A mum and dad have opened up about the reason why they’re raising their toddler in a gender neutral environment.
Kyl and Brent Myers are part of the Gender Creative Parenting movement – and their toddler, Zoomer, is a ‘theyby’.
This means that when they’re introducing Zoomer to people outside of their immediate family, they don’t disclose the toddler’s sex to anyone who doesn’t “need to know”.
They also use the pronounce they, them, their and Z when referring to their child.
In a blog post on Raising Zoomer, the Myers’ explained the reason behind their decision came from wanting Zoomer to have a “stereotype-free early childhood”.
“Knowing the sex of a baby is just that, knowing the sex.
“The sex does not tell us anything about the child’s personality, temperament, favorite color, dietary preferences, sense of humor, attitudes toward climate change, or any of their other unique traits, just like the fact they have two arms doesn’t tell us anything else about them, except they have two arms.”
The parents were keen to stress in the blog that they’re not banning Zoomer from expressing any preferences that are gender-specific, or even pretending the gender doesn’t exist.
The post went on to explain that Zoomer would most likely “choose a gender by the time they are three or four” – and that the parents didn’t believe it was their place to make the decision on the toddler’s behalf.
They just want Zoomer to “have the freedom to explore and create their own identity, outside of the restrictions and expectations of traditional gender norms.”
