Gender Generic

Parents or society must not dictate what a child's role should be.”

If you are to choose your gender, what would it be? Perhaps you would choose the other than the one you are now. Unfortunately, there’s really nothing you can do now because from the time you were born, there is already an ascribed gender for you based on what is visible between your legs. You are a boy or man because you have a penis, a girl or a woman because you have a vagina

Gender roles are established by both your family and society. Each role is assigned even when you are still in the womb of your mother. Maybe you are not aware that before you were born a male or female, there is already a room or a set of wardrobe or toys assigned for you. Even more, immediately after you made your first breath of fresh air, you already get either a blue or pink tag and laid to a blue or pink crib or room. That is how society branded you. Cool, isn’t it? That serves justice to what you are now. It is all because of the culture of our society. But wait.

Just this morning, I read about a couple who chooses not to reveal the gender of their offspring named Storm as “a tribute to freedom and choice”. It is a very interesting decision for the parents, a very unconventional and daring too. I guess, that would not be possible in the Philippines with the ever meddling Church. Maybe, the Church would not even allow Storm be baptized. But I have my hat off to the parents. It takes a lot of courage to defy the norms and stand by your own principles and I hope that they get what they wanted for Storm.

Gender role as specified by sexual characteristics, is a very crucial choice to make because it somewhat becomes a definition to how an individual behaves. As being the case, parents or society must not dictate what a child's role should be. Let him or her mature in the process so he or she could choose for himself or herself.

Culture dictates everything. Fortunately, not everyone submits to it because of the fact that one can always make a choice. One becomes a rebel and deviant one would be called. Nonetheless, this is an opportunity for expression that could call for a reformation or even a revolution, and a renewed social system emerged.