How will this work then?

Does this mean the poor child will be gender neutral, until he can choose himself, will be interesting to hear later which gender the child chooses, maybe even have a sex change.Some crazy people about!

As women, if we want a society where women are able to be a pilot or a firefighter, then where's the problem in that?
That's not the point, though.
He doesn't want to think of the baby as a boy or girl, a man or woman. This baby will be thought of as gender-neutral, which some people are.
Actually, if the baby is most definitely one sex or another and not gender-neutral, then I think it is insulting to gender-neutral people who may really be struggling with how to live their lives for Brand to do this; as if he is mocking them.

It was in Canada that some poor child had parents that thought this gender neutral idea was a good one. Except when he went anywhere that had rules, like school uniforms and boys and girls toilets.
He now knows he is a boy, and is very happy.
There really are still things that Boys and Girls have to do differently, like playing on a Mens team in sports.
Why experiment with a child? Some things just dont need changing.

I don't think the we can underestimate biology jane.

The sexes are made differently and short of a sex change (gender re-assignment or whatever the correct terminology) that is the way it stays.

I don't think we do either sex any favours by expecting girls to toughen up or little boys to "get in touch with their feminine side". However politically correct we want to be, there will always be activities favoured more by one sex than the other.

I do however agree that children should not be brought up with any expectation predetermined by their sex and I think on the whole this no longer happens.

I suspect however that RB has been out of the limelight for a while and needs another bandwagon or "pet subject" to focus on.

This is ridiculous, and he will soon find this out when the child is here. What does his wife think about this I wonder. Also the grandparents. The man is an idiot!!

The kid will make up its own mind - either it will decide that it's a boy or it's a girl. I'm in favour of letting a child decide not what gender it is - it's one or t'other, but if he wants to play with dolls or she wants to be a motor mechanic, good for them!

I totally agree. What Russell is suggesting seems to be to NOT label the child as, lets say "a girl" and so expect her to like pink, My Little Pony etc. There are even gendered bikes these days, which are nothing to do with having a crossbar or not, as it was in my day. There are plenty of names that aren't odd e.g. Leslie/Lesley, Charlie, Rowan, Jo/Joe and more here.. www.babycentre.co.uk/l25008043/top-30-unisex-names-photos
Most children these days wear unisex clothes..jeans, trousers. dungarees, shirts, jumpers, anoraks etc. My grand-daughters (3 and 6 years old) have predominately unisex clothing and have never craved a skirt or a dress. The elder one loved anything about Thomas the Tank Engine.
As women, if we want a society where women are able to be a pilot or a firefighter, then where's the problem in that? I struggled to think of jobs that boys/men are excluded from by their gender and can only conclude that they are in the fortunate position of having much more choice, as few, if any jobs, are considered too feminine for males.

At a simple biological level maybe Gilly.

It's when people expect children to behave in a certain way, or not behave in a certain way, simply because they are male or female that the problems start.

What gender neutral means to me is having the same expectations in terms of achievement and respect for others for both boys and girls, and within a moral framework allowing them to be themselves, and that's what I tried to do with my own DCs.

Nothing wrong with gender neutral clothing. How many of us are wearing jeans and a sweatshirt today?

The thing is no matter how a child is brought up, following whatever crazy thinking, you cannot get away from the fact that a boy is a boy and a girl is a girl. It has nothing whatsoever do to with toys, clothes, colours or names.

I've seen a few comments about gender neutral clothing. Can someone explain what that is? As far as I know it's either trousers or skirts.

My niece and partner are doing just this with their two boys now 5 and 3 years old.The boys are well balanced and charming and are interested in a range of games.They attend a nursery (in Sweden) which adheres to the same principle with all the children who attend. So far I have not seen any drawback!

Anything for publicity. Total prat!

Stupin man, poor child, He always looks so grubby , as if he is need of a bath. Ewww poor child! Has he not thought , how this poor child is going to go through life, not knowing which toilets to use? The man is an idiot,, Katy Perry was lucky getting away from him.. My son had a Barbie doll, Batman toys. My daughter used to play with my sons toys, both grew up, Marcus has a girlfriend and Emmy has a boyfriend, both are happy. Russell Brand is a few brain cells short!

I think he just says these things for a reaction and to see how much attention will be paid to his wind ups. All towards massaging his already inflated ego.

I really am not surprised to hear Brand would put his own attention seeking self before considering the needs of his child. I cant imagine his parenting skills will be grounded

He is and always will be a total fruit loop.

I think Russell Brand is more intelligent and down-to-earth than people give him credit for. I'm sure this 'non-gender' business, regarding his child is largely tongue-in-cheek. Yes, I'm sure he'll try to avoid gender stereotypes with regards to toys, and probably clothes, but beyond that, I think he'll respond to his child as an individual, respecting his/her preferences and interests. He likes to 'play' the public, and yes, it might seem a bit immature, but it just reflects his somewhat quirky sense of humour!

I think Russell Brand is more intelligent and down-to-earth than people give him credit for. I'm sure this 'non-gender' business, regarding his child is largely tongue-in-cheek. Yes, I'm sure he'll try to avoid gender stereotypes with regards to toys, and probably clothes, but beyond that, I think he'll respond to his child as an individual, respecting his/her preferences and interests. He likes to 'play' the public, and yes, it might seem a bit immature, but it just reflects his somewhat quirky sense of humour!

Poor child probably put itself up for adoption as soon as possible. I read a Canadian thriller recently which included a child brought up gender neutral just to annoy the grandparents. It was by Louise Penny . Sorry to digress.

I saw that interview on Jonathon Ross, and honestly think Russell said it tongue in cheek. He likes winding us up so I dont take him seriously. It's a stupid idea anyway and would never work.

That's interesting bags about the contact noises. I remember too sometimes being able to soothe them back to sleep with a few calming murmurs.

DD2 has twins, a boy and a girl, who were two in July. They have shared everything and been treated the same, but some differences have emerged, without any prompting from anyone. The boy loves diggers and tractors and though they both play with cars and trains etc., he likes them far more. He does push a toy push-chair but can be quite cavalier with the occupants. The girl likes to put dolls to bed and change nappies etc. She tries to mother (and boss) her brother. She also walked and talked first, but he caught up very soon.
Who knows how this child development thing works? I heard a play on the radio a while ago about a couple bringing up their child as gender neutral, can't remember the details, but it didn't end well.

What is wrong with bringing up a boy as a boy and vice versa? All this nonsense just confuses a child. I do not disagree with a child playing with a baby doll if a new arrival is expected in the family, but to say a boy should dress in a fairy dress, as was published in a national paper recently, is just begging for him to be bullied at school.

Children are children. They will find their own way without restrictions or deliberate attempts by the parents to swing them one way or another. Leave them to enjoy their childhood without confusing them.

Russell Brant.....well what can you say. Looking for publicity is what he is at. An attention seeker if ever there was one. Time he grew up I think.

I agree with whitewave. As a second generation feminist I decided to not gender my first baby and it was absolutely fine till she went to playgroup and got chased by a boy and loved it - so I knew whatever was coming through was from her not imposed by me. I remember as a six week old in a cold cottage I went to the village baby wear shop and asked for baby hat and they said girl or boy - at 6 weeks! what I wanted was a hat with ear flaps that was practical and warm - this happened to be a boys hat and I managed to get it in white. There is still a lot of fighting to be done so Go for it Russell.