tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8699996156051897761.post8264803506045190795..comments2023-10-25T17:50:35.550-04:00Comments on Hipsters Are Boring: Storm CloudsKaitlyn Kochanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04786479100009809264noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8699996156051897761.post-27766403329211818402011-05-26T16:25:30.270-04:002011-05-26T16:25:30.270-04:00I think it would only become an issue once the chi...I think it would only become an issue once the child is registered for school, or an equivalent event. At young ages children act out gender roles but have no notion of the concept of gender, I think that is when the parents can then say "Storm, you were born to 'this' gender but the rest is up to you", like their other kids. It's true that society puts a tremendous amount of pressure on making people, including children conform to all sorts of 'normal' roles. There is a RuPaul quote I like- "We're all born naked, and the rest is drag". If you think about it, super macho guys are posturing and essentially in drag for that role. It's performance. Same with what ever identity we put out to the world. We are trying to convince the world of what and who we are. <br />I agree that involving one's children in one's politics is unethical as children are able to consent, but I have to wonder about the context of this. Did the parents decide "let's raise this baby outside of gender constructs" and then call the press to raise this in the public arena? Or was it more like people were asking "Is it a boy or girl?" to which the parents replied "It's a baby, my baby" and then someone else called the press. Personally, I think this is pretty benign at this point. There is no way the children of these parents attend a tough knocks public school. To me it is obvious that the family lives within a certain context that allows them to have freedom and safety within their social circles. Their hand will be forced at some point when the child is old enough to ask questions, or when the inevitable tick boxes come up. I'm sure there are lots of kids out there who wish their families hadn't been the ones pushing rigid notions of gender on them that has them seeking therapy, but in those cases the parents had the backings and blessings of larger society.<br />-Leslie PAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8699996156051897761.post-65309778976865238752011-05-26T11:39:11.768-04:002011-05-26T11:39:11.768-04:00"Parenting in this way is an activist, politi..."Parenting in this way is an activist, political act that isn't about the child, but rather about the parents. I dislike parenting as activism; if Storm's parents wanted to explore what it's like to live without gender, they should have done that experiment on themselves, not on their young child."<br /><br />Yes, yes, yes. Sums up my feelings, exactly. While on some level what the parents are doing is brave and commendable, ultimately they are making a non-consenting research subject out of their child, which (at least according to research ethics models) is a grave violation of ethics. That they agreed to share their story with The Star also shows that they aren't too terribly concerned with their kids' privacy. <br /><br />P.S. Thanks for the shoutout!Kellihttp://braingutshands.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8699996156051897761.post-23786264497514843362011-05-26T11:15:32.535-04:002011-05-26T11:15:32.535-04:00I don't there is a better piece of writing on ...I don't there is a better piece of writing on this issue out ther right now. This is a phenomenal piece of writing. In my opinion. Which may not mean anything to anyone but me...but hey, I read this three times and was saying "yes! of course!" outloud at my desk. <br />thanks lady.Devan Hambrockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16812926194966303060noreply@blogger.com