Non-binary parents of a young child have spoken out and revealed why they refuse to force any gender on their baby.
Stephanie and her partner, 37-year-old Sommer who uses they/them pronouns, have welcomed their first baby, a girl named Juno, seven months ago.
Though the child was born female, the parents announced that they will raise the baby as “gender expansive” in a bid to avoid “gender indoctrination” and allow the child to decide for themselves.
The couple also explained that their child will be calling both of them ‘PomPom’ rather than by the gender-based terms of Mom and Dad.
“We use the words gender expansive more than gender neutrality because I feel that the word neutral makes it seem like she just wears beige and has no color in her life,” Sommer expressed.
“So we say gender expansive, which is where there are no limits, and no restrictions on how our baby will be able to express themselves regardless of what sex they were assigned at birth.
“I think people think that comes with a lot of pressure, but we’re putting no pressure on her and who she wants to be.”
As part of their “gender expansive” parenting, Sommer and Stephanie buy all kinds of clothes and toys for little Juno. Likewise, they show the child positive role models of all genders.
Sommer also revealed they decided to raise Juno differently because of all the pressure and the feeling of not belonging anywhere they suffered while growing up.
“I didn’t feel like I fit in anywhere. I felt like I was just living my life but had all these female expectations pushed on me,” Sommer said.
“It made me really depressed. I went to a girl’s school and had to wear a dress, and I felt like I was wearing a costume. I wasn’t myself. I just felt like a weirdo in a dress. It was a costume I had to put on to go out in the world.”
As for their plans for the future, the couple now aims to find an “inclusive” daycare where Juno is “not going to feel left out.”
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