Question

Read the posted articles below about Baby Storm and the parents' decision to raise her without a gender. Given what you have learned about biological, social, and cognitive influences on gender development, is raising a gender-neutral child possible? Or desirable? Or perhaps even harmful? Be sure you explain your argument!

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/06/30/baby-storm-gender_n_10756806.html http://www.thestar.com/life/parent/2013/11/15/remember_storm_we_check_in_on_the_baby_being_raised_genderneutral.html

PLEASE DO NOT COPY FROM THE INTERNET

Answer 1

This article discusses the gender neutral raising of the child as explained in the biological theories of gender. The secretion of the hormones:

• Hormones: The secretion of testesterone is necessary for the development of the male reproductive system. The hypothalamus and the pituitary gland are involved in the secretion of the male hormones. The other hormones are secreted from the adrenal gland.
• Sexual dimorphic nucleus in the males are larger than the females.
• The empirical evidence shows the results of experiments that on injecting the male hormones like testeosterone the aggressive behavior of the male rats increased.
• Hines in 1982 conducted experiments in which male injection was given to female rats during pregnancy to prevent the miscarriage of the babies at birth, indicates the presence of aggressive and playful behavior in the mice born due to injection of more male hormones.
• The chromosome analysis reveals the characteristics of the child that are born. It depends upon the number of chromosomes during the crossing over stage of the cell.
• The environment influences the behavior of the child and human beings along with their development of skills and precision.
• The levels of the hormones regulate the determination of the physical characters and attributes of the child. The website mentioned discusses the neutral gender development of a child named Storm who has been raised in a gender neutral enviornment and the identity of the child as whether he is a boy or a girl is not revealed.
• The theory of biosocial approach to gender explains the development of the child and the expression of the physical attributes of the child. The experiments are conduction child with statistical survey to reveal their gender and identity and to study the environmental factors required for the transformation of the child into a transgender person in life based on the neutral upbringing of the parents in life. The theory of biosocial approach by Money and Ehrhardt was given in 1972, which states the differential and biased upbringing of the child in a specific environment and different level of treatment for a boy as compared to a girl which ultimately decides their development in the society. The gender of a child is neutral till the age of 3 and the gender of a boy or a girl can be changed based on the expression of hormones in the body, which develops the reproductive glands. This is called as the neutral theory of identity. The other factor is the social labeling factor in which many parents label their male child as intelligent, stronger mentally and smart as compared to the girls in the society.
• The social theory of parenting and upbringing of the child are discussed in these websites related to the development of the child Storm and the implication of the transformation to transgender in the society.