You may remember the 'storm' that broke out when Toronto parents Kathy Witterick, 38, and David Stocker, 39 announced in The Toronto Star that they would not be revealing the gender of their third child, who was known only as Storm. It caused a real storm of controversy, not just here, but around the world. In fact, within a few days, the couple stopped talking about it and we've heard nothing since.
Why were people so upset by this family's decision? That's a tough one to answer, but let's just say that people feel very strongly about gender identity. We seem to need to know, absolutely and without doubt, whether we're boys or girls. Gender affects everything from how we dress and present ourselves to the world, to how we think and act. It may also affect how we learn, which is what we're particularly interested in here at TVOParents. Of course, all discussions about gender hinge on whether you believe gender is based on genetics (and I don't mean your sex - that's usually obvious, but your gender identity may not be) and how much is due to societal expectations.
We've been looking at this topic for a while and we've talked to several experts. We've asked why girls are sexualized, why they seem to dislike math, why boys are slow to read, and how we should address gender in schools. We've also asked experts on learning and the brain to tell us what they know about boys' and girls' brains and how they learn.
We've talked about gender and identity. Take a look and share your thoughts. As we discovered with the story of Storm, we know people have strong opinions on gender. Perhaps you do too.
