Swedish parents experimenting on child

Swedish parents keep 2-year-old's gender secret

Pop's parents decided that societal influenced gender roles would be a drag on their child, so they're raising Pop as an it, rather an a he or a she:

“We want Pop to grow up more freely and avoid being forced into a specific gender mould from the outset,” Pop’s mother said. “It's cruel to bring a child into the world with a blue or pink stamp on their forehead.”

The child's parents said so long as they keep Pop’s gender a secret, he or she will be able to avoid preconceived notions of how people should be treated if male or female.

Pop's wardrobe includes everything from dresses to trousers and Pop's hairstyle changes on a regular basis. And Pop usually decides how Pop is going to dress on a given morning.

Although Pop knows that there are physical differences between a boy and a girl, Pop's parents never use personal pronouns when referring to the child – they just say Pop.

"I believe that the self-confidence and personality that Pop has shaped will remain for a lifetime," said Pop's mother.

I doubt that people will have no preconceived notions about Pop because of what his or her parents are doing. They're going to have one serious preconceived notion: That Pop is a freak. Better to avoid the child altogether than get into all sort of clumsiness.

But Pop's parents are right about one thing: Treating their kid like a sociological experiment will no doubt shape the kid's personality for a lifetime.

A lifetime of therapy.

So what do you think? Do parents have an inherent right to treat their kid like a lab rat just to try to prove a point?