Pink and Blue Projects, as seen above. England's women's cricket team talk about role models and achieving in a male sphere. Stereotype: A simplified generalisation about a group of people, leading to a limiting definition. This word is almost always used negatively. Gender: The differences between male and female, not in terms of physical characteristics or biology, but in terms of behaviour and attributes. This child is going to be a misfit, surely?: Well, the Stocker-Witterick family are happy being unusual. They keep their children at home, for example, and believe in 'unschooling,' where the children are allowed to decide what to learn. OK but they will have to join the real world at some point.: This is a very extreme experiment - even the grandparents are in the dark about Storm's sex. But experts say even if parents try to behave the same way to boys and girls, they unconsciously show their expectations and prejudices - for example by playing and talking gently with girls and being more 'rough and tumble' with boys. That sounds healthy and normal.: That's the key question - what's normal? A lot of this is about challenging expectations - consider the idea that before the 1940s it was 'normal' to dress boys in pink and girls in blue.Word Watch
Q & A
Artist JeongMee Yoon and her Pink and Blue Projects, as seen above. England's women's cricket team talk about role models and achieving in a male sphere. Stereotype: A simplified generalisation about a group of people, leading to a limiting definition. This word is almost always used negatively. Gender: The differences between male and female, not in terms of physical characteristics or biology, but in terms of behaviour and attributes. This child is going to be a misfit, surely?: Well, the Stocker-Witterick family are happy being unusual. They keep their children at home, for example, and believe in 'unschooling,' where the children are allowed to decide what to learn. OK but they will have to join the real world at some point.: This is a very extreme experiment - even the grandparents are in the dark about Storm's sex. But experts say even if parents try to behave the same way to boys and girls, they unconsciously show their expectations and prejudices - for example by playing and talking gently with girls and being more 'rough and tumble' with boys. That sounds healthy and normal.: That's the key question - what's normal? A lot of this is about challenging expectations - consider the idea that before the 1940s it was 'normal' to dress boys in pink and girls in blue.Word Watch
Q & A
England's women's cricket team talk about role models and achieving in a male sphere. Stereotype: A simplified generalisation about a group of people, leading to a limiting definition. This word is almost always used negatively. Gender: The differences between male and female, not in terms of physical characteristics or biology, but in terms of behaviour and attributes. This child is going to be a misfit, surely?: Well, the Stocker-Witterick family are happy being unusual. They keep their children at home, for example, and believe in 'unschooling,' where the children are allowed to decide what to learn. OK but they will have to join the real world at some point.: This is a very extreme experiment - even the grandparents are in the dark about Storm's sex. But experts say even if parents try to behave the same way to boys and girls, they unconsciously show their expectations and prejudices - for example by playing and talking gently with girls and being more 'rough and tumble' with boys. That sounds healthy and normal.: That's the key question - what's normal? A lot of this is about challenging expectations - consider the idea that before the 1940s it was 'normal' to dress boys in pink and girls in blue.Word Watch
Q & A
Stereotype: A simplified generalisation about a group of people, leading to a limiting definition. This word is almost always used negatively. Gender: The differences between male and female, not in terms of physical characteristics or biology, but in terms of behaviour and attributes. This child is going to be a misfit, surely?: Well, the Stocker-Witterick family are happy being unusual. They keep their children at home, for example, and believe in 'unschooling,' where the children are allowed to decide what to learn. OK but they will have to join the real world at some point.: This is a very extreme experiment - even the grandparents are in the dark about Storm's sex. But experts say even if parents try to behave the same way to boys and girls, they unconsciously show their expectations and prejudices - for example by playing and talking gently with girls and being more 'rough and tumble' with boys. That sounds healthy and normal.: That's the key question - what's normal? A lot of this is about challenging expectations - consider the idea that before the 1940s it was 'normal' to dress boys in pink and girls in blue.Q & A
Gender: The differences between male and female, not in terms of physical characteristics or biology, but in terms of behaviour and attributes. This child is going to be a misfit, surely?: Well, the Stocker-Witterick family are happy being unusual. They keep their children at home, for example, and believe in 'unschooling,' where the children are allowed to decide what to learn. OK but they will have to join the real world at some point.: This is a very extreme experiment - even the grandparents are in the dark about Storm's sex. But experts say even if parents try to behave the same way to boys and girls, they unconsciously show their expectations and prejudices - for example by playing and talking gently with girls and being more 'rough and tumble' with boys. That sounds healthy and normal.: That's the key question - what's normal? A lot of this is about challenging expectations - consider the idea that before the 1940s it was 'normal' to dress boys in pink and girls in blue.Q & A
This child is going to be a misfit, surely?: Well, the Stocker-Witterick family are happy being unusual. They keep their children at home, for example, and believe in 'unschooling,' where the children are allowed to decide what to learn. OK but they will have to join the real world at some point.: This is a very extreme experiment - even the grandparents are in the dark about Storm's sex. But experts say even if parents try to behave the same way to boys and girls, they unconsciously show their expectations and prejudices - for example by playing and talking gently with girls and being more 'rough and tumble' with boys. That sounds healthy and normal.: That's the key question - what's normal? A lot of this is about challenging expectations - consider the idea that before the 1940s it was 'normal' to dress boys in pink and girls in blue.
OK but they will have to join the real world at some point.: This is a very extreme experiment - even the grandparents are in the dark about Storm's sex. But experts say even if parents try to behave the same way to boys and girls, they unconsciously show their expectations and prejudices - for example by playing and talking gently with girls and being more 'rough and tumble' with boys. That sounds healthy and normal.: That's the key question - what's normal? A lot of this is about challenging expectations - consider the idea that before the 1940s it was 'normal' to dress boys in pink and girls in blue.
That sounds healthy and normal.: That's the key question - what's normal? A lot of this is about challenging expectations - consider the idea that before the 1940s it was 'normal' to dress boys in pink and girls in blue.