“The Story of baby X”
By Lois Gould
Adapted by me.
Pre-story question
• Do you think we are born with certain gender
behaviors or do you think we learn them?
• Why do you think that?
Once upon a time a baby named X was
born.
It was named X so that no one could tell
whether it was a boy or a girl.
Before it was born scientists created an
Official Instruction Manual that would help
the families raise baby X.
Many families were interviewed to find
the perfect parents for baby X.
Families with grandparents named Milton or Agatha, families with aunts who
wanted to knit blue shirts and pink dresses, families with other children
who wanted a little brother or sister. All of these families didn’t want a
baby X, they wanted a baby girl or boy.
Finally, scientists found the Jones
family
The Jones family wanted to raise a
healthy, happy baby, no matter
what kind. They wanted, most of
all, to raise a baby X. The Jones
promised to take turns holding X,
feeding X, and singing X to sleep.
They promised to never hire any
babysitters, because babysitters
might try to peek at baby X’s
secret.
The day the Joneses brought home
their
baby…
Everyone asked, “Is it a boy or a
girl?”
To which Mr. Jones replied proudly,
“It’s an X!” No one knew what to
say.
They couldn’t say, “look at her cute
dimples” or “look at his husky
biceps!” And just saying “kitchycoo” didn’t seem right either.
The neighbors were unsure, and the
relatives were embarrassed.
“People will think there is
something wrong with it” and
the Joneses didn’t understand
this.
“What could be wrong with a perfectly
healthy and happy baby?” they sat and
wondered.
Suddenly everything changed for the
Joneses…
The cousins who sent a tiny helmet
did not come and visit anymore.
The neighbors who sent pink,
flowered dresses pulled their
shades when the Joneses passed
their house.
The Official Instruction Manual had
warned the new parents this
would happen, so they didn’t
worry too much. Besides, they
were having too much fun raising
baby X.
Mr. & Mrs. Jones had to be very
careful…
Because if they kept bouncing
baby X up in the air and
saying how strong and
active X is, they’d be
treating baby X more like a
boy.
But…
if they cuddle and kiss
baby X and tell it how
sweet and dainty X is,
they’d be treating baby
X more like a girl rather
than an X.
So they consulted
the Official
Instruction
Manual and the
scientists
prescribed,
“Plenty of
bouncing and
plenty of
cuddling. X ought
to be strong,
sweet, and
active. Forget
about dainty
altogether.”
There were other problems too like
clothes & toys…
On his first shopping trip, Mr.
Jones said to the store clerk, “I
need some things for my baby.”
The clerk smiled and asked,
“boy or girl?” Mr. Jones replies,
“Its an X” smiling. The clerk got
red in the face and said huffily,
“in that case, I’m sorry I can’t
help you,” and she stalked
away.
Poor Mr. Jones…
Mr. Jones was very confused but continued to walk down the
aisle. But everything in the store was marked BOYS or GIRLS…
boys pajamas, girls underwear, boys fire engines, girls doll set.
That night Mr. & Mrs. Jones consulted
The official Instruction Manual… It said firmly, “buy plenty of everything! But
try to keep it gender neutral.”
So they bought all kinds of toys. A boy doll that made pee-pee and cried. A girl
doll that talked three languages and said, “I am the President of General
Motors.”
They bought story books about a brave princess who rescued a handsome
prince, and another one about a sister and brother who grew up to be a
baseball star and a ballet star and you had to guess which.
The scientists were pleased with the
Joneses
They checked in with the Joneses and baby X often, and they were thrilled with
the progress baby X was making. They made sure the Joneses knew to “never
make baby X feel embarrassed or ashamed about what it wants to play with.
And if X gets dirty climbing rocks, never say, ‘nice little Xes don’t get dirty
climbing rocks.”
Likewise…
if baby X fell down and cries, don’t ever say,
“Brave little Xes don’t cry.” Because after all,
little Xes DO get dirty and brave little Xes CAN
cry.
Once a little girl grabbed X’s shovel
In the sandbox and hit X on the head with it. Her mother immediately scolded
her, “Now Tracy, you know better than that, little girls mustn’t hit little…”
the mother turned to X and asked, “dear, are you a little boy or a girl?”
Mr. Jones held his breath and waiting hopefully for X’s reply. X smiled politely,
holding back tears from being hit on the head, and said, “I’m a little X.”
“You’re a what?!” the lady exclaimed angrily. “You’re a little brat is what you
are. Either way Tracy, little girls mustn’t hit… whatever this child is.”
And the woman took
her child away.
Mr. Jones was upset,
but he was pleased that
Baby X didn’t associate
with either gender, nor
did X recognize a
difference in gender.
The hardest part was yet to come…
Baby X wasn’t a baby anymore. It was time for him to start school, and with
school came a whole new set of problems.
Schools are full of rules for girls and girls, and they weren’t sure where their
little X would fit in. Teachers tell students to form a boy line and a girl line.
There are games for boys and areas to play for girls. Even the school
library has a girl section and a boy section. The bathrooms are marked girl
and boy to keep their secrets, but how would they keep X’s secret?
The Joneses were summoned to a
meeting with the scientists.
The scientists were confident that with the schools cooperation everything
would be fine. The Joneses followed the Official Instruction Manual. They
made sure that X’s mother taught X how to throw and catch a ball and that
X’s father had taught X what to serve at a doll’s tea party. X knew how to
play with kitchen sets, shoot marbles, play sports, and color in the lines,
but best of all X knew what to say when asked if he was a boy or a girl. X
was above all else, an extremely happy child.
X’s teachers had promised to
cooperate…
X’s class would line up alphabetically, instead of separate lines for boys and
girls. The principal gave X permission to use his private bathroom because
it wasn’t marked by gender, it simply said “bathroom”
No one, however could help with what might pose the biggest problem at
school – other children.
Nobody in X’s class had ever known an
X…
None of the other children had ever even heard of an X. What would the other
children think? What would they say? Would they make Xist jokes? Or
would they make friends?
You couldn’t tell what X was by its clothing. Overalls don’t button right to left,
like girls’ clothes, or left to right like boys’ clothes. And did X have long hair
for a boy or short hair for a girl? As for the games X liked to play, either X
played ball very well for a girl, or played house very well for a boy…
The children tried to figure it out by
asking X tricky questions…
Like, “who’s your favorite sports star?” and X had two favorite sports stars: A
male gymnast and a female boxer.
Then they asked, “What’s your favorite TV show?” And X said “Lassie” an
show that stars a girl dog played by a boy dog.
When X said his favorite toy was a doll, they all thought X was a girl… until X
told them the doll was really a robot that X had programmed to bake
fudge. After that the children stopped trying to figure out what X was. All
they knew they’d like to see that doll (which the boys kept calling an
“action figure”)
VS
After school X wanted to play with the
other kids…
“How about shooting some baskets in the gym,” he asked the girls. They just
made faces at X and giggled behind X’s back. “Boy, is she weird,” they said.
“Would you like to make a basket in the arts and crafts room,” he asked the
boys. But they just made faces and laughed behind X’s back. “Boy, is he
weird,” they said.
Poor X just walked away sadly. “Why don’t the other kids want to play with
me?” X thought.
That night Mr. & Mrs. Jones asked X
how things had gone at school…
X tried to smile, but there were tears in X’s eyes. “The lessons are ok, but…”
“But? But what, dear?” Mrs. Jones asked anxiously, she hated seeing her child
upset.
“The other children hate me,” X exclaimed as tears fell. “They hate you? Surely
they can’t hate you.”
“They do,” cried X, “they won’t play with me.” The Joneses grabbed their
trouble child and told X it would be alright, as they tried to convince
themselves the same thing…
The Joneses called the scientist about
their troubled child…
Their response was simply, “What did you expect?
Other children have to obey silly boy/girl rules,
because their parents taught them to, whether
they realized it or not. Luckily, X, you don’t have
rules at all. All you have to do is be yourself. We
know this isn’t easy, but you are so much more
lucky than the other kids.”
X liked being itself, but X was still upset and cried a
lot that night. The Joneses tucked their child
into bed and held X while X cried, and Mr. and
Mrs. Jones cried too.
Mrs. Jones then read X one of X’s favorite stories
about an enchanted prince called Sleeping
Handsome who woke up only after the Brave
Princess kissed him.
The next morning they all felt much
better…
Little X went back to school with a brave smile and a clean pair of red and
white overalls.
That day at school there was a 7 letter spelling bee, a 7 lap boys relay race,
and a 7 layer cake baking contest in the girls kitchen corner.
X won the spelling bee. X also won the relay race. And X almost won the
baking contest, but forgot to put the sprinkles on top. Hey, no one is
perfect.
Many students however, complained
that X just wanted to win at
everything.
But then something strange
happened…
The children began to really look at X. One even said, “X doesn’t care about
winning. X just thinks its fun playing boys’ stuff and girls’ stuff.”
Another child added, “If you think about it, its like X gets to have twice as
much fun as we are.”
After school that day the girl who beat X in the baking contest gave X the
biggest slice of her cake.
The boy who X beat in the relay
race asked to race X across the
playground.
After that, things really started to get
strange…
Suzie, who sat next to X, refused to wear pink dresses to school anymore. She
wanted to wear pants. Pants, she told her mom, were easier for climbing
monkey bars.
Then, Jim, the football nut, started carrying his football around and treating it
like it was a person, or a doll. Even when he put his entire uniform on, he
treated his football like it was a person and sang to it.
The kids didn’t think anything of it because that’s what X did, and X was the
star quarterback.
Suzie’s parents were horrified by her
behavior…
Jim’s parents were worried sick
about his. But the worst was
when the twins, Joe and
Peggy, started sharing
everything.
Peggy used Joe’s hockey skates,
his microscope, and took
half of his paper route. Joe
used Peggy’s needlepoint kit,
her cookbooks, and took on
of her baby-sitting jobs.
Joe showed Peggy how to use
the lawnmower and Peggy
showed Joe how to use the
vacuum.
Their parents were not please.
Even if Peggy mowed the
lawn better, or Joe loved to
vacuum. They were furious.
“It’s all that kid X’s fault…”
That’s what all the parents started saying.
“That kid doesn’t know what it is, or how it’s supposed to act,” Suzie’s mom
argued.
“X is trying to do the same thing to our kids so it isn’t the only one acting like
that,” cried another parent.
Suddenly kids were forbidden to play with X, even at school.
But it was too late, the kids
loved their new friends. They
refused to go back to the way
they were before X came along.
Finally, the parents held a meeting
To discuss “The X Problem.” They sent a report to the principal saying the X
was a “bad influence” and immediate action needed to be taken.
They said the Joneses should be forced to tell whether X was a boy or a girl
and that X should have to start acting like whichever it was.
If the Joneses refused to tell, the parents felt that X should have to take an
examination. An Impartial Team of Experts would figure out X’s secret and
X would have to start obeying the gender rules.
They also felt that if X ends up being some sort of confused misfit, then X must
be expelled from school so X can stop filling their children’s heads with
nonsense ideas.
The principal was very upset…
Was X really a bad influence? Was X a mixed-up misfit? He told the parents
that X was a wonderful student, caring and compassionate, inclusive, and
never negative towards another student. X was student council president,
X was respected and looked up to by other students. X had won honorable
mention at the art show and was a key player on many of their sports
teams. X was the example of what a good student should be at the school.
The parents wouldn’t listen…
“X is a problem child,” they shouted. And the principal had no choice but to
notify X’s parents and the Joneses reported this to the scientists.
They said, “we knew this would come sooner or later. This will be the ultimate
test to know the effects of X’s upbringing, and to see if X is in some way
‘mixed up’ or if everyone else is.”
The scientists were nervous, but
the Joneses knew their child was
not mixed up at all, they knew
they had raised their child to
know exactly who it is.
At 9 a.m. the next day X reported to
the office…
The principal along with the Parents’ Association and X’s teachers, classmates,
and parents all waited in the hall.
Inside the office the Experts were doing different types of psychological
evaluations to try and figure out if X was male or female and if X was in
any way “mixed up.” Question after question after question X answered
them all patiently.
After what felt like forever, the door
opened…
Everyone crowded around to
hear the results. X didn’t
look any different, in fact X
was smiling. The team of
experts however looked
stumped.
“So, what happened?” someone
shouted after a long silence.
The lead expert took off his
glasses and pinched his
noise, in a frustrated
motion. “In our opinion,” he
began to say, “In our
opinion, young X here is the
least mixed up child we have
ever seen.”
“I told you mom,” exclaimed
Suzie. Her mother was
furious, but all around her
X’s family, teachers, and
classmates were cheering.
The parent committee was angry and
confused…
How could X have passed the entire examination with no issues?! X doesn’t
know if it is a girl or a boy… how could it not be mixed up?!
The experts spoke up and said, “X knows exactly who it is. X was brought up to
be exactly who X wanted to be with no restrictions on gender, no
boundaries to follow.”
“We don’t care, we still want it to act like whatever it is,” one parent shouted.
“Well then, ma’am, the answer is simple… X is an x!” said a male expert. He
then went over to the Joneses and hugged them. “You child is
extraordinary, if I ever have children I hope you’ll let me borrow your
instruction manual. You’ve done a fine job raising your child.” And they
began packing up.
“But wait!” the parents shouted…
“We still need to know what it is…”
The experts smiled and said, “Don’t
worry. You’ll all know soon enough.
And when the time comes, you won’t
need us to tell you.” With that they
walked out the door.
“What?! What do you mean?!” A parent
asked in confusion.
“They mean that by the time it matters
what sex X is, it won’t be a secret
anymore.” Said the principal smiling.
The Joneses were thrilled…
They had raised a beautiful child who
knew exactly who it was and wasn’t
restricted by any gender rules.
The scientists were relieved their ideas
were correct.
The students were glad their friend
wasn’t “mixed up” in any way
because they liked X just the way X
was.
The parents eventually came around
and promised not to make any more
trouble. They even allowed their
children to go to X’s birthday party
that year.
At X’s birthday party…
They walked into the backyard and found X
playing with a tiny baby that none of them
had seen before.
The baby was wearing a yellow shirt and tiny
overalls.
“How do you like our new baby?” X asked
proudly.
“Its got cute dimples,” Joe said smiling.
“Its got husky biceps too,” Suzie laughed.
“What kind of baby is it?” Peggy asked.
X frowned at them. “Cant you tell?!” X broke
into a mischievous grin, “It’s a Y!”
Questions to discuss:
• Why were parents hesitant to raise their child as an X?
Think about this: What do parents hope for when they are
pregnant?
• Why might people have issues with not knowing what
gender baby X was?
• How did baby X learn how to behave and what it
should/shouldn’t play with?
• Why did children find it difficult to play with X at school?
• Why did other parents not like their child playing with X?
• Do you think X knew what sex it was? Why/how?
• Do you think raising a child this way is ok? Why?