Christina Hess-Johnson and her husband, Josh, from Indiana, are doing something different: gender-neutral parenting. They think it’s okay when a boy wants to wear shiny shoes or play with dolls.
They also think it’s okay when girls don’t want to do more “girly” activities. They are raising their three children to explore the activities they want to do and wear whatever clothes they want, whether it’s traditional “boys” or “girls” or not.
For example, their eldest daughter Ashley is wearing more masculine clothes these days. Their son Jacob used to wear long hair and do ‘girly’ things, although he’s probably doing more typical ‘boy’ things right now.
Then there is their youngest son, Chandler, who is five years old. Chandler is free to enjoy whatever he wants due to neutral parenting between his mother and father. For example, he really wanted pink shoes when he was a kid.
Chandler’s parents receive a lot of critical looks and comments when out in public because of the way Chandler dresses and the toys he likes.
“People have told me how beautiful our baby girl is and when they find out it’s a boy they just shake their heads and walk away,” Christina told the Daily Mail.
Some people will even ask Christina if she’s worried about her son becoming gay. This baffles her, especially since Chandler is only five years old. Christina explains that the way parents try not to limit their children’s interests is what the media says about “girls” and “boys” activities.
