Raising Children as Gender Neutral

In recent years there has been an increases momentum toward gender transcendence or moving beyond traditional notions of gender. Advocate argue for the importance of raising “nonsexist,” “gender-neutral,” or “gender-aschematic” children in an effort to prompt social change. This of course raises the question of whether or not it is even possible to raise nonsexist children for whom gender is less relevant to their sense of self. With the continual development of gender schemata, children become more and more ready to interpret information in terms of gender. Gender schemata contribute to the formation of gender stereotypes or narrowly defined and exaggerated concepts of what is acceptable as masculine and feminine.
Is gender schematic thinking inevitable? Some argue that it is not. They believe that we can raise “gender-aschematic children” by limiting the development of gender schemata and substituting alternative schemata. But it is important to remember that gender may not be the only important category of identity development. For example, ethnic group membership, or other cultural influences might be more salient than gender. Thus, making these actors also important in determining the possibility of gender transcendence. In this paper we will look at two different articles that deal with the subject. First we will look at An Unconventional Family written by psychologist Sandra Lipstiz Bem who talks about her own child-rearing practices and maintaint that it is possible to raise “gender-neutral” children by ensuring that they develop gender-aschematic thinking. Then we will take a look at Denise A. Segura and Jennifer L. Pierce’s Chicana/o Family Structures and Gender Personality: Chodorow, Familism, and Pyschoanalytic Sociology Revisited, which uses sociologist Nancy Chodorow’s psychoanalytic theory to understand the acquisition of heterosexual gender identity in Chicana/o families, arguing that raising “gender-neutral” children may not always be possible.