ABSTRACT
We rarely, if ever, encounter a person for whom we are not permitted to determine “her” or “his” gender. If a child’s gender is not apparent, we typically ask questions to find out. We may try an indirect method, such as asking for the child’s name, or we may directly ask if the child is a girl or a boy. However, suppose that a person’s gender was deliberately kept anonymous. That is the premise in Lois Gould’s (1978) children’s book, X: A Fabulous Child’s Story:
The story poignantly highlights the challenges Ms. and Mr. Jones face when rearing a gender-neutral child. Difficulties arise the first day Baby X is visited by friends and relatives:
More problems arise later in the story when X becomes old enough for the first day of school:
After asking several questions, the children give up trying to figure out if X was a girl or a boy. However, by not fitting into the usual girl-boy rules, X is shunned by the other children:
X eventually begins to win over the other children as they begin to realize that by playing both boys’ and girls’ games, X is having twice the fun that they are. Consequently, the other children begin to wear overalls like X and to play with both girls’ and boys’ toys.
