Last time I read a newspaper article about a newborn baby who got mistaken for a male because of the tangled long piece of umbilical cord. Thus, all her particulars were printed as that of a male's. Also, as the parents were rich and let a worker who did not know that the child was registered as a boy bathe and clothe the baby, the child grew up mistaken as a boy and she even thought she was a boy herself until she learned lessons on human gender in late elementary school. What are your thoughts about that?

Also, in poor countries where parents do not wish to abandon their baby if she's a girl (gender discrimination) but instead raise her as a boy. It actually happens as commonly as child abandonment due to gender discrimination.

I don't think children should be "raised" as male or female. Shouldn't you just raise a child; and not "raise" them as a gender?

Everyone does it though, boys are given toy trucks and comic books, girls are given dolls and romance novels. Of course a child will know their gender, but defining what activities and things that child should like or do based on that. its honestly a little ridiculous, if you let your mind step outside of what we've defined as masculine and feminine.

I know. However, I've heard that in some countries' villages or slums, parents have raised daughters to grow up as men even in identity, and telling everyone they know that their child is male. Or something like that.

Reality is sad, but what can we humble people do to change the discrimination that has occured because of thousands of years of tradition, religion, and teaching, that nearly everyone has succumbed to?

Answer: not much.

Be yourself, I don't care if your Homosexual, Heterosexual, Transgender.. Man, or Woman. We are all indeed human, and all indeed made of flesh, bone, and blood, and noone should be looked down upon.

Thats just dissappointing. But I would rather agree with Gen. Be yourself. If other people tease me that I am a long talker, fine be that way. I wanna be myself and there is nothing you can actually do about it. Its just like queer people you might see around you. It is discrimination if you would treat them so badly and I tell you it will be bad for their karma if they do so. If I were to see that person you just said, I would encourage her to continue her life on how she started it. Change is sometimes a little hard to do. You have to reflect so much.

As the baby grew to a child parents shouldhave been aware that they have a girl ! Normally the umbilical cord goes away, it withers. You should be aware that for example you are a girl with thin muscles and thin limbs.
Raise a girl as a boy is unthinkable! Imagine when she is a teenager, she would notice her breasts contrary to her boy friends.
It’s essential to raise the child according to his gender, later to have babies go towards the good gender. To reproduce is a duty towards the perpetuty of the race (my mom had bought me dolls but I did not play with it though.)
@ Gen I disagree with you there are humans and misconceived humans (part of psychiatry: in psychiatry you have dangerous people such as murderers and rapers… and those who are inoffensive such as homosexuals) Psychiatry exists only in humanity (ironic) contrary to natural selection seen with animals. One of my female cat had one of her kitten crushed, she ate the ombilical cord but she did not care about it then. One of my male cat, now he's dead, became homosexual as a dominant male castrarted him so that to remain the only fertile male.

It's sad that mistaken genders happen, but in some of the poorer countries they need males and not females. Or some countries are just too populated so a family would rather have a boy then a girl.

This topic reminds of a case where a twin boy was raised as a girl after a botched circumcision. His brother was raised as a boy. He struggled with his identity growing up but didn't find out about it til he was an adult. Once he did, he lived out his life as a male.

I've seen a documentary about it and I think he wrote a book about it as well. But I'm not entirely sure about that.

Well, it doesn't sound to me that it's really possible to "mistaken" a gender that long...
That it can be a real will to hide the gender for the reasons taken previously is something totally different.

@Flavie : Now, to reply about the "psychiatric" side or what you call "misconceived humans" ... oh my ... don't put at the same place murderers and rapers AND homosexuals
it's not the first time that I read strange things about homosexuals around and now I think I really have to react even if it's a bit out off topic...
All homosexuals are not born homosexuals at first, so I really don't think that we can speak about "misconceived humans" as a generality, even not at a specific point either, since nobody knows where it comes from
One of my best friend, who's a man, lives now with another man, but it hasn't always been the case... so...

Yes Catchoun , I've forgotten, they are homosexuals from birth and the others because of something wrong in their education. If a boy finds his mother the perfect woman in the world, he thinks no other woman can be as good as my mother, so he will turn towards men.
Their are homosexuals, I think who because of society marry a woman andmake babies and then, all of a sudden, they discover their homosexuality. I think they were homosexuals at the start.Me I've just have 2 dreams which made me understand the homosexual, sexual pleasure, interesting.

hum... and what about the ones who like both ?
No, I really don't think that you can explain everything by "misconvenience" or education...
just accept the fact that not everybody is the same, and since nobody forces you to do something you don't want too, where is the problem ?


back to the toppic now

the really bad thing to me would be to rise a child trying to make him/her think he/she is another gender

hmm, interesting. I think there might be a lot of psychological problems... or their might not be. It really depends on the person and how they deal with it.

Also, I'm surprised this is such big news.

Check out highly traditional chinese parents: If they have a boy, they will make the boy wear dresses and basically 'be a girl' until a certain age to scare away the bad spirits trying to get at the boy. It still goes on today actually.

I personally don't think it's necessarily wrong to train a girl to be a boy, as long as she knows she's a girl though. Just like it's not really wrong to teach a boy about dolls and stuff, as long as they know their a boy.

I mean, when I was little, I played with action figures, lego, and mostly 'boy' stuff. 'Girl stuff' just annoyed me a lot. And don't get me started on 'damsel in distress' stuff. I hated that so much. But, I turned out mostly okay (under debate of course). The only thing that's really sad about 'girl vs boy stuff', is that girls playing with boys stuff is perfectly okay. But if a boy plays with girl stuff, he's seen as a wuss, sissy, and probably gay.

my parents bought me dolls and trucks and kitchens and science fiction has been a very big thing in my life from... well, birth practically. I was dressed in dresses only until I could say I didn't like dresses. And, until the age of 7 or 8, I wanted to grow up to be a boy because I like wearing my boy friends' ties and I had a lower voice than most of my friends(including boys). Now, I love being a young woman... who happens to wear ties and sings soprano. XD
Parents who aren't even involved enough in their child's life to realize that the poor kid is being raised to think they ARE of a different gender don't deserve to be parents... and are definitely bound to have something "wrong" happen.
As for other cultures... eh, they're other cultures. I don't judge other cultures because, when they were originated, they were the best thing and I just can't understand them without immersing myself into it. My culture is mine and another person's is theirs. Do I think it's right to raise a child to think they're of another gender... no- that could cause all sorts of problems later(such as grief or bewilderment when they find out the truth).

Raising someone to be a gender doesn't mean giving them dolls to play with, etc. I played w/ dolls when I was little, but that doesn't mean I was raised as a girl or that I ever thought I was female.

Rather, it's that you tell the child and others that the child is that gender.
No matter how much you wanna deny it, boys & girls are treated differently, even in our society that claims to be equal & superior to all others. (& claims this equality is a sign of that)

I could see this leading to questions about sexuality later on (esp. if she's biologically strait) as well as other things.


regarding the biological gay thing, I've seen way too many 'situationally homosexual' guys to believe it. 'sides, there's no study I've heard of that aims to find out how much of the variance is explained by the gene. There are both environmental and biological factors to everything. not JUST one or the other.

What a blunder.

The umbilical cord should have been dried off soon and the "down there" should be quite visible. If not, it should be quite evident, and noted, when she is being brought to the clinics for her medical checked up: vaccinations, etc.

I think that child is being ignored. (ignorance --> child abuse) x.x

You guys might be interested in Fafafini. Google it. Its a third gender that is specific to Samoa. When a female is needed in a family, a male is raised as a female and become fafafini. Its fairly common, and a fafafini is not seen as a homosexual.

Well, I don't really think how parents raise their children matters. My parents raised me as a girl and I am, but people mistook my gender pretty oftenly (and I'm not talking about AM, here, some people really thinks I'm a guy)

@adept: it's your avvie, name, and possibly the signature XD

@nick: interesting. Wish there were more data on them besides wiki and a few links. It's mind boggling to a outsider brain like me ^_^;;

@KTC: no, I mean, even in reality. I did say I'm not talking bout the AM did I?

@Nick: Samoa isn't the only culture that has something like that. Some Native American tribes had a similar concept where a male or female would take on the role of the other gender and it wasn't considered abnormal. I know there's are other societies that did that too but I can't remember the specifics.