Secret Gender

http://moms.today.com/_news/2011/05/25/6715267-he-she-or-it-family-keeps-babys-gender-a-secret?GT1=43001

Saw this story and sat around scratching my head for a bit.

I have a very lovely friend who is about to give birth any second - and both she and her husband decided not to learn the gender of the baby... until it's born. They are affectionately referring to it as "The Clone" for now. Once the baby is born however, they will undoubtedly tell everyone they know whether or not The Clone is a boy or a girl.

The couple featured on The Today Show however has decided not to tell their latest addition what he or she is, and nor are they sharing that information with anyone else.

Again, I just keep scratching my head here. I understand the idea of not forcing gender identity on a child, but I kind-of feel like this is a wee bit extreme. How old will the child be before it knows what it is? Do its siblings know? What happens when the child goes to preschool and other kids want to know if it is a boy or a girl? When the child can't answer, I imagine the other kids will think that's odd, and it could affect the child's friend prospects, right?

Again, I understand the idea of not imposing anything on a child... letting it be free to figure things out on its own... but at some point, the child will discover the difference between male and female genitalia - and I can't help but wonder if it might wind up being disappointed if it wished it had the other kind.

Take Chaz Bono - I totally get it. He was a she and just wasn't into that, so he took action and became the he that he is today. Fantastic. I don't really think hiding a child's gender is ultimately going to help it fully figure things out - and actually might inadvertently hinder the process rather than help - or, at the very least, create some serious confusion down the line.

I could be dead wrong. This is just an initial impression. I appreciate progressive thinking, but for now, my inkling is that this is too much.

Thoughts?