Why British couple are hiding their baby’s gender
Friends and family asked to refer to 17-month-old as ‘they’
A British couple have gone public about their bid to raise their child gender-neutral by keeping its sex secret from even close family.
Hobbit Humphrey and Jake England-Johns dress 17-month-old Anoush in both boys’ and girls’ clothes and refer to the infant by the pronouns “they” and “them”, reports The Times.
“When I found out I was pregnant we spent those nine months discussing ways by which we could try and mitigate the gender bias that society places on children. Eventually, we decided that we wouldn’t tell people whether they were boy or girl,” says Humphrey.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The couple - who are both circus performers and live on a houseboat in Keynsham, Somerset - say they hope the decision will enable their child to “grow into their own person”.
Even the baby’s grandparents have not been told the biological gender, although Humphrey’s mother, Camille, discovered the sex after the couple asked her to change a nappy when the child was 11 months old.
“The response was pretty mixed when we first told our friends and family and most people didn’t get it, with some people wanting just to ignore it,” says Humphrey.
“I don’t think people really took us seriously initially. What you say you’re going to do when you’re pregnant can often be very different later when you are faced with bringing up a crying, screaming baby.
“But over a year in, it’s clear that we are serious and gradually people have got used to it. Although, that still doesn’t stop some pretty confused looks from old ladies in the park when they come up to us and ask if they’re a boy or a girl. It can take a bit of explaining.”
The couple say they plan to allow the child to choose their gender when they are old enough.
“They can obviously decide for themselves what gender they want to be, but for now we just want them to be able to grow up in their own little bubble,” Humphrey told the BBC’s Inside Out West during an interview on the programme on Monday.
The pair are by no means the first parents to refuse to define their child’s gender. British singer Paloma Faith and Hollywood actress Kate Hudson have both also said are raising their children gender neutral, the Daily Mail reports.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
When will mortgage rates finally start coming down?
The Explainer Much to potential homebuyers' chagrin, mortgage rates are still elevated
By Becca Stanek, The Week US Published
-
Women are getting their own baseball league again
In the Spotlight The league is on track to debut in 2026
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Giant TVs are becoming the next big retail commodity
Under the Radar Some manufacturers are introducing TVs over 8 feet long
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
The Week Unwrapped: Korean succession, terror by algorithm and German disquiet
podcast Could a 10-year-old girl rule North Korea? Will an Isis victim upend web law? And why is Germany upset with its Oscars contender?
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Week Unwrapped: Chinese chips, the Pope in Africa and podcasting
podcast Is China losing the microchip war? What is the Vatican doing in South Sudan? And has the podcast tide turned?
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Week Unwrapped: Sex and health, the Earth’s core and another new year
podcast Is the NHS failing British women? What’s going on at the centre of our planet? And what’s in a date?
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Week Unwrapped: Antisocial Saudis, hormone therapy and retro tech
podcast Why is Saudi Arabia investing in – and banning – social networks? Will new research make life easier for trans women? And is the future of technology dumb?
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Week Unwrapped: AI in court, Germans in Taiwan and ghostwriters
podcast Could artificial intelligence replace lawyers? What does Taiwan want from Germany? And are ghostwriters becoming less ghostly?
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Year Unwrapped: White refugees, Aegean islands and celebrity gossip
podcast Was 2022 the year of the white refugees? What’s really going on in the Aegean sea? And why are we so obsessed with showbiz scandals?
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Week Unwrapped: Tracking apps, BTS and stay-at-home girlfriends
podcast Does China’s U-turn mark the end of Covid-tracking apps? Has South Korean pop passed its peak? And are we really seeing the rise of the stay-at-home girlfriend?
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Week Unwrapped: Africa alert, ticket touts and the words of the year
podcast Is South Africa at risk of terrorist attacks? Why are ticket touts in such high demand? And are we really in a ‘permacrisis’?
By The Week Staff Published