A couple who live in Bath, England on a houseboat is keeping their child’s sex a secret to avoid any gender biases. Jake England-Johns and Hobbit Humphrey haven’t even told family and friends the sex of their 17-month-old.
They have asked all of their family and friends to call the baby “they/them” when referring to the child. They gave the child the name of Charlie for the show, and they explained that Charlie is always dressed in gender-neutral colors.
According to Jake on a program on BBC called “Inside Out,” he and Hobbit are not trying to make their child be anything except themselves. They have become excellent at dodging the many questions they are asked concerning the sex of their baby. They simply tell others that they don’t tell anyone the sex of the baby for now. Instead, the parents are letting Charlie be whoever he or she wants to be. They know that they will choose their gender when the time is right.
The only person other than the parents who know of the child’s gender is a grandparent who changed a diaper on Charlie reported by Fox News. Other than that, Jake and Hobbit have kept a firm grasp on the information. They believe that while a lot of gender bias is unconscious, they still wanted to not tell people the gender as long as possible. They are determined to create a “bubble” for the baby to give them the chance to enjoy their true identity as long as possible.
They added that they are trying to deter others from saying that only blue is for boys or that the color pink is reserved for girls. They don’t want Charlie to be discouraged from playing with something because they are a particular sex, such as dolls or cars.
Hobbit added that they simply want their child to grow up who they are. She said that Charlie loves to have tea parties in the morning, a typical activity for girls. However, Charlie also enjoys playing with machinery and motorbikes. Hobbit went on to say that once Charlie is older, they can decide for themselves the gender that they wish to be.
