Introduction
The new trend of gender-neutral upbringing seems to gain popularity in the modern world focused on the ideas of equality and the balance of opportunities. More and more parents decide to employ this approach in view that the relevant manner of upbringing will help to facilitate their children’s’ integration into the environment. In the meantime, the question arises whether the goal of gender-neutrality can ever be accomplished as well as whether it is reasonable to set it at all.
Background
First and foremost, one should necessarily note that gender-neutral parenting is a relatively new tendency. Several decades ago one would hardly come across an article devoted to elucidating the advantages and disadvantages of such an approach. Nowadays, there are loads of them. Moreover, some institutions have already put the theory into practice. Hence, a number of prestigious universities in Sweden and America have a restriction on the use of pronouns “he” and “she” within their establishments (Peck, 2014). Nevertheless, the lively debates that rose around the problem show that the major part of the society still undermines both the feasibility and the reasonableness of the gender-neutral rearing.
Biological Obstacle
On the face of it, the principle obstacle on the way of gender-neutral upbringing is the biological factor. The difference in the initial biological base of males and females can hardly be debated. Thence, apart from the evident physical indicators that vary in boys and girls from the early childhood (height, weight, and muscle bulk), specialists recommend putting a particular emphasis on the brain underpinnings that determine different patterns of conduct for the two genders. Most of the scientists agree on the point that males and females acquired certain psychological traits long ago, in the course of evolution; thus, it is now highly problematic to alter these traits (Blakemore, Berenbaum, & Liben, 2013). Hence, a parent that will try to raise the child gender-neutral initially loses the battle as both potential outcomes are likely to be unfavorable. The first possible variant is that the natural instincts will prevail, and the gender-neutral upbringing will turn out to be a failure. The second potential outcome is that the parent will manage to subdue the biological features; however, in this case, the child is apt to experience severe inner contradictions between the behavior his or her parent expects and the natural intentions determined by biology.
From Gender-Neutral to Gender-Deviant
Another critical obstacle that one is likely to meet while performing a gender-neutral parenting is finding a balance between gender-neutrality and gender-deviance. Thus, the recent research has shown that most parents tend to overdo in their attempts to make their children maximally neutral. The researchers introduce the examples when parents begin confusing the initially targeted gender-neutrality with extreme gender nonconformity. Thus, gender socialization results in a diagnosable disorder due to the excessive willingness of a parent to pursue the gender-neutral policy in child-raising (Martin, 2005). One might, consequently, assume that the lack of precise idea of what a gender-neutral person is like should serve to be a critical warning for those who decide to implement the relevant approach. As long as parents are decisive to make their child reject the initial gender identification, they are supposed to have some concepts to propose instead. In the meantime, the current state of things shows that the precise vision of a gender-neutral child exists neither in theory nor practice. As a result, gender-neutral parenting turns into gender-transforming approach – girls are encouraged to give up their inborn maternal instincts and concentrate on building careers; boys, in their turn, are recommended to be more emotionally unstable, even though they are not initially disposed to this pattern of conduct.
Target-Setting Obstacle
Lastly, one of the major challenges that gender-neutral parenting is sure to meet is the problem of target-setting. Thus, according to the scientific research, the major part of parents, who support the relevant method of upbringing, fails to identify its precise aims or the expected outcomes. Most of them claim that the following approach is supposed to eliminate the obstacles determined by gender peculiarities. In other words, they expect that their daughters will become more ambitious, their sons will be less reserved (Martin, 2005). Needless to say, that these vague assumptions are insufficient to comprise a valid strategy. The concept of a gender-neutral person is not worked-out, as well as the aim of its realization remains unclear. The lack of essential strategic components complicates gender-neutral upbringing; makes the process unmanageable and its outcomes unpredictable.
Conclusion
In conclusion, one needs to note that the main problem concerning the gender-neutral approach resides in the lack of a valid theoretical support. The question has not been properly studied yet; thereby, there is no consensus on the point of its efficiency and relevance. Thus far, the problem seems to be more social than scientific; therefore, the main concepts of gender-neutral methods of upbringing seem to contradict with both biological and natural laws. The unclear and instructed system, as well as, the failure to set concise targets makes this kind of parenting particularly problematic to perform and turns its aims into an impossible mission.
Reference List
Blakemore, J.E.O., Berenbaum, S.A., & Liben, L.S. (2013). Gender Development. New York, New York: Psychology Press.
Martin, K.A., (2005). William Wants a Doll. Can He Have One? Feminists, Child Care Advisors, and Gender-Neutral Child Rearing. Gender and Society, 19(1), 456-479.
Peck, S. (2014). He, She… It? The Telegraph. Web.